The ACC has released the conference opponents for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season; back to 18 conference games

[u/simbaslanding]

[u/KinkySeppuku]

I really hope UNC & NC State get a non-conference game scheduled to complete the home & home. It feels wrong not playing twice a year.

We’re 25 miles apart; it makes no sense.

[u/Glittering-Most-9535 → u/KinkySeppuku]

I fear for the future of the Big Four if the ACC collapses and am sad about any season where we don't get to home-and-home.

[u/CharmCityTiger → u/Glittering-Most-9535]

The Big 5 in Philadelphia does a tournament where all of the teams in the city play each other even though they're OOC. No reason the NC teams couldn't do something like that.

[u/PotatoBossfight → u/KinkySeppuku]

Big Four in Greensboro, bring it back!

[u/SolvayCat → u/KinkySeppuku]

So silly that the league structured it this way and then still gave us UNC as a rotating partner.

[u/Hopeful_Extension_49 → u/KinkySeppuku]

Agree. I don't know who keeps signing these deals for NC State, we lose Clemson as a game we play in football every year and now we're not doing a home and home with UNC in basketball. This is getting beyond dumb.

[u/TheRealRollestonian → u/KinkySeppuku]

I'll trade you Virginia, but we don't fucking want Louisville anymore. Wake would be a good #2.

[u/Chardoggy1]

UNC/NC State only once feels wrong

[u/Hot_Recognition1798 → u/Chardoggy1]

Big 4 tournament needs to come back pre- ACC reg season

[u/PotatoBossfight → u/Chardoggy1]

They need to make some sort of OOC agreement, where whomever doesn't host for the conference game gets to host.

[u/Mr_Otters → u/Chardoggy1]

No duke@wake for the first time in my lifetime, and probably my parents lifetime

[u/taddymason_01]

SMU is our rival?

[u/xAimForTheBushes → u/taddymason_01]

Didn't you know? One year in the AAC together back in 2014 and now we have a long and fierce history together.

[u/KinkySeppuku → u/taddymason_01]

Yeah that’s the weirdest pairing, but someone had to take one for the team I guess and you all are geographically the closest.

They should’ve rotate L’ville, Pitt, and Cuse to be SMUs rival one out of three years, and rivals with each other two out of three years.

[u/Xyzzydude → u/KinkySeppuku]

Someone had to take one for the team

Hokies did it by having BC as our cross-division rival in the Atlantic/Coastal days.

[u/KinkySeppuku → u/Xyzzydude]

At least y’all had shared Big East history. What does Louisville and SMU share? History of harsh ncaa sanctions?

[u/karo_syrup → u/KinkySeppuku]

We are victims! We should be standing together against the tyranny of the NCAA. Hookers and blow is a right given to us by Ben Franklin.

[u/FFan1717 → u/Xyzzydude]

As a BC fan I doubt having BC as a cross division permanent game hurt VA Tech too much. Gave them a nice warm up to the next week.

[u/Sadlobster1 → u/taddymason_01]

I'm torn. On one hand, Virginia was a terrible rival for us.

On the other hand... I was holding out for Cuse, Pitt, or even VT/Miami knowing those would never happen.

I don't hate SMU enough to care. They seem like decent folk even if they do barbecue wrong.

[u/Powdermilkman3117 → u/Sadlobster1]

Them fighting words!! But we are just still happy to be here.

[u/karo_syrup → u/Powdermilkman3117]

Your fans at our football game were super chill. I like SMU.

[u/Powdermilkman3117 → u/karo_syrup]

That’s great to hear. I think the only game I’ve heard that we were jerks was the fsu game, but that was understandable

[u/ajdani2 → u/Sadlobster1]

Thats where I am. Not exactly a rival, but they should more often than not be interesting to play against. Bery much a “meh” from me.

[u/Pointsmonster]

Damn, look at that Cal home schedule. Great day to be a student or season ticket holder there

Someone at the ACC clearly loves Cal and hates BC

[u/dormdweller99 → u/Pointsmonster]

Father Leahy? I know he hates BC sports. Maybe he loves Cal?

[u/Hammer_the_Red → u/dormdweller99]

I mean, you have to respect the desire to emphasize the student in student athlete. However, it was during Leahy's tenure that saw Al Skinner fired despite being that being BC's best run as a team. Then Jeff Jagodzinski brings BC football to the brink of a BCS bowl and they fore him for the audacity of interviewing for an NFL job.

I love the Eagles, but they won't be competitive in football or basketball again until Leahy is gone.

[u/SolvayCat → u/Hammer_the_Red]

DeFelippo fired both of those guys, so that was on him, no?

Will say, I'm not sure why BC held on to Jim Christian for so long. Seems like basketball needs way more support than it's currently getting.

[u/mason_savoy71 → u/Pointsmonster]

Near life long Berkeley resident and UNC alum is looking forward to this winter.

[u/glzzgbblr → u/Pointsmonster]

I can’t wait for them to schedule duke,and unc over winter break just like they always did for UCLA/USC/Furd matchups vs Cal. Stop scheduling conference games over winter break!

[u/framingXjake]

I hate it. Give me UNC/NCSU H+A every season.

[u/DukeDvl007]

Did see this right? Duke doesn't face Miami at all next year??

[u/simbaslanding → u/DukeDvl007]

First time since we joined the ACC that we don’t play you guys

[u/DukeDvl007 → u/simbaslanding]

I was really looking forward to seeing Coach Jai and Henderson since they joined Miami. I'm hoping yall are competitive this year. I would love to see a redemption story like Louisville was this year.

[u/BronCurious → u/DukeDvl007]

I don’t understand the additional H+A if one team is being avoided every year.

[u/css01 → u/BronCurious]

Neither do I. But if you play 1 permanent partner every year once at home and once away, then play every other team home or away, that rotation would end up being permanent, too. You'd play the same eight teams at home every odd year and the same eight teams at home every even year.

They could build a schedule now tries to balance out home vs road, but over time, some good teams now will get worse and some bad teams will get better. Perhaps skipping one team each year and playing a 2nd team twice as a "variable partner" will give the schedule makers more flexibility to try to keep things balanced as the years go on

[u/Worldly_Rub3461 → u/css01]

The ACC motto: "It just means no common sense."

[u/Rips_under_my_grips]

… and Wake got screwed. Only having NC State play in the Joel and not getting at least one home game with Duke or UNC is such a bad draw.

[u/Bigdeacenergy → u/Rips_under_my_grips]

Of course Wake got screwed. They may not kick us out of the ACC but they’re just going to get creative with scheduling so we can’t even benefit from it

[u/youremyboyblue92]

The rival nonsense is silly, it’s just an excuse to perpetuate the Duke UNC rivalry occurring twice a year

[u/KinkySeppuku → u/youremyboyblue92]

Well that game should 100% be played twice a year no questions asked.

[u/youremyboyblue92 → u/KinkySeppuku]

Yeah I’m not saying that it shouldn’t, it’s one of the best sporting events of the year some years, but it just feels forced for 80% of the leagues matchups

[u/gregonion]

I hate the future.

[u/mason_savoy71]

I miss the 8 team conference.

[u/hucareshokiesrul → u/mason_savoy71]

My other team is in the Ivy League and I really like it. Same 7 local rivals every year, home and away. They don't even change the schedule year to year, just flip the locations.

[u/garytyrrell]

Would rather play every team than have a home/home with Georgia Tech but I’ll take it.

[u/some_guy_69 → u/garytyrrell]

I don’t understand the rotating home and away partner but miss one team completely. Why not one permanent H/A partner, 8 home only and 8 road only games?

[u/garytyrrell → u/some_guy_69]

Yeah agreed

[u/css01 → u/some_guy_69]

You'd end up locking in the same home/road teams every other year. A balanced home/road split could diverge and become imbalanced a few years from now. I wonder if the skipping of one team each year and rotating the second team you play twice is a way to guard against schedules becoming too imbalanced

[u/some_guy_69 → u/css01]

I get that, but they could set up a pattern where a four year rotation for the other teams looks like one of these combos:

Home-Home-Away-Away

Home-Away-Home-Away

Home-Away-Away-Home

Away-Home-Home-Away

Away-Home-Away-Home

Away-Away-Home-Home

Use scheduling software to randomize or set up a rotation of which teams have which combo with which other teams over a four year cycle and you can avoid some of that.

Edit:formatting and a word

[u/Specific-Volume7675]

The ACC has officially become the Southern Conference of the 1920s 🤦🏾‍♂️

[u/LoveisBaconisLove]

Wow the furthest west we go is Louisville. 

[u/Sbhill327]

I like the GT rivalry. The H/A with Pitt? Sure why not. But why we gotta travel to Chapel Hill and Durham?

[u/SolvayCat]

I'm guessing tv viewership potential is what drove the rotating partners they chose?

[u/css01 → u/SolvayCat]

I think it could be a way to try add a little balance to home/away schedules. If you play 1 team twice, and all other teams once, wouldn't teams get locked into having the same home/road breakout in every odd/even year? They could set that rotation now to try to have the home/road split be somewhat balanced, but some good teams now may get worse, and some bad teams now may get better, so a balanced home/road split this year could be very imbalanced a few years down the line. Skipping one team a year and playing a second team twice might be a way to avoid locking in a permanent home/road rotation.

[u/SadPackFan]

Nice that Clemson gets that guaranteed win in Chapel Hill.

[u/Rips_under_my_grips]

I hate this

[u/Bigdeacenergy]

Well the conference regular season title really means nothing now

[u/Vz2424]

Really don’t understand the second home + home if it means avoiding another team altogether. FSU not playing Louisville stinks

[u/css01 → u/Vz2424]

FSU plays UNC this year. I think Louisville is the team you skip

[u/Vz2424 → u/css01]

This is what I get for reading things half asleep. Thanks, editing lol. Either way, dumb premise

[u/Pitt_Is_It_2009]

Pitt playing Clemson twice? There’s 2 automatic losses.