The 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge matchups have been finalized.
All 16 games in this year’s event were officially announced on Friday morning. For many teams, this represents the final piece of their nonconference schedule ahead of the upcoming season.
This will be the fourth edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The SEC has won the even in each of the past two campaigns, including a 14-2 performance back in 2024. The 2025 challenge ended up with a 9-7 advantage in the SEC’s favor.
ACC/SEC Challenge matchups
Here’s the full schedule for the event:
Tuesday, December 1
- Auburn at Clemson
- Duke at Florida
- Texas at Louisville
- Florida State at Tennessee
- Wake Forest at LSU
- Pitt at Missouri
- South Carolina at NC State
- Arkansas at North Carolina
- Syracuse at Oklahoma
- Ole Miss at Virginia Tech
- Boston College at Georgia
Wednesday, December 2
- Georgia Tech at Mississippi State
- Vanderbilt at Notre Dame
- Alabama at Miami
- Stanford at Texas A&M
- Kentucky at Virginia
Broadcast details and tip-off times will be announced at a later date.
Let’s ranks the 5 best matchups:
1. Duke at Florida
This is the clear headliner of this year’s event. Duke is arguably the biggest national TV draw of any college basketball program while Florida will almost certainly enter the year ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls. UF has earned a No. 1 seed in each of the past 2 seasons and is set to return its entire frontcourt in 2026-27.
Duke loses Cameron Boozer, but key returners like Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr. Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell is also expected to make a big impact for the Blue Devils next season. Duke is likely to enter the year ranked somewhere in the top 10.
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2. Texas at Louisville
Both of these teams have the potential to make deep NCAA Tournament runs this season. The Longhorns in Year 2 under Sean Miller are expected to be among the best teams in the country after adding David Punch and a strong high school recruiting class. Texas also returns center Matas Voiketaitis.
Louisville is in a similar position under Pat Kelsey. The Cardinals won some high-profile transfer recruiting battles for players like Jackson Shelstad, Alvaro Folguieras and Flory Bidunga.
3. Alabama at Miami
While Alabama and Miami are not traditional basketball brands, this should be an awesome game that could be repeated in the Sweet 16 at the end of the season. The Crimson Tide will have an excellent backcourt featuring Aden Holloway and Amari Allen plus a number of front court transfers.
Miami took huge strides in Year 1 under Jai Lucas, landing in the top-35 of both offensive and defensive efficiency. The Canes added Acaden Lewis from Villanova and Somto Cyril from Georgia to help fill out this roster.
4. Arkansas at North Carolina
Welcome to the big time, Michael Malone. UNC’s new head coach will not have much time to get acclimated to college basketball before the Tar Heels host a very talented Arkansas team. Carolina added transfers such as Neoklis Avdalas and Matt Able this offseason.
Arkansas lost its starting back court with Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas entering the draft. Trevon Brazille is out of eligibility, too. However, Billy Richmond is returning to campus and John Calipari once again signed a remarkable recruiting class that features a trio of 5-star prospects.
5. Kentucky at Virginia
Kentucky has had a tumultuous offseason but the Wildcats seem to be in much better shape after landing Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic. In any case, UK expects to be improved in Year 3 under Mark Pope after a 20-16 start to SEC play during his tenure.
Virginia was a bit of a surprise this past season, rebounding from the brief Ron Sanchez era to earn a No. 3 seed in Ryan Odom’s first year at the helm. Virginia could have a top 10 team again this season with Thijs de Ridder and Chance Mallory leading the way.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
