WVU, North Carolina to meet in basketball for first time since 1965
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s taken 61 years, but it appears North Carolina has finally gotten over Ron “Fritz” Williams and is set to play West Virginia once again.
The two schools announced Thursday they would meet this season, on Nov. 27, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The game is part of the Dick Vitale Invitational.
ESPN will televise the game on one of its networks.
The last time the two schools met was in 1965, with Williams going for 25 points on 9 of 11 shooting and adding six assists in the Mountaineers’ 102-97 victory inside the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.
UNC Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith was in just his fifth season with the Tar Heels at the time.
WVU confirmed this meeting is a one-game setup between the two schools. No future games are scheduled with the Tar Heels at this time.
WVU is 5-0 all-time against North Carolina, including a 75-64 victory in 1957, when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the country. Jerry West had 14 points and nine rebounds in that game, which was his sophomore season.
That win was WVU’s first victory over an Associated Press No. 1-ranked team in school history, and it led the Mountaineers to a championship in the Kentucky Invitational Tournament.
The remainder of WVU’s nonconference schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. As it stands, WVU, under coach Ross Hodge, is now set to face up to seven Power Five Conference schools during the non-conference season, including a possible five games against schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference, depending on how the bracket for the Players Era 8 shapes up.