UNC Basketball: ACC Tournament seeding on the line in final stretch

The final four games will be big for UNC Basketball as we approach the ACC Tournament

As we go into this weekend, the North Carolina Tar Heels currently sit in a double-bye for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

There are just three weekends left of play before the conference heads to New York for the annual tournament.

Thanks to a win by Florida State over Clemson on Wednesday, the Tar Heels sit just a half game behind both the Tigers and Duke Blue Devils.

That sets up an interesting situation this weekend.

The Tar Heels will travel to Louisville for a tough road matchup against the Cardinals on Saturday night’s ESPN game. A win guarantees the Tar Heels a winning record in conference play and increases their odds for a double-bye.

Clemson and Duke will square off on Sunday, with the winner grabbing a hold of the No. 2 seed for now and the loser dropping to No. 3 or No. 4. If UNC beats Louisville, the Tar Heels will be the No. 3 seed right now.

A win would also put Louisville a game and a half behind the Tar Heels in the standings. But a loss would certainly hurt the Tar Heels chances.

If UNC loses to Louisville, they fall behind the Cardinals and into the No. 5 seed.

Virginia is pretty much a lock for the No. 1 seed, holding a 3.5 game lead over Duke and Clemson with just four games remaining.

For UNC, avoiding Virginia until the ACC Championship Game means getting that No. 2 or No. 3 seed. The way the tournament is seeded is the No. 4 will play either No. 5 or No. 12/No. 13 if there’s an upset.

The quarterfinals would pair No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 if there are no upsets.

UNC’s journey to a No. 2 or No. 3 seed won’t be easy. They have the fourth-toughest remaining schedule left, playing three road games against Louisville, Syracuse and then Duke in the season finale.

Their lone home game left comes against Miami who is currently 7-6 and 1.5 games back of the Tar Heels.

In order to get that No. 2 or No. 3 seed, UNC would likely have to go 3-1 in this final four-game stretch of the season. Going 2-2 could get it done if those wins come against Louisville and Duke.

But going 1-3 or 0-4 would be a complete disaster heading into March Madness.

They would want to avoid the No. 5 seed as well, as that feeds into the top region of the ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now, riding a four-game win streak including beating Duke, NC State and Notre Dame in a matter of five days.

Next: UNC vs. Louisville preview

Staying hot will likely result in a double-bye and hopefully a deep run in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.