Busting Brackets
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UNC Basketball: A look at UNC’s tough end of the year schedule

By Michael Foy

Feb 9, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Theo Pinson (1) shoots against Duke Blue Devils forward Amile Jefferson (21) in the first half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Theo Pinson (1) shoots against Duke Blue Devils forward Amile Jefferson (21) in the first half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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UNC basketball might be the best team in the ACC but they have a difficult end of the season schedule.

North Carolina is going to embark on arguably the toughest stretch of games that any team will encounter this season. It could be argued that this stretch started when the Tar Heels had to play No. 25 Notre Dame and then travel to play No. 12 Duke in Cameron. If we include these then UNC will play six of their last eight games of the year against teams currently ranked in the top-25.

Related Story: UNC cruises through season's first two weeks

If we only include the games UNC has to play left it looks as follows: at NC State, followed by No. 14 Virginia and No. 8 Louisville at home, then at Pittsburgh, at No. 14 Virginia and finally, a home game against No. 12 Duke in the Dean Dome.

To put that into some more perspective, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection Committee recently released a midseason Top-16 bracket to allow fans some inside knowledge into where their teams rank as of now. Carolina was slotted as the No. 2 seed in the South Region. According to these projections, the Tar Heels will face No. 2 seed Louisville, No. 3 seed Virginia (twice), and No. 4 seed Duke in a span of 14 days.

The Heels still aren’t at full strength either. Just as Theo Pinson returned to action against Duke, Isaiah Hicks missed the match-up with a hamstring injury. As of now, the Heels are ranked No. 10 nationally with a 21-5 record. It’s going to be tough to maintain that No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament with such a brutal stretch coming up.

There are two outcomes here. If the Heels manage to escape this difficult stretch of games, they will build their resume immensely and possibly solidify themselves as a potential number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Next: The projected bracket and the month that remains

The other possibility is that UNC drops a few and limps into ACC Tournament play, hurting their overall chances of getting a one or two seed in the NCAA Tournament. We will learn a lot about UNC in the next few weeks. If anything, the Heels will be battle tested come March.

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