Behind Duke, ACC standings becoming chaotic

Nearly halfway through league play, No. 5 Duke is the premier squad in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But which school is No. 2 in the conference remains up in the air.

Things will begin to sort themselves out in the coming weeks, as the Blue Devils and other top-tier teams in the ACC go toe to toe ahead of the league's postseason tournament in March.

Heading into action this weekend, No. 14 Virginia seemed to be vying for the conference's No. 2 spot with No. 18 Clemson. However, on Saturday at home, the Cavaliers coughed up a big lead and ultimately fell to No. 22 North Carolina, 85-80.

The Tar Heels recently dropped two straight, so knocking off UVA on the road will help catapult North Carolina back into the ACC title conversation, although it has work to do.

At this juncture in the 2025-26 season, Duke is undefeated in league contests, while Clemson has one blemish. There are six, maybe seven, other conference members that can make a run at the ACC's No. 2 position. Then again, if the Blue Devils lose a game or two, the league race will become even cloudier.

Many contenders for ACC's second spot

On Monday night, the Blue Devils will host No. 23 Louisville. Earlier in January, Duke knocked off the Cardinals by 11 points on the road. Louisville is playing better of late, and the Cardinals will need to be stellar to upset the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C.

Here is how the battle for the ACC crown currently stacks up. Duke leads Clemson by half a game. Virginia, Miami and N.C. State are two games back. Three contests back are Louisville, North Carolina and SMU.

Virginia Tech trails Duke by 3.5 games. Teams beyond that likely don't have a realistic shot to contend for the ACC's top tier, unless they go on a massive winning streak.

The ACC is stronger and deeper in 2025-26 than it has been in recent campaigns. Virtually every game is tough, especially on the road. Should the Cardinals go 2-0 this week, that would be huge. They play at Duke on Monday and then will host SMU on Saturday.

North Carolina, with that triumph in Charlottesville, may have positioned itself as the second-best ACC squad. After a blip out west in consecutive losses to Stanford and California, the Tar Heels have momentum.

Plus, besides Duke, UNC is the only ACC team to have a record above .500 against top-25 foes this season. That's a telling metric as conference play continues onward.