RALEIGH North Carolina coach Roy Williams said he likely will remind his team of the importance of not looking ahead to this weekend's rematch with Duke.

But the reality is this: Wednesday doesn't matter.

In a quirk of the men's basketball standings that could throw a wrench into coaches' don't-look-past-the-next-game mantra, this year's ACC regular-season champion (and top seed in the conference tournament) will be determined when fourth-ranked Duke faces No.13 North Carolina at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Smith Center.

Duke vs. Clemson and North Carolina at Florida State on Wednesday? Those games could have an impact on third place, but not first.

It's as simple as this: The loser of Saturday's game can't finish first.

The scenarios for Duke (26-3, 12-2):

No. 1 if it beats North Carolina.

No. 2 if it beats Clemson and loses to North Carolina, and/or Florida State loses once.

No. 3 if it loses twice and Folorida State wins twice.

For North Carolina (22-6, 12-2):

No. 1 if it beats Duke.

No. 2 if it beats Florida State and loses to Duke, and/or Florida State loses Sunday to N.C. State.

No. 3 if it loses twice and Florida State wins twice.

The most important thing to remember: If Duke wins Saturday, tying North Carolina atop the standings, the Blue Devils will get the No.1 seed and regular-season ring because they already have beaten the Tar Heels once, and thus hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. If North Carolina wins Saturday but finishes knotted with the Blue Devils atop the standings, the decision goes to a second tiebreaker, which is winning percentage against the third-place team. The Tar Heels would've gone 1-1 against the Seminoles, while Duke went 0-1; North Carolina went 1-0 against Virginia Tech, while Duke went 0-1.

"I don't pay any attention to tiebreakers and those sorts of things; for me, I just know we have to win," North Carolina forward Tyler Zeller said. " And if we keep doing that, we put ourselves in a pretty good situation."

Particularly if they prevail next weekend.

Jockeying for position

While the No. 1 seed is still up for grabs, No. 12 isn't. Wake Forest has secured its place in the 2:30 p.m. Thursday game.

The Wolfpack will play on Thursday, too; the question is, when?

N.C. State's seeding scenarios:

No. 8 if it wins twice, or beats Virginia and Miami loses once.

No. 9 if it loses twice and Miami loses twice.

No. 10 if it loses twice and Miami wins once.

If N.C. State beats Virginia tonight and the Cavaliers, Wolfpack and Hurricanes all finish 6-10, they would have the same group record, and the tiebreaker for the No.8 seed would depend upon which team, Florida State or Virginia Tech, finishes higher in the final standings.

Dribbles

N.C. State wing Scott Wood, coming off of a season-best 20 points during Saturday's win against Georgia Tech, has followed an "off" game with an "on" game since the Wolfpack's Feb. 17 win against Clemson. He had five points against the Tigers followed by 15 at Maryland and three against North Carolina.

Coach Sidney Lowe has a theory for Wood's intermittent struggles.

"I know he's my player, and I might be a little biased, but I think the film doesn't lie, he gets held more than anybody I've ever seen," Lowe said. "They just literally grab him, grab his jersey and hold him."

Matchup problems also play a part in Wood's inconsistencies. North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, who is bigger and more athletic, was a tough draw Wednesday. Wood was able to find more room against Georgia Tech's smaller guards because the Yellow Jackets used guard Iman Shumpert to defend forward C.J. Leslie.

North Carolina forward John Henson, who is shooting 42.6 percent from the free-throw line, is 6-for-6 over his past two games. STAFF WRITER J.P. GIGLIO CONTRIBUTED.