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The 2022-2023 NCAA men’s basketball season is kicking off this week and one of the marquee matchups is the North Carolina Central Eagles taking on the Virginia Cavaliers.
The game (9 p.m. ET start time) isn’t on regular TV, but it will stream live on both ACC Network Extra (this can be watched on the ESPN app or website if you have a cable package or streaming service that includes ACC Network) and ESPN+.
Here’s a full guide on how to watch NC Central vs Virginia:
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ESPN+
Every game or event that is labeled as being on ‘ACC Network Extra’ (which is different from the regular ACC Network TV channel) is also available live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ will include hundreds of live college basketball games during the 2022-23 season, dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch NC Central vs Virginia live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
FuboTV
You can watch ACC Network Extra with a subscription to FuboTV. You’ll need both the main channel package and the “Sports Plus” add-on, but both can be included with your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch NC Central vs Virginia live on the ESPN app (not the FuboTV app) or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” You ‘ll need “Choice” or above to watch ACC Network Extra, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch NC Central vs Virginia live on the ESPN app (not the DirecTV Stream app) or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
Sling TV
You can watch ACC Network Extra with a subscription to Sling TV. You’ll need the “Sling Orange + Sports Extra” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with ACC Network and ACC Network Extra, and you can get your first month half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch NC Central vs Virginia live on the ESPN app (not the Sling app) or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch ACC Network Extra with a subscription to Hulu With Live TV, which also includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch NC Central vs Virginia live on the Hulu app (because Hulu includes ESPN+) or Hulu website.
Compatible devices for the Hulu app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch the game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
NC Central vs Virginia Preview
To open their men’s 2022-2023 basketball season, the Virginia Cavaliers are hosting the North Carolina Central Eagles. The Cavaliers are favored by 25.5 points coming off a 21-14 season last year. The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a season that was barely above .500, with a 16-15 record — though they did win 10 of their last 16 games, so they ended on a high note.
However, North Carolina Central head coach LaVelle Moton, who is in his 14th season with the school, is ready to have his first full season in a while because NC Central was hit particularly hard the past two years by COVID complications.
“I don’t think there was another program in the nation more affected by COVID-19 than North Carolina Central,” Moton told CBS17.com, adding, “We didn’t even have four or five people at practice. Coaches would have to practice in a half-court situation and then all of sudden it’s like ‘can you all play tomorrow?’ It was almost like glorified pick-up with jerseys on.”
He also said that missing so many days due to COVID opened his team up to other injuries, which made it really tough even when they weren’t sick.
“Basketball is a game you have to do every day once you’re actively involved in it, and us taking those prolonged breaks and then trying to go back and go full speed, it opens you up to soft tissue injuries. Your body is looking like ‘hey what are we doing right now?’ We weren’t healthy down the stretch,” said Moton, adding, “Pandemic LeVelle is gone. [He] kind of softened us all up so I’m excited about it. I’m just ready to coach a great group of guys. … We expect greatness, we are committed to excellence and our standard is our standard. That is where we are in our life with our program and we are not going to lower that bar to make you feel comfortable.”
Meanwhile, in a preseason press conference (via Yahoo Sports), Virginia’s head coach Tony Bennett said that there are definitely things they want to improve on from last year.
“Last year our depth wasn’t great and we probably didn’t shoot the ball at the level we needed to, so we tried to improve in those areas. But experience is golden, I think, in college basketball, and we have that,” said Bennett.
Forward Jayden Gardner added, “We have a gauntlet of a schedule [in November]. We’re going to be battle-tested for conference play.”
The NC Central vs Virginia game is Monday, November 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern on the ACC Network.