We found out last month who North Carolina would be playing twice and once in the newly-expanded 18-game conference schedule.

Monday, the school released the tentative dates for those games -- stressing that the exact days won't be set until the league releases its full schedule of conference and nonconference games later this summer.

UNC's TENTATIVE 2012-13 ACC SCHEDULE:

• Jan. 5/6 at Virginia
• Jan. 8/9/10 vs. Miami
• Jan. 12/13 at Florida State
• Jan. 19/20 vs. Maryland
• Jan. 22/23/24 vs. Georgia Tech
• Jan. 26/27 at NC State
• Jan. 29/30/31 at Boston College
• Feb. 2/3 vs. Virginia Tech
• Feb. 5/6/7 vs. Wake Forest
• Feb. 9/10 at Miami
• Feb. 12/13/14 at Duke
• Feb. 16/17 vs. Virginia
• Feb. 19/20/21 at Georgia Tech
• Feb. 23/24 vs. NC State
• Feb. 26/27/28 at Clemson
• March 2/3 vs. Florida State
• March 5/6/7 at Maryland
• March 9/10 vs. Duke
• March 14-17: ACC tournament at Greensboro, N.C.

To sum it up quickly: the slate isn't going to be easy, especially for a squad that lost four-fifths of its starting lineup to the NBA. Ten of these games will be against programs that had winning conference records last season. But the Tar Heels don't face Clemson at home, meaning their unblemished record against the Tigers in Chapel Hill will continue.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.