Streaking the Lawn’s ACC Men’s Basketball Power Rankings - 1/8/18

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, folks - ACC play is here! Now that teams in the conference have started facing off in the buzzsaw part of the schedule, our POWER RANKINGS are back to let you know how they all compare to each other:

1. Virginia Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0 - Last Week: 2)

Finally, we have the Hoos at their rightful spot in the conference rankings! After their dominate performance against (top ten ranked) FSU, our writers are finally willing to rank our team above ESPN’s team.

2. Duke Blue Devils (12-1, 1-0 - Last Week: 1)

Speaking of the World Wide Leader’s Team - Duke falls to number 2, only because of the Hoos’ big win, really. As you know by now, the hype on Duke’s ability to score in bunches and force turnovers is legit - and my goodness did you see that 360 Zion dunk (I’m coming around on him, it’s not his fault ESPN acts like it does)...but what’s another huge key for the Blue Devils? Tre Jones taking care of the ball (5.8 assists per game, only 1 turnover per game).

3. North Carolina Tar Heels (11-3, 1-0 - Last Week: 4)

UNC has played a pretty great schedule and though they’ve lost to the best teams on their slate (and Texas), they’re still extremely talented, capable, and (often) fun to watch. Tonight’s game in Raleigh should give us a good idea if we have the Heels too high or the Pack too low.

4. Virginia Tech Hokies (13-1, 2-0 - Last Week: 5)

BUZZ WILLIAMS INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Buzz also spent some time this week tweeting about tractors...because obviously.

5. North Carolina State Wolfpack (13-1, 1-0 - Last Week: 6)

The Wolfpack picked up a nice road ACC win at Miami this week and host their hated Tarheels tonight. If they get that W, they should leap up even farther in our rankings and really start being looked at as a top 4 ACC finisher.

6. Florida State Seminoles (12-2, 0-1 - Last Week: 4)

FSU is almost certainly better than they looked in Charlottesville (a healthy Terrance Mann will go a long way), but turning the ball over 15 times and shooting 26% from the 3pt line are both concerning signs for the Noles.

7. Louisville Cardinals (10-4, 1-0 - Last Week: 7)

Chris Mack’s team followed up a big loss in their rivalry game against Kentucky with a dismantling of Miami at home to start ACC play. While they’ve lost to most of their name-brand out of conference opponents, they do have wins over Seton Hall and Michigan State to balance out their resume some. If they hold steady in conference play, I think they’ll be a tournament team in Mack’s first year.

8. Syracuse Orange (10-4, 1-0 - Last Week: 8)

Cuse handled a depleted Notre Dame team on the road for their first ACC result - those losses to ODU and Buffalo might not hurt so bad in the long run, but their conference match ups won’t be friendly: the Orange play State and UNC on the road for their only games - and Duke twice. They do get FSU and UVA in the Carrier Dome for their solo games against the other two conference heavyweights.

9. Clemson Tigers (10-4, 0-1 - Last Week: 9)

Clemson hung with Duke in Durham for 45% of the game this week - but Marcquise Reed is going to lead these guys to plenty of wins this year. I think Clemson is still someone that could challenge for an ACC top 4 finish. Of course, they’ll need more consistent productions elsewhere on the court - and have a huge road game tomorrow against Syracuse (with the Hoos coming to town for ACC game #3).

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-5, 0-2 - Last Week: 10)

Going extremely cold at the end of the game against Cuse knocked the Irish to 0-2 in ACC play - and they’re really going to struggle to bounce back with a depleted roster and four ranked opponents in their next six games.

11. Miami Hurricanes (8-6, 0-2 - Last Week: 11)

Losses to NCSU and Louisville have the Canes in the bottom of the ACC rankings, but only #11 in the minds of our writers. Why? There’s clearly more ability in this team than some of the other basement-dwellers. However, calling this season so far anything but a disappointment would be an error - losses to Rutgers, Yale, Penn are going to really stick out to the committee (if the Canes do actually rebound in ACC play into tournament contention...a monumental “if” for sure).

12. Pittsburgh Panthers (10-4, 0-1 - Last Week: 13)

I still feel that we don’t really know much about Pitt - which isn’t too surprising considering the transition that comes with a new coach. They were put away early against UNC, but that’s to be expected. They hold a bunch of uninspiring wins, a few expected losses, and a one point upset at the hands of Niagara. I guess we’ll find out what the Panthers are made of soon.

13. Boston College Eagles (9-4, 0-1 - Last Week: 12)

BC gave it a good run in Blacksburg, but seemingly couldn’t stop fouling enough to keep the game within reach in the second half. Things get even tougher tomorrow night when they host UVa, but with the muddled standings in the middle of the ACC, there’s a lot of opportunity in front of Ky Bowman to get the Eagles out of the conference cellar.

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-5, 1-0 - Last Week: 14)

Georgia Tech beat Wake Forest by 13 at home which is about the least convincing result a team can acquire in the win column. An upset tomorrow of Virginia Tech would drastically change our opinions of the Jackets.

15. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-6, 0-1 - Last Week: 15)

I don’t mean to speak for everyone, but we’d all like to see Danny Manning succeed at Wake, right? That window is shutting...rapidly...