The ACC is under fire following the release of its 2025-26 men’s basketball conference slate, with critics saying it weakens longstanding rivalries and dilutes the league’s competitive tradition. Remember, the upcoming season marks a return to an 18-game conference format.
Under the new structure, schools will face two teams twice, 14 teams once, and will not play a single conference member at all during the regular season. The decision has sparked backlash from fans and analysts who believe the changes erode the identity of ACC basketball, especially by sidelining iconic matchups that once defined the schedule.
ACC Faces Backlash Over Schedule That Sidelines Key Matchups
The decision to revert to an 18-game conference schedule has sparked outrage among fans, coaches and analysts who believe the new format diminishes long-standing rivalries and undermines the heart and soul of ACC basketball.
Under the revised format, every ACC school will play one opponent twice — home and away — while facing 14 other opponents once. One team will be left off the schedule entirely. In what’s viewed as a major oversight, Miami and Duke will not meet during the regular season.
That singular move downplays the intriguing Jai Lucas storyline. The former top assistant at Duke was named head coach of the Miami Hurricanes in March. Duke and Miami aren’t scheduled to play each other in 2025 under the reformatted schedule.
“It feels like we’ve lost the plot,” said Isaac Schade on the “Locked on College Basketball” podcast. “We’re not focusing on the right things here.”
The ACC and Big East should play an annual challenge featuring the top six teams in each conference. pic.twitter.com/7JhH9ObuKJ
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 28, 2025
Schade criticized the ACC’s effort to balance fairness, arguing it comes at the expense of the matchups that fans most want to see.
“I don’t care what you have to do to change that around,” he said. “The fact that we’re not going to get that matchup is absurd to me.”
Missed Opportunity: NCAA Tournament, ACC Postseason
The missed opportunity for a Duke-Miami game is not just a loss for fans but potentially detrimental to Miami’s postseason hopes.
“Miami is a team that they’re completely rebuilt under Coach Lucas,” Schade said. “They have a talented roster. I think they could contend for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. You know what would really help them? Two chances to play Duke, but they’re not getting that opportunity.
“If they get left out because of their net ranking when they didn’t get to play what is very likely going to be the best team in the ACC next year… that’s a travesty.”
With the ACC schedule bumping back to 18 games & the odd formatting, here are the matchups we won’t see in ACC regular season play in 2025-26:
UNC vs. BC
Duke vs. Miami
NC State vs. Cal
Clemson vs. UVA
FSU vs. Louisville
GT vs. SMU
ND vs. WF
Pitt vs. VT
Syracuse vs. Stanford https://t.co/CcCkk5nEcN— Isaac Schade (@isaacschade) May 28, 2025
Even traditional in-state rivalries have been disrupted. While North Carolina will face NC State, that game will only take place in Raleigh, not in Chapel Hill — marking the first time since 1919 that UNC won’t host the Wolfpack.
“We’re losing the point of what college basketball is,” Schade emphasized. “Rivalries, fan bases, that passion, that hatred between them.”
Still, many believe the conference’s new approach sacrifices identity for convenience.
“If the carousel doesn’t stop spinning, people are going to get off and never want to ride again,” Schade warned.
With ACC expansion and realignment introducing teams from different regions, the challenge of maintaining traditional matchups has grown.
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