Streaking the Lawn’s ACC Men’s Basketball Power Rankings - 1/18/18

It’s been a great week for the Hoos, so far (let’s keep it up tomorrow, eh?). Having started off conference play with a pair of victories over top ten opponents, our beloved Wahoos sit atop the orangest and bluest power rankings in all of the land. Where does the rest of the ACC fit? Let’s take a look:

1. Virginia Cavaliers (16-0, 4-0 - Last Week: 1)

Taking care of business against BC and Clemson set up a dominating performance against the visiting turkeys - if the Wahoos can pull out a victory in Durham tomorrow, they’ll be solidly first in the ACC championship driver’s seat.

2. Duke Blue Devils (14-2, 3-1 - Last Week: 2)

Losing to Syracuse at home was a shocking (17 point favorites??) result and potentially losing PG Tre Jones to injury could have a devastating impact on the Blue Devils’ January - but oh let’s see...they still have the top three picks in next year’s NBA draft playing? Must be nice. Duke can reclaim momentum with a win over Virginia tomorrow - let’s see if they shore up some of those rebounds they were giving up freely to the Noles and Orange.

3. Virginia Tech Hokies (14-2, 3-1 - Last Week: 4)

BUZZ WILLIAMS INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

This seems like the appropriate response when your older, wiser, sexier brother beats the breaks off of you in the biggest game of your rivalry’s history.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels (13-1, 2-0 - Last Week: 3)

Was the Louisville result more a fluke or more indicative of the Heels’ issues? They let Notre Dame hang around for most of the next game in Chapel Hill, so a road trip against Miami and (more importantly) hosting VT this week will give us a clearer picture of how they stand in the ACC.

5. Louisville Cardinals (12-5, 3-1 - Last Week: 7)

The Cardinals absolutely trucked Carolina in Chapel Hill and followed up with a win over Boston College to get to 3-1 in ACC play. Certainly the road win was a bit of an upset coming off of a loss to Pitt, but those up and down results make sense for a new coach - I’d expect more ups than downs as the season continues.

6. North Carolina State Wolfpack (14-3, 2-2 - Last Week: 5)

Letting Wake Forest win that game was really nice of you, State. Road games against Notre Dame and Louisville loom a little larger now, if the Pack want to keep pace with the top conference teams.

7. Syracuse Orange (12-5, 3-1 - Last Week: 8)

I know there are a few UVa fans out there that would have preferred to face Duke tomorrow not coming off a devastating home loss, but I am not one of those fans. Cuse was doing God’s work by beating ESPN’s favorite team and for that they should be applauded. They’ve got Pitt and Miami at home coming up before a road trip to Blacksburg next weekend.

8. Florida State Seminoles (13-4, 1-3 - Last Week: 6)

The Noles have lost 3 of 4 ACC games which is not good. This includes a 13 point loss on the road to Pittsburgh that is making me think FSU might just be not good. They did take it to Duke pretty well at home before having their hearts broken by a wide open Cam Reddish (not good) - perhaps the Pitt game was a classic residual hangover result.

9. Clemson Tigers (11-6, 1-3 - Last Week: 9)

Speaking of teams that I thought were good now sitting at 1-3, the Tigers have a more excusable schedule to point to with that record: Duke, UVA, and @Syracuse are all understandable losses. However, they’ve got two ranked teams on the road for their next pair of games - 1-5 is 1-5 no matter who you play, so hopefully they can right the ship this week.

10. Pittsburgh Panthers (12-5, 2-2 - Last Week: 12)

Jeff Capel’s team has won two big games in the start of ACC play - against two upper-half ACC squads to boot. Freshman Trey McGowens has emerged for the Panthers - averaging 31.5 points in those two big wins against FSU and Louisville.

11. Miami Hurricanes (9-7, 1-3 - Last Week: 11)

Miami’s win against Wake Forest stemmed some of the bleeding from three straight ACC losses, but the schedule now reads UNC, @Syr, FSU, VT. That’s three home game opportunities to turn things around...

12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-7, 2-2 - Last Week: 14)

GT played Virginia Tech tough in a close loss then walloped Syracuse in the Carrier Dome (what?!). They couldn’t handle Clemson in the next game however, so it’s going to take a few more surprising victories for the Jackets to climb up our rankings much farther.

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-6, 1-3 - Last Week: 10)

Things are not looking good in South Bend, as the Irish are clearly struggling to replace injured Rex Pflueger’s production. Still, there were some positives to take away in the close loss to the Heels and a number of possible wins coming up in the near future schedule (NCSU, GT, and BC in the next 5 games).

14. Boston College Eagles (9-7, 0-4 - Last Week: 13)

The Eagles have yet to taste victory in conference play, but they have also yet to face the indignity of being last in our rankings! Better watch out, boys - 1/26 marks the Basement Statement Game in Winston Salem.

15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-8, 1-3 - Last Week: 15)

Wake hung on for a HUGE WIN against the visiting Wolf Pack this week - after blowing an enormous lead, no less! Mark this as the turning point for their conference title run, true believers.