Streaking the Lawn’s ACC Men’s Basketball Power Rankings - 1/24/19

Plenty of hot ACC on ACC action happened in the past week - including, of course, the big matchup in Durham. Where are things standing in our standings, now? Let’s take a look:

1. Duke Blue Devils (16-2, 5-1 - Last Week: 2)

Without Tre Jones, the Blue Devils relied on their NBA playmakers to dominate in the lane against the Hoos and pulled out a 2pt win in the battle of the ACC’s best. Barrett and Williamson are an insanely formidable duo - and most of our writers felt this result was enough to leap Duke over UVa despite the earlier loss to Syracuse.

2. Virginia Cavaliers (17-1, 5-1 - Last Week: 1)

I did not put UVa here at number 2, but I got out voted. To me, beating the spread in Cameron Indoor for a one-possession loss (and beating the ever-loving crap out of VT and Wake) is more impressive than losing to Syracuse at home...but I get it. Losing the head to head drops our heroes to 2nd in our poll.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (15-4, 5-1 - Last Week: 4)

Carolina has certainly regrouped after the disaster against Louisville. The best part, of course, is how they walloped VT in Chapel Hill - hanging 103 points on the Hokies.

4. Louisville Cardinals (13-5, 4-1 - Last Week: 5)

Louisville continues to look very much like a contender despite the road loss at Pitt. Tonight’s game hosting NC State should be a fun one as well and could perhaps make this “Who’s the last double-bye?” question a little more easier to answer.

5. Virginia Tech Hokies (15-3, 4-2 - Last Week: 3)

BUZZ WILLIAMS INSPIRATIONAL TWEET OF THE WEEK:

So yes, he’s definitely leaving.

6. North Carolina State Wolfpack (15-3, 3-2 - Last Week: 6)

Ew, you lost to Wake Forest, NC State. Ew, I’m not mentioning anything else for at least a wekk.

7. Syracuse Orange (13-5, 4-1 - Last Week: 7)

Cuse handled Pitt at home - they’ve got Miami tonight and then a road trip Saturday to Blacksburg. That VT game should go a long way towards telling us if the Orange should be higher up in our rankings (and the turkeys much lower).

8. Florida State Seminoles (14-5, 2-4 - Last Week: 8)

FSU had a bit of bounce back from their string of losses, taking care of Clemson at home. The Miami, GT, Syracuse stretch could propel them back into ACC contention - or keep them in this muddled middle bubblicious group.

9. Clemson Tigers (11-7, 1-4 - Last Week: 9)

It’s looking more and more like I was very wrong to be optimistic about Clemson’s chances this year. The schedule has been pretty rough to start ACC play, but they need to start winning games like the road test Saturday @NCSU.

10. Pittsburgh Panthers (12-7, 2-4 - Last Week: 10)

Pitt came back down to earth a little this week with losses to Cuse and Duke - after the surprising wins this month, it looks like Pitt can stick around with most of the ACC - but will they make run towards the top of this middle group?

11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-8, 3-3 - Last Week: 12)

3-3 is pretty decent, all things considered for the Jackets - but they’ve got UNC and Duke back to back this week...that should be fun. This is definitely one of the ACC teams that’s the hardest to get a read on. Hanging 73 on Cuse in New York may end up being more of anomaly than indicative of their potential quality.

12. Miami Hurricanes (9-8, 1-4 - Last Week: 11)

Miami’s one ACC win is against Wake and they’s not going to cut it. Let’s just blame it all on the NCAA not instating Dewan Harnandez and call it a day.

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-8, 1-5- Last Week: 13)

The Irish lost a close one in Atlanta, which has certainly been the theme for their ACC results: sticking in games but losing it late. Hosting UVa and Duke back to back will certainly be an...opportunity.

14. Boston College Eagles (10-7, 1-4 - Last Week: 14)

The Eagles were VICTORIOUS finally in conference play - picking up a nice win over FSU. This should firmly place them above Wake in our rankings for a few more weeks, at least.

15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-10, 1-5 - Last Week: 15)

Things look pretty bleak for the Deacs, despite the win against NCSU - they hung in a game at VT for a while and certainly made a run in Charlottesville...but that was after starting the game giving up a 25-3 run. Maybe they’ll have some more surprises in them soon...