Auburn-Duke, Bama-UNC leading ACC/SEC Difficulty

• Jeff Borzello, ESPN Personnel WriterJun 12, 2024, 05:36 PM ET

  Close

  • Basketball recruiting expert.
  • Joined ESPN in 2014.
  • Graduate of University of Delaware.The matches for the

2nd yearly ACC/SEC Difficulty were revealed Wednesday, highlighted by Auburn’s journey to Duke and North Carolina hosting Alabama.The first edition of the series in between the two conferences ended in a 7-7 tie last season, with Arkansas distressing Duke to complete the SEC’s comeback from a 7-4 deficit.Auburn-Duke and Alabama-North Carolina– both matches in between top-15 groups– are scheduled for Dec. 4

. Auburn is ranked No. 11 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, while Duke slots in at No. 8. The Tigers are led by preseason All-American Johni Broome and landed a set of impact transfers from the portal in JP Pegues (Furman )and Miles Kelly(Georgia Tech). Editor’s Picks 2 Related Duke generates the country’s No. 1 recruiting class, headlined by forecasted No. 1 NBA draft choice Cooper Flagg.Alabama vs. North

Carolina is a rematch of last season’s NCAA competition Sweet 16 match, which the Crimson Tide won before advancing to the Final 4.

Mark Sears’choice to withdraw from the NBA draft vaulted Nate Oats’group to No. 2 in the Way-Too-Early rankings, and North Carolina sits at No. 10 following the return of Wood Award candidate RJ Davis.Other interesting matches include John Calipari, wearing the cardinal red of Arkansas instead of heaven of Kentucky, taking his Razorbacks to Coral Gables to deal with Miami; new Kentucky coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats taking a trip to Clemson, which is coming off an Elite 8 appearance; and new Louisville coach Pat Kelsey hosting an Ole Miss group that ought to be ranked in the leading 25. Times and tv classifications are yet to be announced.Full listing of ACC/SEC Challenge matchups: Tuesday, Dec. 3 South Carolina at Boston College Cal at Missouri Kentucky at Clemson Florida State at LSU Georgia Tech at Oklahoma Ole Miss at Louisville Arkansas at Miami Notre Dame at Georgia Syracuse at Tennessee Wake Forest at Texas A&M

Wednesday, Dec. 4 Auburn at Duke Texas at NCState Alabama at North Carolina Pitt at Mississippi

State Virginia at

Florida Vanderbilt at

Virginia Tech