ACC Basketball POWER Rankings: Week of February 2, 2018

Virginia remained perfect in the ACC with a big 2-0 week, gaining a stranglehold on the one seed in Brooklyn this March. Elsewhere in the conference, teams keep losing to each other. We took a stab at ranking the rest of the ACC so you don’t have to.

Here’s how the staff at Streaking the Lawn thinks the ACC stacks up. In total, 12 STL writers submitted ballots -- scroll to the bottom for full rankings from each writer, as well as overall means and standard deviations for each team.

1. Virginia Cavaliers (21-1, 10-0, KenPom #2)

UNDEFEATED WATCH: KenPom gives UVA a 16% chance of running the table over its remaining 8 ACC games. Two of its four toughest tests come this coming week, with road games at Syracuse and at Florida State.

2. Duke Blue Devils (19-3, 7-3, KenPom #4)

After falling to Virginia this week, Duke rebounded by pummeling Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor. They scored over 80 points for their 20th time in 22 games. (They only got to 78 against Southern...and 63 against UVA.) Marvin Bagley Jr. looks like a lock for ACC Player of the Year.

3. Louisville Cardinals (16-6, 6-3, KenPom #31)

I am REALLY not sure how Louisville is unranked at this point in the year. Their six losses are all forgivable (all to teams KenPom ranks 32 or better, 5 on the road) and their three ACC losses is tied for second best in the conference to date. Their weak out-of-conference is weighing them down, but the Cardinals looked legit at JPJ this week despite the loss.

4. Clemson Tigers (18-4, 7-3, KenPom #16)

The Tigers faced major questions after losing Donte Grantham for the year to injury. Their big home win over UNC answered some of those....though isn’t everyone beating UNC these days?

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (16-7, 5-5, KenPom #12)

The answer to the question above: Yes. The Heels are on a three-game losing streak, dropping games at Clemson and Virginia Tech, and to NC State at home. A strong out-of-conference and the name on their jerseys makes the NCAA Tournament close to a lock...but they’d be advised to win at least half the remaining games on a tough schedule.

6. Miami Hurricanes (16-5, 5-4, KenPom #32)

Each of Miami’s eight ACC games had been decided by 10 points or fewer before its 12 point home win over Pitt. They’ll need to overcome an injury to star guard Bruce Brown, who will be out until around the start of the NCAA Tournament, which Miami is in...relatively good shape for.

7. North Carolina State Wolfpack (15-7, 5-4, KenPom #64)

NC State has charged on to the ACC bubble, with a surprising winning record in ACC play that includes home wins over Duke and Clemson and a big road victory at UNC. If Tony Bennett weren’t around, Kevin Keatts would be a great pick for ACC Coach of the Year.

8. Florida State Seminoles (17-6, 5-5, KenPom #25)

FSU features the ACC’s second-best offense (after Duke), led by an outstanding year from Terance Mann. However, their defense dropped to dead last (even after Pitt!) after surrendering 1.15 PPP during a road loss to Wake Forest this week.

9. Virginia Tech Hokies (16-6, 5-4, KenPom #38)

It’s been a huge week for the Hokies. They avoided a letdown after their big home win over UNC by taking down Boston College and Notre Dame on the road. It looks like they may be sweating it out come Selection Sunday. (Yes, that is a Buzz Williams joke.)

10. Syracuse Orange (15-7, 4-5, KenPom #48)

Cuse snapped a four-game losing streak by reeling off three consecutive wins. That’s great, except two of those were against Pitt, and the other against BC at home. With a chance to keep things rolling, they shot 30% in a 55-51 loss at Georgia Tech this week. Saturday’s game against UVA is a big opportunity for the Orange.

11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-11, 4-5, KenPom #105

Georgia Tech has been tough to predict this year. They embarassed themselves with early season losses to Grambling and Wright State, then started ACC play with a 3-1 record...before losing four in a row. Their defense is legit (third in the ACC), but they really struggle to score. Against Syracuse, however, 55 points was enough to earn a W.

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-9, 3-6, KenPom #37)

I do feel bad for Notre Dame and its fans. Pegged for a promising year, the Irish lost Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, and DJ Harvey to injury. After a nice start to conference play, they’ve lost six in a row.

13. Boston College Eagles (13-9, 3-6, KenPom #81)

BC might be good. BC might be not very good. 13-9 with a win over Duke and a 1 point loss on the road at UVa while losing to UNC by 30 is giving conflicting ideas. Nobody knows. (We wrote this last week, and it still holds true...but an 0-2 week tips that scale toward that latter category.)

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-13, 2-8, KenPom #89)

Wake Forest snapped their seven-game losing streak with a home victory over Florida State. We’d be talking about how awful Wake has looked in ACC play if it weren’t for...

15. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-15, 0-10, KenPom #202)

WINLESS WATCH: KenPom gives Pitt a 28% chance of losing out, with eight ACC games remaining. With a road trip to UNC and Clemson on the calendar this week...this feature will likely continue next week.