ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Are the Hoos Close to the Blue Devils and Heels?

With only a few meaningful games this past week, including a single ho-hum easy win for the Hoos, there wasn’t a lot to shake up in the top of our rankings. The middle, however, might be shaping up a little more clearly, however.

1) Duke (10-1) Last Week: 1

Coach K and company beat a solid Florida squad and laid a complete whoppin on UNLV this week. While the Heels deal with injuries, the Blue Devils are getting some of their injured star frosh back.

2) North Carolina (10-1) Last Week: 2

UNC escaped Tennessee at home - without Joel Berry on the court. They’ll need him for sure in conference play, but assuming he returns alright, the Heels are one of the top two teams in the conference for sure.

3) Virginia (8-1) Last Week: 3

The Wahoos easily beat back ECU earlier in the week - and in the eyes of our writers, the rest of the conference hasn’t done enough to overtake them.

4) Louisville (9-1) Last Week: 4

This week featured a couple of cupcake blowouts for the Cardinals, who remained steady in our rankings. Pitino’s sqaud is 11th nationally in defense, 7th in rebounding, and 107th in scoring. Sounds about right.

5) Florida State (10-1) Last Week: 7

The Noles keep winning - in convincing fashion. Yesterday’s big win over rival Florida helped them jump up in the STL rankings. This might not be the underachieving type of Hamilton team we’ve grown accustomed to.

6) Notre Dame (9-1) Last Week: 5

Losing a competitive game to Villanova is no devastating result, but the Irish let an opportunity slip by them as they spent most of the first half dominating the Wildcats. Mike Brey’s team is great at scoring - but lacks a strong inside presence.

7) Virginia Tech (8-1) Last Week: 7

Buzz Williams’ terrible fortune cookie of the week:

EVERYTHING. Except big changes, I assume?

8) Syracuse (6-3) Last Week: 6

Syracuse blew a big lead against a bad UConn team - and beat Boston University. The Orange have underachieved so far this year, but that won’t mean much if they succeed in ACC play.

9) Miami (7-2) Last Week: 9

Miami blew out a cupcake team this week and might be one of the bigger unknowns in the conference. They’re 5th in the country in scoring defense, but how much of that is competition?

10) Clemson (6-2) Last Week: 10

Beating the crap out of Mercer doesn’t move you much in our rankings, Tigers. This team may drop quickly during conference play - as their stats are largely unimpressive this year. Jaron Blossomgame is still good, though.

11) Pittsburgh (8-2) Last Week: 11

Pitt rebounded this week with wins over Penn State and Buffalo. Neither win was enough to shake up their spot in our rankings, though.

12) Wake (8-2) Last Week: 12

Wake made it past a couple of lesser North Carolina schools this week. John Collins is leading the Deacs with 18 points a game.

13) NC State (7-2) Last Week: 13

The Wolfpack’s one game this week was an OT win over Tennessee State. At home. I don’t care if your best player is currently ineligible, there’s no excuse for NCSU to be as bad as they are.

14) Georgia Tech (5-3) Last Week: 14

Beating VCU on the road is huge for the Jackets. While the Rams are not the top-tier program that they’ve been over the past decade, it’s still a road win in a hostile environment. Nonetheless, their record overall and blowout loss @Tennessee keep them near the bottom of our rankings.

15) Boston College (4-5) Last Week: 15

Don’t worry Yellow Jackets, you’ve still got Boston College in the conference!

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