The Michael Malone era officially begins at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC, on Monday, Nov. 2, as the North Carolina Tar Heels host the Western Carolina Catamounts.

UNC is done focusing on the past as an NBA Champion is leading the charge.

With the Hubert Davis era in the rearview mirror, UNC has a chance to shock the world by entering the year as an unranked team and winning it all.

That's going to be much easier said than done, but Malone will have quite a few tune-up games before UNC is thrown into the fire.

The first of which is against the Catamounts, a team that fell to Duke in their second game of the year last season, 95-54.

Western Carolina finished the regular season with a 15-16 overall record. They fell to East Tennessee State in the semifinal of the SoCon Tournament.

To no surprise, UNC is massive favorites in this one, but it's not about how many points they can beat the Catamounts by; it's about figuring out this starting lineup and who can play a huge role off the bench.

The ACC Network plays host to UNC's 2026-27 season opener.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM ET.

According to ESPN Analytics, the Catamounts are given just a 4.2% chance to win this game.

Crazier things have happened in college sports, but that number should come as no surprise, nor should the 22.5-point spread in UNC's favor, courtesy of DraftKings.

The Tar Heels are -8000, meaning a bet of $8000 would be needed to return $100, should UNC prevail.

Inside Carolina's Jack Morris took a stab at predicting the starting lineups for each team in this one:

1 Terrence Brown (Sr.)

3 Matt Able (So.)

5 Jarin Stevenson (Sr.)

17 Neo Avdalas (So.)

21 Sayon Keita (Fr.)

4. Travelle Bryson (Jr.)

7. Isaiah Manning (Sr.)

8. Donovan Raymond (Sr.)

12. Samuel Dada (So.)

22. Malachi Brown (Sr.)

Each team had a few preseason exhibition games, but those only mean so much in the long run. Now, it's go-time, and Malone must be prepared for what this season is going to throw his way.

On paper, it doesn't seem like the Tar Heels will be truly tested until Dec. 1 against No. 12 Arkansas, but their first six home games will show just how seriously this UNC team should be taken.