With less than 10 days remaining in Duke’s regular season, only one game separates the Blue Devils and Tar Heels atop the ACC standings.
Duke has three games left to play, including a regular-season finale against North Carolina next weekend. With the end of the year imminent and ACC Tournament seeding on the line, here’s a look at what ESPN’s Basketball Power Index thinks of the conference race.
BPI not only considers Duke the best team in the ACC right now, but it also thinks the Blue Devils have a comfortable lead. Duke is ninth in the site’s national rankings while UNC is all the way down in 13th.
Despite the difference, however, the Tar Heels hold a narrow lead in projected conference record. BPI projects the Tar Heels to win 16.2 games against conference opponents while it only forecasts Duke with 15.4.
UNC has the third-weakest remaining strength of schedule among top-15 teams with two home games against NC State and Notre Dame, who have a combined record of 28-28, before the showdown in Cameron.
Duke also faces the Wolfpack but must do so on the road, and they face a potential tournament team in Virginia on Saturday.
All that to say, the Blue Devils likely need to win out in order to claim the regular-season title.