The ACC has unveiled additional portions of the 2012-13 league basketball schedule with some tentative dates. Here is UNC’s slate via Bret Strelow at the Fayetteville Observer.

Carolina’s tentative 2012-13 conference schedule:
(Three dates means weekday, two dates means weekend)

Jan. 5/6 at Virginia
Jan. 8/9/10 vs. Miami
Jan. 12/13 at Florida State
Jan. 19/20 vs. Maryland
Jan. 22/23/24 vs. Georgia Tech
Jan. 26/27 at NC State
Jan. 29/30/31 at Boston College
Feb. 2/3 vs. Virginia Tech
Feb. 5/6/7 vs. Wake Forest
Feb. 9/10 at Miami
Feb. 12/13/14 at Duke
Feb. 16/17 vs. Virginia
Feb. 19/20/21 at Georgia Tech
Feb. 23/24 vs. NC State
Feb. 26/27/28 at Clemson
March 2/3 vs. Florida State
March 5/6/7 at Maryland
March 9/10 vs. Duke

The breakdown is as follows.

Home-and-home: Duke, NC State, FSU, Miami, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia Tech
Home only: Wake Forest and Virginia Tech
Away only: Clemson and Boston College

At first glance(and all the ones you take after that one) this looks like an incredibly tough schedule as Strelow points out.

Based on last year’s standings, UNC will have a tough time winning a third straight regular-season title. Six of the seven teams in UNC’s home-and-away group finished between second and eighth in the league in 2011-12, with Georgia Tech being the lone exception. Ten of the Tar Heels’ 18 league games will be played against programs that had a winning record in the conference last season.

Five of UNC’s last eight league games are against 2012 NCAA tournament programs.

The other notable aspect of the schedule as presented is the UNC-Duke regular season finale coming in March’s second weekend and not the first. The 18-game slate has caused the schedule to be pushed an extra week into March. This probably could have been mitigated with a couple of league games in December but for whatever reason(scheduling, unwillingness to give up December home dates, etc) UNC will wait until the first week in January to open ACC play.