UNC Basketball Fumbles ACC Cushion With Blue Devils Lurking

UNC basketball has not responded well to its rivalry victory, as the Tar Heels are suddenly struggling to make winning plays.

Photo credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn't all smooth sailing for UNC basketball across its 10-game winning streak from late December to late January in rising to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. But during that stretch, time and again, third-year head coach Hubert Davis' bunch countered opponents' punches with knockout blows.

Not so much of late.

Now, following Tuesday night's 86-79 defeat on the road to a Syracuse squad that fell by 36 points in Chapel Hill one month prior, the No. 7 Tar Heels (19-6, 11-3 ACC) have lost three of their past five outings. And they are only four points away from being on a three-game losing streak since their home win over archrival Duke on Feb. 3.

On that note, the Tar Heels have opened the door for the No. 9 Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3), suddenly boasting a better overall record than UNC while enjoying a three-game winning streak since their clash in the Dean E. Smith Center two weeks ago, to join them and Virginia as the teams controlling their own destiny in the ACC standings.

The No. 21 Cavaliers (19-6, 10-4) suffered a 74-63 home loss to Pitt on Tuesday night but could still win out and own the tiebreaker against either Duke or UNC since they are set to face each for the first and only time this regular season in the coming weeks. They host UNC on Feb. 24 and travel to Duke the following Saturday.

UNC and Duke square off in Durham on March 9. That regular-season finale may well decide the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament.

Of course, they both have some important business to take care of beforehand.

NEXT UNC BASKETBALL GAME: at home versus unranked Virginia Tech (14-10, 6-7 ACC), 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ACCN)

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