ESPN unveils 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge, Duke, UNC and NC State get home games

ESPN’s 2026 ACC/SEC Challenge gives Wake County sports fans a December stretch worth circling, with NC State set to host South Carolina in Raleigh and Duke and North Carolina also drawing headline home games against SEC opponents.

The men’s challenge will be played Tuesday, Dec. 1, and Wednesday, Dec. 2. The women’s challenge follows Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Thursday, Dec. 3. All games will air across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network and will stream on the ESPN App with an applicable subscription, though exact tip times and network assignments have not been announced.

For Triangle fans, the local stakes are obvious. NC State’s matchup with South Carolina gives the Wolfpack a chance to open December against a brand-name SEC program in front of a Raleigh crowd. Duke will host Florida, while North Carolina will host Arkansas, giving the region three home games that will be measured not just by the final score, but by how each ACC program looks against SEC competition before league play tightens in January.

The women’s bracket adds two more games with plenty of attention in the Triangle. South Carolina will visit Duke, and LSU will travel to North Carolina, creating another round of high-profile December games that should draw national attention and put local programs against some of the sport’s deepest rosters.

Wake Forest also has a notable test. LSU said it will host the Demon Deacons on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU leads the all-time series 4-2 and has beaten Wake Forest three straight times this decade, including 75-61 in the 2021 Emerald Coast Classic, 72-70 in 2022 at Holiday Hoopsgiving and 86-80 in overtime at the 2023 Charleston Classic. LSU is 2-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, while Wake Forest is 1-2.

The challenge started in 2023 and both the men’s and women’s competitions ended in 7-7 ties that year. The SEC swept both competitions in 2024, raising the stakes for another round of league bragging rights. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips called the event “appointment viewing” and thanked Disney/ESPN and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for the partnership.

The ACC said its men’s basketball programs have won 17 NCAA championships and 496 NCAA Tournament games all-time, and eight ACC teams earned NCAA Tournament bids last season. For Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham, the matchups offer an early-season measuring stick that will shape how fans judge each program long before conference play begins.