ACC Basketball: Best realignment scenarios for teams if league breaks up

ACC Basketball: Best realignment scenarios for each team if conference breaks up

By Joey Loose | May 18, 2023

Mar 9, 2023; Greensboro, NC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Kadin Shedrick (21) and guard Ryan Dunn (13) and North Carolina Tar Heels guard D'Marco Dunn (11) and forward Puff Johnson (14) fight for the ball in the first half of the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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ACC Basketball North Carolina Tar Heels forward Leaky Black Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

North Carolina

We already threw Duke into the Big Ten and mentioned that keeping the Tobacco Road rivals together is the long-term goal. You won’t be surprised to hear that we have the Big Ten as the landing spot for North Carolina, but let’s at least consider the other options as well.

North Carolina doesn’t fit into the Big East because of their football program; you aren’t telling Mack Brown that his team no longer has a conference or a home. An argument could be made that North Carolina could work in the SEC, having been longtime conference mates with South Carolina back in the ACC, but the fit just wouldn’t be right. The Tar Heels aren’t some football superpower; basketball will always be the calling card in Chapel Hill.

Adding the pocket of Duke and North Carolina to the Big Ten makes a lot more sense than their already confirmed additions of UCLA and USC. Altogether, this makes the Big Ten an even more elite basketball conference and could even spell the end of the conference’s title drought. North Carolina has won three national championships in basketball since the last time a team from the Big Ten cut down the nets.