Courtney Banghart’s Challenges Squad to Face Three Final Four Teams

North Carolina will have as much preparation as it can get to take on fellow ACC opponents once conference play begins, with its will to take on three Final Four teams to help bolster its experience and competitive edge. The South Carolina Gamecocks, UCLA Bruins and the Texas Longhorns will present challenges for the Tar Heels, given their recent success during the postseason — it will be nowhere near easy for Banghart's squad, especially with plenty of new faces, particularly underclassmen.

UNC basketball | Matt Giles-North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

"It was pretty strategic. The ACC is so hard every year, and we knew that this was going to be a year where we were losing 60% or more of our productivity. And so you would rather find out -- instead of finding out late, I want to find out early kind of what the traditional, sort of over the last year, were the best."

"UCLA brought back a lot of their players. South Carolina brought back a lot of their players. Texas brought back a lot of their players. We kind of are going to go against people that are really experienced and had a great year last year. I think that will bode well as we continue to persistently prepare for what's going to be the ACC gauntlet."

Head coach Courtney Banghart at the 2025 ACC Tipoff | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

While these games will serve as tough tests for the Tar Heels, they will create stepping stones toward furthering the improvement of the roster as a whole by building character and other skills needed to be a winning squad.

These Matchups Will Build Character for Banghart's Players

South Carolina, UCLA and Texas have reached heights that UNC has not had in a while, but by playing such schools, North Carolina will have the chance to grow into something better, in comparison to if it did not have them on its schedule. The non-conference is a chance for programs to step outside their comfort zone and face teams that they would normally not see unless it's March Madness. North Carolina and Banghart took full advantage and seized the chance to improve.

Even if UNC were to lose all three games, there would still be lessons to take out of it — and vice versa, of course, too. UNC lost to the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 last season, but starts a new story next month, on November 3. Central Arkansas will tipoff with UNC, marking the 2025-2026 women's college basketball season.