ACC Basketball POWER Rankings: Final Weekend Update

One game remains in ACC play. For one final week, 14 Streaking the Lawn staff members again 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 (27-2, 16-1, KenPom #1)

2. Duke Blue Devils (24-6, 12-5, KenPom #3)

Duke fell at Virginia Tech, but still held the Hokies under one point-per-possession; the Blue Devils have now done that six times in a row and have the conference’s second-best defense. Despite the loss, they are peaking at the right time.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (22-8, 11-6, KenPom #8)

UNC is #3 in these rankings, which is ironic because that’s the only place they cannot finish in the ACC standings between 2nd and 6th. Wahoo fans would probably love to see the Heels land outside of the 4/5 spot in Brooklyn.

4. Miami Hurricanes (21-8, 10-7, KenPom #35)

Miami’s NCAA hopes hung in the balance just a couple weeks ago, but they are in good shape after capping a 3-game winning streak with a huge (and thrilling) road win at UNC.

5. Clemson Tigers (22-7, 11-6, KenPom #17)

Clemson has impressively weathered the loss of Donte Grantham; a win against a desperate Syracuse team tomorrow would lock up a top-four ACC finish.

6. Virginia Tech Hokies (21-9, 10-7, KenPom #33)

The Hokies now have wins against Virginia, Duke, and UNC during conference play. They are an NCAA Tournament lock heading into the ACC Tourney for the first time since 2007, when they made the Big Dance as a 5-seed.

7. North Carolina State Wolfpack (20-10. 10-7, KenPom #42)

NC State is probably the surprise of the year in the ACC and still has a shot at a first and second-round bye in Brooklyn. Transfer Allerik Freeman has come on strong, putting up six consecutive double-digit scoring games and playing efficiently while doing so.

8. Louisville Cardinals (19-11, 9-8, KenPom #34)

Let’s check in with Louisville by reading their recap of last night’s game.

Oh gosh.

The Cardinals have a good shot at playing in the 8/9 game in the ACC Tournament, meaning there’s a significant chance of a rematch next week.

9. Florida State Seminoles (19-10, 8-9, KenPom #38)

Despite their sub-.500 ACC record and middling RPI (46), BracketMatrix.com still has the Noles as a 9-seed in the Big Dance. A win over BC would probably make Noles fans much more comfortable next Sunday.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-12, 8-9, KenPom #31)

After dropping seven conference games in a row, the Irish have won 5 of their last 7. The biggest news of all for Notre Dame was Bonzie Colson’s return on senior night this week, during which he scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting. This team will be more dangerous than their seed will suggest in Brooklyn.

11. Syracuse Orange (18-12, 7-10, KenPom #52)

Syracuse has a shot at a solid home win over Clemson tomorrow. With a win, they’ll live to see another day on the bubble. A loss would probably take them out of the field for good.

12. Boston College Eagles (17-13, 7-10, KenPom #83)

Jerome Robinson has put together an impressive conference season. He sits second during ACC play in eFG%, 4th in ORtg, and 5th in usage. BC’s place in the ACC basement is the most significant factor that would keep him off of the ACC first-team.

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-18, 5-12, KenPom #117)

Georgia Tech snapped a seven-game losing streak with a dramatic home victory over NC State. Their solid defense hasn’t been enough to over come a helpless offense that is better than only Pitt’s.

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-18, 4-13, KenPom #85)

Wake concludes a disappointing season tomorrow at Georgia Tech. After making their first NCAA Tournament in 7 years last season, Wake graduated star John Collins and never figured out how to replace him offensively this season.

15. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-23, 0-18, KenPom #237)

Mercifully, Pitt’s “perfect” regular season wrapped up on Wednesday. It’s been fun!