Duke-UNC: Which Team Has More at Stake in Sunday's Game?

After a brutal two weeks full of school work at college, a Duke-North Carolina game seems to be the most appropriate time to return to action on Bleacher Report.

The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils play the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday in Chapel Hill. Duke enters the rivalry game behind North Carolina in the ACC standings, trailing by one game.

After losing four of its previous six games, Duke has now won five consecutive games, including one of the most impressive four-game winning streaks by any team in the country with home wins over Wake Forest and Florida State and road wins over Maryland and Virginia Tech.

Duke will likely earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The question is whether a win at North Carolina, along with any notable wins in ACC Tournament, will allow the Blue Devils to earn a No. 1 seed.

Duke has 12 wins against the RPI Top 60, the most of any team in the country, but just two of those wins came against teams in the RPI Top 20. Duke also is playing the fifth-most difficult schedule in the country this season.

North Carolina is 13-1 at home this season, with its lone home loss coming to Boston College in the conference opener. After losing its first two ACC games, North Carolina rebounded by winning 12 of its last 13 conference games to take a one-game lead in the conference.

North Carolina, a likely No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, has two wins against the RPI Top Six, Michigan State and Duke, and can add another with a win over Duke on Sunday. The Tar Heels are playing the 26th-most difficult schedule in the country.

Again, Duke has deep collection of solid wins, while North Carolina is the best team in the country when playing at its best.

Now, the question is which team has more at stake in this matchup Sunday.

North Carolina has more at stake than Duke heading into Sunday's game. 

Not only will a win clinch the ACC regular-season title, but a win against Duke will assure North Carolina a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the opportunity to play its first two games in Greensboro, NC., a virtual home environment for North Carolina. 

Duke doesn't have as much on the line. Although a share of the ACC regular-season title with North Carolina would be impressive, considering the preseason expectations North Carolina faced, Duke is likely a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, win or lose.

Some would say, though, Duke needs this win to know they can beat a team as good as North Carolina. Here, the counterargument is Duke will not have to play a team like North Carolina until the Final Four.

And based on Duke's last two NCAA Tournament appearances, such a task will be quite difficult to begin with.

North Carolina needs this win more because the momentum to be gained can fuel an ACC Tournament championship run. And if these Tar Heels can enter the NCAA Tournament with an ACC regular season and Tournament title, along with the momentum of a six-game winning streak, the teams in their path to the national championship will be in trouble.

Also, Duke is battling injury issues right now. Nolan Smith is out for the North Carolina game. Brian Zoubek has a broken nose. And Lance Thomas is combating a sprained ankle.

Duke couldn't beat North Carolina at home at full strength. Imagine the task at hand with these injuries in Chapel Hill.

Duke doesn't need this win. What Duke does need, however, is to regain full health near the end of the ACC Tournament, so that it can be at full strength at the beginning of the NCAA Tournament. Only then will things start to truly matter for Duke.