The North Carolina Tar Heels avoided a disaster in their first game under the watch of new head coach Michael Malone. North Carolina basketball thwarted the visiting Western Carolina Catamounts at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill on Monday night to the tune of an 80-72 score, giving Malone his first win at the helm of the program.
Malone's Tar Heels earned the win, but the Catamounts threatened on multiple occasions.
Although Western Carolina never held a lead in the entire contest, it was able to keep in step with the home team, even cutting the lead down to a point in the second half. The Catamounts also outscored North Carolina basketball in the final 20 minutes of the contest, 42-41.
The Tar Heels entered the season unranked, but they were ranked 48th on KenPom, while the Catamounts are 172nd overall. North Carolina was expected by many to blow out Western Carolina, but Malone and company can still let out a big sigh of relief that they passed their first test of the season.
Sophomore guard Matt Able led the Tar Heels with 18 points, while senior Terrence Brown provided 14 points. Another sophomore backcourt piece, Neo Avdalas, had a notable performance with 13 points to his name.
North Carolina did not have an easy night overall, shooting only 42 percent from the field and going 9-for-30 from deep.
Malone was hired by North Carolina basketball after the program fired Hubert Davis following the 2025-26 season. The 55-year-old Malone coached the Denver Nuggets and led the franchise to an NBA title before deciding to take his coaching talents back to the college ranks.