By R.L. Bynum
The ACC regular-season title could still come down to No. 9 UNC’s visit to No. 10 Duke on March 9, but some scenarios would allow the Tar Heels to clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament without winning that game.
But that got more challenging after Wake Forest (18–10, 10–7) lost 70–65 at Notre Dame (11–17, 6–11) on Tuesday.
Carolina (22–6, 14–3 ACC) has already clinched no worse than the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament at Washington’s Capital One Arena, playing its first game on Thursday, March 14, in the quarterfinals at either noon (if it is the No. 1 seed) or 7 p.m. (if it is the No. 2 seed).
If the Tar Heels beat N.C. State (17–11, 9–8) at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) and Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ACCN), both home games, that will force Duke (22–6, 13–4) to sweep two games in three days.
The Blue Devils host Virginia (21–8, 12–6) at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN), then visit N.C. State at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN).
With wins over the Wolfpack and Irish, UNC clinches before the season finale if the Blue Devils lose either of those games because that would give the Heels a two-game lead.
If Duke sweeps those two games, Carolina could still lose in Durham and win the No. 1 seed, depending on who finishes third.
If UNC and Duke finish tied, it will come down to how they did against the team (or teams) below them:
— If Virginia and Clemson (20–8, 10–7) finish tied for third, Duke would get the No. 1 seed since it would have gone 2–0 against those two teams, while UNC went 2–1.
— If Clemson finishes alone in third, Duke would get the No. 1 seed since the Blue Devils won their only meeting with the Tigers and UNC split two games.
— If Wake Forest ends up third, UNC wins that tiebreaker because the Tar Heels won their only meeting with the Deacons and the Blue Devils split with Wake Forest.
— If Virginia finishes third, it would depend on who finishes fourth since UNC beat the Cavaliers, and Duke would have also beaten Virginia.
That last scenario is complicated. If that happens, as outlined in the tiebreakers above, Duke wins if Clemson is fourth, and Carolina wins if Wake Forest is fourth. Carolina also wins if Pittsburgh (winning its only meeting while Duke lost in its only meeting) is fourth.
The simple solution for Carolina, of course, is to simply go to Durham and finish a season sweep of the Blue Devils.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 13–1 | 24–2 | 2 |
| No. 14 Virginia | 11–2 | 23–3 | 16 |
| Miami | 10–3 | 21–5 | 37 |
| Clemson | 10–4 | 20–7 | 33 |
| N.C. State | 10–4 | 19–8 | 26 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 8–5 | 20–6 | 28 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 8–5 | 19–7 | 14 |
| SMU | 7–6 | 18–8 | 31 |
| California | 6–7 | 18–8 | 62 |
| Florida State | 6–7 | 13–13 | 85 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–8 | 17–10 | 56 |
| Syracuse | 6–8 | 15–12 | 72 |
| Stanford | 5–8 | 16–10 | 71 |
| Wake Forest | 5–8 | 14–12 | 58 |
| Notre Dame | 3–10 | 12–14 | 87 |
| Boston College | 2–11 | 9–17 | 156 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–11 | 9–17 | 124 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–12 | 11–16 | 171 |
* — Through Thursday games
Monday’s result
No. 3 Duke 101, Syracuse 64
Tuesday’s results
N.C. State 82, No. 16 North Carolina 58
Florida State 80, Boston College 72
SMU 95, No. 21 Louisville 85
Miami 67, Virginia Tech 66
Wednesday’s results
Wake Forest 86, Clemson 77
No. 14 Virginia 94, Georgia Tech 68
Saturday’s games
Florida State at Clemson, noon, The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 16 North Carolina at Syracuse, 1 p.m., ABC
Miami at No. 14 Virginia, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at No. 21 Louisville, 2:15, The CW
Boston College at SMU, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 2 Michigan at No. 3 Duke, 6:30, ESPN
Monday’s game
No. 21 Louisville at No. 11 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday’s games
No. 3 Duke at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN
N.C. State at No. 14 Virginia, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Boston College, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Miami at Florida State, 9 p.m., ACC Network
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 23 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 8 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 15 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 14 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 3 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 21 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
