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ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Conference Play is Here!

Now that the ACC is largely done whooping every other conference, how do our rankings look?

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:

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