UNC Women Set for Massive Road Test Against Final Four Power in ACC-SEC Challenge
The Tar Heels are in for a serious challenge this year — and not just the men.
Hot on the heels of the announcement that the UNC men’s basketball team will face Kentucky in this year’s ACC-SEC Challenge, we’ve learned who the women’s squad will square off against. On December 4, the Tar Heels will head to Austin for a marquee matchup against Texas, a 2025 Final Four team that’s quickly become a powerhouse under head coach Vic Schaefer.
The Longhorns finished 35-4 last season, shared the SEC regular season crown, and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Three of their four losses came at the hands of eventual runner-up South Carolina — though Texas also beat the Gamecocks once and held the No. 1 national ranking late in the year.
While the offseason always brings change in college hoops, Texas is expected to return SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker, who posted 16.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. With Schaefer’s proven track record of yearly improvement since arriving in Austin, don’t be surprised if this Longhorns squad is even more dangerous.
As for the Tar Heels, this will mark their first road game in the ACC-SEC Challenge. They went 1-1 in the first two editions, falling to eventual national champs South Carolina in 2023 before bouncing back with a win over ranked Kentucky last year. Texas, in its SEC Challenge debut last season, dropped a tough game at Notre Dame — their only loss outside of the South Carolina series.
UNC and Texas haven’t played since 1981, when Carolina took the lone meeting in Chapel Hill.
Coming off a Sweet 16 run, Courtney Banghart’s squad is looking more and more like a program on the rise. A win on the road against a national title contender would be a major statement — and proof that Carolina is ready to take the next big leap.
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