It was announced on Thursday morning: UNC basketball will take on Texas in the third round of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational. This will be the first of two games UNC will participate in out in Vegas — Nov. 22-23, 2018, at the Orleans Arena.
The game will be broadcast on FS1. Depending on the result, UNC will play either Michigan State or UCLA.
Prior to heading west to Vegas, North Carolina will play host to Tennessee Tech and Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 16 and 19 in the Smith Center.
UNC basketball has had issues with the Longhorns since Roy Williams returned to Chapel Hill, though. The Tar Heels are just 1-6 against Texas with Williams as head coach.
Tar Heels are 1-6 under Roy Williams against Texas https://t.co/eEhZ3RTcRV
— Dadgum Box Scores (@dadgumboxscores) July 19, 2018
The lone win occurred back in Dec. 2011 — when Harrison Barnes hung 26 points and Kendall Marshall dished out nine assists in an 82-63 victory.
In 2017-18, Texas went 19-15; the Longhorns made it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons under Shaka Smart — losing in the first round to Nevada and the Martin Twins. Texas ranked 12th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, but will have to replace 7-foot shot-swatter Mo Bamba (13.2 percent block rate). Bamba was selected No. 6 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.