ACC Power Rankings: Week of 2/18

Below is a table of this week's rankings - further explanations follow. UVA moved up to third with a 2-0 week, while the bottom half of the conference continues to be in flux. Drop your thoughts and disagreements down in the comments.

Team	ACC Record	STL Ranking	Last	KenPom Rank	RPI Rank
Miami	12-0	1	1	10	2
Duke	9-3	2	2	8	1
North Carolina	7-5	3	4	38	30
Virginia	8-4	4	3	19	81
Maryland	6-6	5	6	56	62
NC State	7-5	6	5	43	24
Florida State	6-6	7	7	110	65
Clemson	5-8	8	9	88	137
Georgia Tech	4-8	9	8	77	128
Wake Forest	4-9	10	10	137	158
Boston College	3-9	11	11	120	149
Virginia Tech	2-10	12	12	148	167

Games of the Week:

Mid-week: Tuesday, Virginia @ Miami

Weekend: Saturday, North Carolina State @ North Carolina

1. Miami

It wasn't pretty, as the Canes shot 16% from behind the arc, but Miami slid by Clemson to improve to 12-0 in ACC play. KenPom now gives the team a 17.7 % chance of finishing the year undefeated.

This week: Tuesday vs Virginia. Sunday @ Wake Forest

2. Duke

After an emotional home victory over their rival Tar Heels, Duke dropped their third conference game to Maryland. Alex Len dominated Mason Plumlee, who finished with a season low 4 points before fouling out. The Blue Devils are now 3-3 in ACC road games. Actually, they are 3-3 in all road games, since they didn't play any out-of-conference.

This week: Thursday @ Virginia Tech. Sunday vs. Boston College

3. North Carolina

Carolina's home victory over Virginia was easily its best win of the season. The Heels are 2-4 on the road this year, and must take care of business in some tricky upcoming away games to solidify its NCAA spot.

This week: Tuesday @ Georgia Tech. Saturday vs. NC State

4. Virginia

The Hoos dropped an important game at UNC; the teams split their season series, with each winning by similar margins while playing its own style at home. I don't think UNC has the better team, but it was only fair to swap the two (for now) because of the manner in which the Heels won. Opportunity knocks on Tuesday at Miami. Virginia must get back to playing its usual elite defense; in its past three games, UVA opponents have averaged 1.16 PPP (heavily influenced by the UNC game).

This week: Tuesday @ Miami. Sunday vs. Georgia Tech.

5. Maryland

The Terps picked up their long-awaited "signature win" at home against Duke, setting off obligatory riots in College Park. Maryland ranks in the nation's top 10 in both offensive rebounding % and defensive eFG%, an impressive combo. (Consider that UVA sacrifices offensive rebounds to get back and play defense).

This week: Tuesday @ Boston College. Saturday vs. Clemson.

6. North Carolina State

By virtue of a high RPI, a few good wins, and lack of bad losses, NC State is in fine shape to make the NCAA Tournament, but they aren't playing very good basketball. After a three-game losing streak, the Wolfpack required a buzzer-beater by Scott Wood to beat Clemson and then overtime to edge Virginia Tech at home. Mark Gottfried would be well-advised to ask his team to try to play defense in the postseason.

This week: Tuesday vs. Florida State. Saturday @ North Carolnia

7. Florida State

The only thing keeping 6-6 FSU in the bubble discussion is their unforgiving ACC schedule. The Seminoles play every team ahead of them in these power rankings except Duke two times and still have yet to see NC State twice and UVA and UNC again. Nobody knows what heroics Michael Snaer may still have in store - the team is ranked the 19th "luckiest" team in the nation by KenPom thus far. (Virginia is 299, if you were wondering).

This week: Tuesday @ NC State. Sunday @ Virginia Tech

8. Clemson

For the second straight Sunday, Clemson saw an upset bid evaporate in the final seconds. It was Scott Wood who hit the game winning jumper for NC State last week; Kenny Kadji nailed one this time for Miami, sending Clemson to its 4th loss in 5 tries.

This week: Saturday @ Maryland

9. Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is 4-3 after losing their first 5 ACC games. Their defense is ranked 10th in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings, while their offense stands at #240. While that 230-spot discrepancy is by far the most in the ACC (BC's defense is 142 spots behind their offense), it's paled in comparison by Savannah State, who have the nation's 20th ranked defense and 340th ranked offense.

This week: Tuesday vs. North Carolina. Sunday @ Virginia

10. Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons lost their first home game to a team not named "Duke" when Georgia Tech edged them in the final seconds. Despite having senior C.J. Harris and junior Travis McKie playing heavy minutes, Wake is somehow the 13th most inexperienced team in the nation in terms of minutes played.

This week: Saturday @ Miami