The North Carolina Tar Heels return to action on Friday night, looking to go 2-0 on the young college basketball season. But in order to do that, they are going to need to play better than they did in their season-opening win over Western Carolina.

While UNC got a win, they had to hold off a Catamounts team that pushed them to the end. UNC played poorly on both sides of the court and, honestly, are a little lucky they were able to win the game. But a win is a win and North Carolina is moving forward and focusing on the second game in the Michael Malone era.

Next up? The Wofford Terriers.

The Tar Heels' schedule gets tougher moving forward, so racking up some wins here early on will be key. It could also help them earn some more confidence as well before that schedule picks up. While there were struggles in the first game, this is another opportunity. It's one in which they can use to figure some things out in terms of rotations and defensive sets. This will give Malone a chance to see some things with his roster on the court as well.

Key to Victory

Rebounding. The Tar Heels were outrebounded by the Catamounts 41-32 on Monday night and it almost cost them the game. It's unusual to see this program get outrebounded by an inferior opponent, even with it being the season-opener. North Carolina's roster doesn't have a dominant big man just yet and they are going to rely on Sayon Keita to be that guy.

With Cameron Fenns ineligible, the depth takes a hit. The Tar Heels cant afford to keep being bad at rebounding because it's going to cost them if they do.

Something to Watch

Point guard role. In the season opener, we saw Neo Avdalas be the primary ball-handler on offense. But it didn't work out so well. The lack of a true point guard really hurt them in the opener. Will Malone make an adjustment? And if so, then who?

This team may not have a true point guard option ready to go at the moment which could hurt them. But it's something we need to watch in terms of who can be a facilitator for this offense.

What you need to know

UNC men's basketball 2026-27 schedule

October 9: Exhibition vs. USC Trojans in Greensboro, N.C. (W, 88-70)

Oct. 18: Exhibition at Indiana Hoosiers in Indianapolis (L, 76-58)

Oct. 27: Exhibition vs. Charlotte (W, 89-82 in OT)

November 2: Season opener vs. Western Carolina (W, 80-72)

Nov. 6: vs. Wofford (7 p.m.)

Nov. 10: vs. Wyoming (7 p.m.)

Nov. 13: vs. Georgia (7 p.m.)

Nov. 20: vs. Marshall (9 p.m.)

Nov. 23: vs. Monmouth (8 p.m.)

Nov. 27: Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte, N.C. (7 p.m.)

December 1: ACC-SEC Challenge vs. Arkansas (7:30 p.m.)

Dec. 6: vs. Butler (3 p.m.)

Dec. 12: at Georgetown (Noon)

Dec. 15: Tobacco Road Classic vs. NC State in Greensboro (7 p.m.)

Dec. 19: CBS Sports Clasic vs. Kentucky in New York, N.Y. (2:30 p.m.)

Dec. 21: vs. The Citadel (8 p.m.)

Dec. 30: vs. Cal (4 p.m.)

January 2, 2027: at Boston College (4 p.m.)

Jan. 5: at Louisville (9 p.m.)

Jan. 9: vs. NC State (Noon)

Jan. 13: at Florida State (7 p.m.)

Jan. 16: vs. Stanford (2:15 p.m.)

Jan. 19: vs. Virginia (9 p.m.)

Jan. 23: at Syracuse (12 p.m.)

Jan. 26: vs. SMU (7 p.m.)

Jan. 30: Nashville (Tenn.) Hoops Showdown vs. Illinois in Bridgestone Arena (6 or 6:30 p.m.)

February 2: at Notre Dame

Feb. 6: vs. Georgia Tech (2:15 p.m.)

Feb. 8: vs. Louisville (7 p.m.)

Feb. 13: at Duke (5:30 p.m.)

Feb. 20: at Wake Forest (7 p.m.)

Feb. 22: vs. Miami (7 p.m.)

Feb. 27: at Virginia Tech (7 p.m.)

March 2: at Pitt (9 p.m.)

March 6: vs. Duke (6 or 6:30 p.m.)