January is the month where college basketball teams dive headfirst into their conference schedules, but Illinois and North Carolina will take a break from Big Ten and ACC action at the end of the month.

The Fighting Illini and Tar Heels are set to square off on January 30th in Nashville, in the 2027 Nashville Hoops Showdown. The matchup will be held at Bridgestone Arena.

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It will be the ninth time these two programs get together, with the all-time series tied at four wins apiece. The last time Illinois and North Carolina played one another was back in 2010, which resulted in a 79-67 victory for the Illini.

The two programs also memorably faced each other in the 2005 national championship, which the Tar Heels won.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Illinois set to take on UNC hoops in Nashville next January