Another box was checked for the beginning of the Michael Malone era at North Carolina. On Friday night, the Tar Heels’ new coach and NBA Champion walked out of the tunnel at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. for the first of three preseason games. Flanked by his assistant coaches in matching Carolina blue Q-Zips pullovers and navy pants, Malone was met with thunderous applause and a burst of excitement from the partisan Gate City crowd.
With the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season less than three weeks away, preseason games, scrimmages, exhibitions, or whatever you want to call them, are taking place around the country. Some are open to the public while others are deemed “secret.” North Carolina vs. USC on Friday was one of the bigger games of the weekend.
After getting off to a slow start, the Tar Heels surged in the second half and outscored the Trojans by 20 in the 88-70 win. The star of the show on the UNC side was Jarin Stevenson, who was the lone starter from last year’s team to stay with the program after the coaching change. He finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds…