ATHENS — Georgia’s quest for big-time basketball now includes a home-and-home series with blue blood North Carolina in 2026 and 2028.

The series announcement comes one day after the Bulldogs (9-1) cracked the AP Top 25 rankings for the second consecutive season — this, after not being in the AP Top 25 since the 2011 season.

UGA will travel to play a Nov. 13, 2026, game in Chapel Hill next season with the Tar Hills making the return trip to Stegeman Coliseum at a yet-to-be-determined November or December date in 2028.

“We jumped at the opportunity quickly, and we look forward to it,” said fourth-year UGA coach Mike White, who last season led the Bulldogs program to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years.

“They actually approached us, just looking for a regional opponent, which kind of speaks to where we are as a program.”

North Carolina owns a 13-5 men’s basketball series lead over Georgia, but the programs haven’t met since the Tar Heels scored a 65-58 win over the Bulldogs in Chapel Hill on Nov. 18, 1998.

North Carolina won its most recent trip to Athens, too, prevailing 82-80 in overtime on Dec. 27, 1997.

The Bulldogs’ most recent win in the series with the Tar Heels ranks as, arguably, the program’s most significant win in history.

Georgia, then coached by Hugh Durham, beat a Michael Jordan-led North Carolina team 82-77, in the NCAA East Regional Final.

Former Bulldog James Banks scored a team-high 20 points, and Gerald Crosby and Vern Fleming each scored 17 points in a victory that propelled East Region No. 4-seed UGA into the Final Four.

North Carolina State, the eventual national champion coached by Jim Valvano, beat the Bulldogs in the next game at the Final Four in Albuquerque, 67-60.