UNC and Duke Sit Atop The ACC. Who Has A Tougher Road?

Will it be UNC, Duke, or the field that wins the ACC? 

North Carolina and Duke are alone at the top of the ACC. The bitter rivals are each having good years, with both looking like they will be three-seeds or better come NCAA tournament time. The Tar Heels beat Duke in their early February matchup, giving them the current tiebreaker.

Tougher Road?

Taking NET rankings into account, who has it worse in the race to win the conference?

North Carolina: at Virginia, vs. Miami, vs. NC State, vs. Notre Dame, and at Duke.

Net Rankings of Opponents

Virginia- 48

Miami- 77

NC State- 80

Notre Dame- 153

Duke- 16

Average NET Ranking of Opponents: 74.8

Duke: at Miami, at Wake Forest, vs. Louisville, vs. Virginia, at NC State, vs. North Carolina.

Net Rankings of Opponents

Miami- 77

Wake Forest- 26

Louisville- 195

Virginia- 48

NC State- 80

North Carolina- 10

Average NET Ranking of Opponents: 72.6

Duke plays one more game than UNC from here on out (tonight against Miami). Their remaining schedule, in regards to NET ranking, is slightly tougher. After Wednesday, both teams will have five games left, with three at home and two on the road.

The Field

Virginia is still just two games behind and has both UNC and Duke on their schedule. Winning the ACC is still very much in play for the Cavaliers. Behind them and three games back are Pittsburgh, NC State, and Wake Forest. Although these teams are still in the race, their margin for error is slim.

The meeting between UNC and Duke on March 9th and both teams game against Virginia loom large.