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N.C. State national champion Dereck Whittenburg claimed the ACC no longer has players shake hands at center court because he slapped the hands of his North Carolina opponents.
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N.C. State and North Carolina men’s basketball only played once last season. It was the first time in more than a century the two programs did not play twice. They made sure that didn’t happen again.
First-year N.C. State head coach Justin Gainey and his Tar Heel counterpart, Mike Malone, were present on Wednesday to announce a nonconference game between the two programs.
They will meet on Dec. 15 for a neutral-site date called the “Tobacco Road Classic” at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, about two weeks after the ACC-SEC Challenge. This will be a two-year event and return to Greensboro in 2027.
“I‘m glad that Coach (Malone), although he’s never been a part of it, that he saw the value in it, and he saw how much it meant to a lot of people,” N.C. State head coach Justin Gainey said. “For me, it was a no-brainer. As soon as I got the call, I said, ‘Absolutely, I want to do it. Then they said it would be in Greensboro. I was like, ‘Even more exciting.’ It’s important to me. It’s important to guys that wore the jersey — like Coach Whittenburg and those guys — it’s important to our fans.”
Malone, who spent two decades in the NBA, said he had an idea of what the rivalry meant, but it wasn’t until he arrived in Chapel Hill that he fully understood the significance.
“Every game matters, but some matter a little bit more,” Malone said. “This is one of those games. I think it’s great that we’re going to have a chance to play them twice, and hopefully that’ll keep our fans happy, as well.”
The meeting will be the first regular-season game in Greensboro for the rivals since they played in the Big Four Tournament on Nov. 30, 1979.
Gainey, who grew up in High Point and attended N.C. State, said he grew up watching ACC Tournaments at the venue, played at the venue in high school and college, and will be able to coach in it.
“It’s a win-win all the way around.” Gainey said. “Ideally, I’d love to have it at home, but since you can’t get it at home, I think this is a great second option.”
When reports of the game initially surfaced, the schools had not completed contract details nor named a game sponsor. They selected the neutral site in an effort to benefit their NET rankings, regardless of the result.
Old Dominion Freight Line was named the game sponsor. The event received logistical support from the North Carolina General Assembly, the city of Greensboro and Greensboro Sports Foundation.
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“A huge shout out and a thank you to all the people that made this possible,” Malone said. “I think the fans have spoken, the administrators have spoken, the legislators have spoken that this game matters. This game means something to everybody in this room, and I’m just really excited to be part of that.”
The ACC moved to an 18-game scheduling model a year ago, which paired every team with one protected rival and had a variable home-and-home matchup. While the new schedule assists programs with NCAA Tournament resume-building, it has been criticized for breaking up longtime rivalries, including State-Carolina.
This provides a remedy for the Wolfpack and Tar Heels, playing ahead of the lone ACC matchup in Chapel Hill later in the season.
Last season was the first time in 107 years, since 1919, that at home-and-home series was not scheduled. N.C. State hosted Carolina, but the reverse was not true.
The two programs played at least twice from the 1919-20 season until the 2024-25 season. Games took place at each home site, except during 1946-47. According to both programs’ record books, the teams played in Chapel Hill during the regular season and in Durham for the Southern Conference Tournament. The Tar Heels were scheduled to play in Raleigh that season, but the fire marshal canceled the game shortly before tipoff due to overcrowding, a UNC spokesperson said.
Whittenburg said no one was happy when the two teams only played once last season. Despite this game not counting in the league standings, he’s happy to see the Tar Heels on the schedule twice.
The subsequent years included a home-and-home regular season series and one-off neutral site matchups. Meaning, this will be the first time in 80 years that the Tar Heels will not play in Raleigh.
Most recently, N.C. State defeated UNC, 82-58, in February at Lenovo Center. Tar Heels NBA Draft picks Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar were injured and did not play. Due to changes in the conference scheduling model, there was no return game at the Dean Smith Center.
It will also be an opportunity for N.C. State junior guard Paul McNeil to face off against former teammate Matt Able, who transferred to the Tar Heels after head coach Will Wade’s departure from the Wolfpack. Able scored 19 points and went 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts in the Wolfpack’s win over UNC.
Additionally, Ven-Allen Lubin re-signed with the Wolfpack after a federal injunction provided players from the Class of 2022 an additional year of eligibility. Lubin played at UNC during the 2024-25 season, before joining the Pack a year ago. During the February matchup, Lubin scored 12 points (5-6 FG) with six rebounds and two assists.
“You can’t just walk into those games saying it’s just another game, right?” Gainey said. “I think some people would say that and make light of it, but it’s not. It’s not. Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s not.”
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This story was originally published August 19, 2026 at 11:35 AM.