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UNC Basketball: PK85 Matchups Revealed

By Mark DeMott

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MARCH 19: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts in the first half of the game against the Baylor Bears during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 19, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MARCH 19: R.J. Davis #4 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts in the first half of the game against the Baylor Bears during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Dickies Arena on March 19, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The tournament features eight teams (along with the UNC basketball program) and will be held in Portland, Oregon as a celebration of Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s 85th birthday.

The bracket for the upcoming PK85 Tournament has been announced and it should make for an exciting feast week for UNC basketball fans.

Following four consecutive home games against mid-major programs to open the year, the first big test of the season for Carolina will take place in Portland.  The field has been known for months, and it is loaded with teams that have high expectations for the coming season.

Featuring North Carolina, Michigan State, Oregon, Villanova, UConn, Alabama, Iowa State, and Portland, the final piece of the puzzle was announced this morning as we now have the matchups for the event.

The Tar Heels will open the tournament on Thanksgiving against the Portland Pilots, just as they did in 2017 when they reached the championship game of this event prior to falling to Michigan State in the final.  The Pilots finished last season 19-15 and ended the year in 6th place in the West Coast Conference, behind NCAA tournament teams such as Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and San Francisco.

Should the Tar Heels get past Portland in the first round, a bigger test will await them on Black Friday in the semifinals.  Both Villanova and Iowa State had strong seasons last year, with the Wildcats reaching the Final Four and the Cyclones making it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Similar to Carolina, both teams have relatively new coaching staffs, as Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger will be in just his second season, and the Wildcats will be led by new head coach Kyle Neptune, following the recent retirement of coaching legend Jay Wright.  Wright announced his decision in April and, like Roy Williams, decided that he didn’t need a year-long farewell tour on his way out.

The final game of the event for North Carolina will be against either Oregon, UConn, Michigan State, or Alabama.  All four of these teams have high hopes for the season and are expected to reach the Big Dance next March.

There is a good shot the Tar Heels will enter this event undefeated and potentially as the number one team in the country.  While they will likely be the favorite, there are plenty of teams that could pose challenges to the UNC basketball program in this field, which will test and prepare the Tar Heels for the rest of the season.

After a rough showing in their early-season tournament last year, Carolina will be highly motivated to make a statement this time around at the PK85.  Even though these events don’t make or break a team’s fortunes, they often foreshadow what is to come in March.

All three of Roy Williams’ national championship teams at North Carolina also won their early season tournaments at the Maui Invitational.  Hubert Davis and his bunch will be looking to continue that tradition in Portland this November.

dark. Next. TJ Power Visits UNC

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