The North Carolina Tar Heels are finally back on the basketball court as the Michael Malone era is officially here.

After three preseason exhibition games, the Tar Heels will open up their campaign by hosting Western Carolina on Monday night in the Dean Dome. The Tar Heels are hoping that this new era goes better than how the last era ended under Hubert Davis.

For Malone, his team's first test is a home game on Monday night. But it's not a "gimmie" either by any means. After the Tar Heels had to go to overtime against Charlotte in their exhibition finale, we really don't know what to expect.

But still, this is a game that the Tar Heels should win and get the season off to a good start.

Key to Victory

The hope is that this team can be one that doesn't turn the ball over a lot and can value having possession.

Something to Watch

Three-point shooting. We will get a look at Malone's offense on the floor and what he wants to run in his system early on. We know that the three-point shooting will be a focus and the Tar Heels will need to be good in that area to succeed. The other thing I'm looking at is how the rotations stack up. Who will come in as the sixth man and what will those rotations look like?

Let's see what they got in their first game.

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 (7 p.m.)

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.)