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Lost with ACC expansion was the conference's round-robin play during the regular season. Every team played every other team twice. Everyone had the same schedule, every year, and there could be no argument for scheduling imbalance. Since expansion, that's not the case.

Now, ACC teams will play some conference opponents twice, and others just once. That leads to an imbalance in schedule strength. Quite significant imbalances, in some instances.

Here is a list of the nine ACC teams that are competing for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. The table compares the average RPI rating of their ACC opponents.

Using strictly the RPI formula, and without taking into account home games or road games, Virginia Tech had the toughest ACC schedule of any of the NCAA tournament teams, or NCAA tournament bubble teams.

In fact, it's quite a big difference when compared to the teams at the bottom of the list. Boston College is another bubble team, and their opponents' average RPI is more than 10 spots worse than Tech's opponents' RPI.

Let's dig a bit deeper and compare the conference schedules for BC and the Hokies.

Virginia Tech played three of the top five teams in the conference twice each this year. The only top 5 team that BC played more than once was Wake Forest. The Hokies had to take on Duke and Clemson twice, and they'll play Florida State for the second time on Sunday.

Scroll down to the bottom of the conference standings, and you'll see that BC played two of the bottom three teams in the conference twice, with two meetings against both NC State and Georgia Tech. The Hokies played the Wolfpack and Yellow Jackets just once each.

Tech is in a direct competition with Boston College for an at-large berth, and the schedules in ACC play obviously haven't been equal. However, the Eagles have their own argument as well. They had just one meeting each with UNC and Duke, and they won both of them. They even knocked off UNC in the Dean Dome. The Eagles also beat Florida State in a recent game. In their six games against the Top 5 teams in the ACC, BC is 3-3. That's a good mark.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has played seven games against the Top 5 teams in the conference. In those seven games, the Hokies have a record of just 2-5. Playing one more game, Tech has one fewer win that Boston College. However, they'll get a chance to go 3-5 against the Top 5 when they take on Florida State on Sunday.

Let's compare BC's overall resume with Tech's.

The Hokies have played the tougher schedule, but BC has the better record, a better RPI, a better record against the Top 50 and they've been better in their last 12 games. Tech is hurt by the fact that BC and Miami were both upset this past week. That knocked the Eagles and 'Canes out of the Top 50, giving the Hokies two fewer Top 50 wins. However, the Selection Committee would still view Tech's win over BC as a quality win since the Eagles are still on the bubble.

Ultimately, the Hokies still control their own fate. If they beat Florida State on Sunday, and then win a game in the ACC tournament, they would be a near lock to make the NCAA tournament. If they beat Florida State and then lose in the ACC tournament, they'll be sweating on Selection Sunday. A loss to the 'Noles this weekend would put them in the NIT, barring a number of upsets in the ACC Tournament.