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ACC Power Rankings: Week of 1/26/15

Once again, the Cavaliers took care of business to remain undefeated and #1 in our power rankings. The top 8 remains unchanged from last week, but we see a shakeup at the bottom. Here's what we've got - do you agree?

Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports
Team Record (ACC) STL Ranking Last week KenPom Rank RPI Rank (ESPN)
Virginia 19-0 (7-0) 1 1 2 3
Duke 17-2 (4-2) 2 2 8 7
Notre Dame 19-2 (7-1) 3 3 13 36
North Carolina 16-4 (6-1) 4 4 10 10
Louisville 16-3 (4-2) 5 5 14 18
Miami 14-5 (4-2) 6 6 44 38
NC State 13-8 (4-4) 7 7 41 44
Syracuse 14-6 (5-2) 8 8 74 60
Pittsburgh 13-7 (3-4) 9 10 100 74
Clemson 13-8 (3-4) 10 9 121 90
Boston College 9-9 (1-5) 11 12 115 118
Florida State 10-10 (2-5) 12 14 132 130
Wake Forest 9-11 (1-6) 13 11 113 138
Virginia Tech 8-11 (0-6) 14 15 175 197
Georgia Tech 9-10 (0-7) 15 13 112 89

Games of the Week:

Mid-week: Wednesday: Duke @ Notre Dame

Weekend: Saturday: Duke @ Virginia, UNC @ Louisville

Tier 1:

1. Virginia (Last Week: W 57-28 vs. GT, W 50-47 @ VT. Next: Saturday vs. Duke)

UVA remains the king of the ACC, barely sneaking past Virginia Tech to stay undefeated.  As I noted in the postgame, it's tough to figure why UVA struggled so much for the first 30 minutes of the game, but it just can't happen again. The offense wasn't anything to write home about against GT either, but allowing just 28 points will tend to cover that up.

Tier 2:

2. Duke (Last Week:  W 79-65 vs. Pitt, W 77-68 @ St. Johns  Next: Wednesday @ Notre Dame, Saturday @ Virginia)

3. Notre Dame (Last Week: W @ VT 85-60, W @ NCSU 81-78 (OT)   Next:  Wednesday vs. Duke, Saturday @ Pitt)

4. North Carolina (Last Week: W @ Wake Forest 87-71, W vs. FSU 78-74  Next: Monday vs. Syracuse, Saturday @ Louisville)

5. Louisville (Last Week: W @ Pittsburgh, 80-68  Next: Wednesday @ BC, Saturday vs. UNC)

Tier 2 of the ACC went a perfect 6-0 in conference games this week.  Who will challenge the Hoos for the ACC crown?  KenPom projects a 14-4 record for Notre Dame, 13-5 for UNC, and 12-6 for Louisville and Duke.  With Virginia having the tie-breaker on Notre Dame, UNC may have the best shot at rising up to the top of the pack.  The Heels are the only ACC team ranked in the top three in both offensive and defensive efficiency in conference games.

Coach K picked up his 1000th win, in case you somehow missed it...but could be on his way to his 309th and 310th losses this week against ND and Virginia? We hope so.

Tier 3:

6. Miami (Last Week: W vs. NC St. 65-60, W @ Syracuse 66-62  Next: Wednesday vs. GT, Sunday @ FSU)

7. NC State (Last Week: L @ Miami 65-60, L @ Notre Dame 81-78 (OT)  Next: Wednesday vs. Clemson, Saturday @ GT)

8. Syracuse (Last Week: W vs. BC 69-61, L vs. Miami 77-64  Next: Monday @ UNC)

"Tier 3" also remained the same as last week, though Syracuse is close to dropping out. Miami and NC State look like good bets for the tourney. Miami now has wins at Duke and Syracuse, with their ACC losses on the road at Notre Dame (by 5) and vs. Virginia (in double OT).  NC State fell just short of another huge win against Notre Dame, when they blew a large first-half lead.  Syracuse, however, doesn't have a win better than their neutral site victory over Iowa back in November.

Tier 4:

9. Pittsburgh (Last Week:L @ Duke 79-65, L vs. Louisville 80-68   Next: Tuesday @ VT, Saturday vs. ND)

10. Clemson (Last Week: L vs. FSU 59-55, W vs. Wake Forest 59-57  Next: Wednesday @ NCSU, Saturday vs. BC)

Pitt and Clemson get their own tier as they are definitively not at the level of NC State and Miami, but don't quite belong in the basement.  For Pitt, its because of the uncertainty that comes from their weak schedule.  The Panthers are 11-2 against teams not in the KenPom top 100, but 0-5 against those in the top 50 (with no games in between).  Close wins against BC, FSU, and GT support their being are a bit less hapless than the bunch to follow.

I wasn't so sure on Clemson, who fell at home to FSU, but they have wins more impressive than any of "tier 5" teams do.

Tier 5:

11. Boston College (Last Week: L @ Syracuse 69-61, W @ GT, 64-62  Next: Wednesday vs. Louisville, Saturday @ Clemson)

12. Florida State (Last Week: W @ Clemson 59-55, L @ UNC 78-74  Next: Wednesday vs. Wake Forest, Sunday vs. Miami)

13. Wake Forest (Last Week: L vs. UNC 87-71, L @ Clemson 59-57   Next: Wednesday @ FSU, Saturday vs. VT)

14. Virginia Tech (Last Week: L vs. Notre Dame 85-60, L vs, Virginia 50-47  Next: Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh, Saturday @ Wake Forest)

15. Georgia Tech (Last Week: L @ Virginia 57-28, L vs. BC 64-62  Next: Wednesday @ Miami, Saturday vs. NCSU)

Congrats Hokies - after VT's effort against the Hoos, I just couldn't put them last this time (though the other 15 games or so support that they are the conference's worst). Rather, that honor goes to Georgia Tech, who had a miserable week, scoring 28 at Virginia, then losing a home game against BC.

BC and FSU move up, as they both won road games this week.  These 5 teams have four wins combined, two of them over Georgia Tech.