Tonight’s the night, Wahoos. ACC play starts on the road against a really strong Louisville team. As the conference games begin, let’s take a look at how our writers see the league shaking out:
1) Duke (12-1) Last Week: 1
The Blue Devils squeaked past Elon, despite another Grayson Allen trip and crybaby temper tantrum. He’s now suspended for the foreseeable future - a cynic might expect him to play in the second half tomorrow.
2) Louisville (11-1) Last Week: 4
Beating Kentucky is surely enough to move the Cardinals up a couple of spots in our rankings - with a huge game tonight against the visiting Wahoos. The Fightin’ Pitinos won a game UNC couldn’t and are clearly a contender for the ACC title.
3) North Carolina (11-2) Last Week: 2
The Heels blew out UNI after the close loss to Kentucky. Their talent alone (sounds like most Roy Williams teams, AMIRITE?) will keep them in the ACC title conversation - and potentially a repeat Final Four appearance.
4) Virginia (10-1) Last Week: 3
The road win at Cal should be huge for the Wahoos in the seeding process for the NCAA tournament. Tonight’s game will be a rough one, but if the Hoos hold serve on the should-win ACC games, they’ll be great shape to play on the second weekend again - and potentially challenge for the ACC title.
5) Florida State (12-1) Last Week: 5
FSU keeps beating bad teams, which may continue with their first ACC game against Wake. A road test at UVa on New Year’s Eve will be much more telling towards the Noles’ conference standing.
6) Notre Dame (10-2) Last Week: 6
The Irish look more like an upper-middle ACC squad so far - more a team that should score a few upsets and finish outside the top 4 than a real contender. Nonetheless, I can see Notre Dame finishing above UVa and FSU if a few games go their way.
7) Virginia Tech (10-1) Last Week: 7
I could use this space to talk about the Hokies being 10-2 or I could show you this:
Everything U gain in life will rot+fall apart, except for what's n ur
— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) December 26, 2016
We were not created 4️⃣achievement, we were created 4️⃣relationship
8) Clemson (9-2) Last Week: 9
Winning at South Carolina on the road is going to be a really nice part of the Tiger’s resume in March. They’ve done enough to be one of the 12 billion ACC teams to make the tournament this year - but will need to keep it up in conference play.
9) Miami (9-2) Last Week: 8
Miami’s overall OOC resume might be the most confusing in the ACC. They lost to a couple of okay teams...and beat a couple of okay teams...who knows where the Canes will end up in the ACC? (Probably right about #9).
10) Pittsburgh (10-2) Last Week: 11
Starting conference play by hosting Notre Dame will let Pitt easily recover from their two less-than-impressive losses. It’s not a must-win for their tournament chances, obviously, but it’s a big opportunity to make a statement about their quality.
11) Wake Forest (9-3) Last Week: 12
Wake Forest beat the crap out of LSU this week - which shows just how much better the ACC is than the rest of the world. Could Wake Forest beat the 76ers?
12) NC State (10-2) Last Week: 13
Alright, Wolfpack. Beating a bunch of JV middle school teams and losing to a couple of decent teams means your NCAAT chances are in tact. Time to play some real competition! Let’s see how that works out...
13) Syracuse (8-5) Last Week: 10
Syracuse continued their garbage run of playing Big East friends by getting absolutely murked by St. Johns. But don’t worry, Sportscenter told me this morning that the win over 3-8 Cornell was a “big win” in a “rebound game.” ESPN sucks.
14) Georgia Tech (7-4) Last Week: 14
Who in the ACC is going to have an embarrassing L to the Jackets this year? Someone is, for sure. Nice win over Wofford, Josh!
15) Boston College (7-6) Last Week: 15
Losing to Fairfield and beating Providence? Just another zany week for the Eagles!
Who voted for whom:
Caroline | Will | Brian S | Leung | Tim | Tiki | Neckel | Trogs | Wiley | Ryan | Hobeck | Alex | Pierce | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | Louisville | Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | Duke | ||
Louisville | North Carolina | Louisville | North Carolina | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia | Duke | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville | Louisville | ||
North Carolina | Louisville | North Carolina | Louisville | Louisville | North Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina | Virginia | North Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina | ||
Virginia | Florida State | Virginia | Virginia | Virginia | Louisville | Louisville | Virginia | North Carolina | Virginia | Virginia | Virginia | Virginia | ||
Florida State | Virginia | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | ||
Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Virginia Tech | Miami | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | ||
Virginia Tech | Clemson | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech | Notre Dame | Clemson | Clemson | Virginia Tech | Clemson | Virginia Tech | Virginia Tech | Clemson | Virginia Tech | ||
Clemson | Virginia Tech | Miami | Clemson | Clemson | Florida State | Miami | Clemson | Virginia Tech | Clemson | Clemson | Virginia Tech | Clemson | ||
Miami | Miami | Clemson | NC State | Miami | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest | Miami | Miami | Miami | Miami | Miami | Miami | ||
Pittsburgh | Wake Forest | Syracuse | Miami | Pittsburgh | Syracuse | Virginia Tech | Pittsburgh | Wake Forest | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | NC State | NC State | ||
NC State | NC State | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Syracuse | Pittsburgh | Syracuse | Syracuse | Syracuse | Wake Forest | NC State | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | ||
Wake Forest | Syracuse | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | Wake Forest | Pittsburgh | Wake Forest | Pittsburgh | Georgia Tech | Wake Forest | Syracuse | Wake Forest | ||
Syracuse | Pittsburgh | NC State | Syracuse | NC State | Georgia Tech | NC State | NC State | NC State | NC State | Syracuse | Wake Forest | Georgia Tech | ||
Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | NC State | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Syracuse | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | Syracuse | ||
Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College | Boston College |