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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels set to play in PK85 for 2022 season

By Zack Pearson

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 26: Nike co-founder Phil Knight accepts an award during the the first half of the game between the Florida Gators and the Duke Blue Devils during the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational presented by State Farm at the Moda Center on November 26, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 26: Nike co-founder Phil Knight accepts an award during the the first half of the game between the Florida Gators and the Duke Blue Devils during the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational presented by State Farm at the Moda Center on November 26, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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As we eagerly await the new era of UNC Basketball under Hubert Davis this season which is still a few months away. The Tar Heels are involved in some future scheduling plans for next season.

On Wednesday, Jon Rothstein reported that the 16-team field is set for the Phil Knight 85 Tournament (PK85) with an officially announcement likely coming in the future. Per Rothstein, the following teams will participate in the PK85 in November of 2022:

  • Duke
  • North Carolina
  • Villanova
  • UConn
  • Xavier
  • West Virginia
  • Iowa State
  • Purdue
  • Michigan State
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Gonzaga
  • Oregon
  • Oregon State
  • Portland
  • Portland State

The 16-team field will be split into two separate tournaments with 8 teams each, meaning we likely won’t see North Carolina and Duke face off in the tournament. This will be the second time this event will take place, as it made its debut in 2017.  The Tar Heels reached the finals in one bracket of the event but fell to Michigan State 63-45 in that title game. There was also a four-team event in 2019 marking the second time the tournament has taken place to date.

The event will celebrate the 85th birthday of Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus Phil Knight and will take place in Portland at both the Moda Center and Memorial Coliseum.

Official matchups, times and dates will be announced at a later date but it is nice to see some potential non-conference opponents for a future UNC schedule.

Next. UNC is no longer involved with this 5-star target. dark

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