The UNC Basketball program got a bounce-back win at home last night versus Notre Dame. It was a much-needed win to get the train back on the tracks after a rough stretch in which the Tar Heels went 2-3 with back-to-back losses on the West Coast versus Stanford and California.
It's a rough month of January for the Tar Heels as they only get to play in the friendly confines of the Dean E. Smith Center just twice, not returning home until Monday, February 2nd.
Lessons learned from UNC's get-right win over Notre Dame
Back-to-back road trips are waiting in the distance. Next up? A trip north to No. 14-ranked Virginia. As is typical for this time of year, anytime you start heading in that direction in January, you have to battle with inclement weather.
Well, the first big storm of the college basketball season is witnessing several athletic events be rescheduled, postponed, and some might even see cancellations.
The trip to Charlottesville is one of the few times the Tar Heels actually take a true bus trip. And as the potential for winter weather, including sleet and ice, creeps into the forecast Saturday afternoon and freezes overnight as temperatures drop, the safety of the players and coaches become of the utmost importance when traveling.
UNC basketball vs. Virginia on Saturday will now start at 12pm ET
As a result, the Tar Heels' game against the Cavaliers on Saturday has seen a game time and network change. With the original time being slated at 2:00 PM, we'll see an earlier start time.
🚨 TIME & TV UPDATE vs. Virginia 🚨
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 22, 2026
🕛 NOON ET
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/nc7B32fbrX
Instead of that 2:00 PM start time, the Tar Heels will now tip off at 12:00 PM on a new channel as well. Instead of ESPN, Carolina basketball fans can find the game on ESPN2.
If you want a positive to the game time change, we're here to provide you one.
Pro to a noon tip:
— Jordan Falls (@JordanFalls) January 22, 2026
There isn’t a time slot before you on @espn so the game doesn’t have to start on streaming. https://t.co/dx455DZro0
Every basketball fan knows just how ridiculous it is to have a two-hour TV slot for a college basketball game that rarely finishes within that slot. UNC Basketball fans got a firsthand look at that last Saturday versus California when a majority of fans missed the first 12 minutes of the game.
But... ESPN continues to think these slots are a good idea. Good news for us? The 12:00 slot is the first one of the day and you will get to see the Tar Heels versus Cavaliers in its entirety.