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ACC Power Rankings: Week of 2/2/15

The Virginia Cavaliers saw their undefeated run ended, but still stayed atop our power rankings - how would you rank the ACC?

By Brian Schwartz
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Team Record (ACC) STL Ranking Last week KenPom Rank RPI Rank (ESPN)
Virginia 19-1 (7-1) 1 1 2 3
Duke 18-3 (5-3) 2 2 7 5
North Carolina 17-5 (7-2) 3 4 11 10
Notre Dame 20-3 (8-2) 4 3 15 30
Louisville 18-3 (6-2) 5 5 10 13
NC State 14-9 (5-5) 6 7 53 49
Miami 14-7 (4-4) 7 6 62 50
Syracuse 14-7 (5-3) 8 8 65 62
Clemson 13-8 (5-4) 9 10 92 80
Pittsburgh 14-8 (4-5) 10 9 93 73
Florida State 12-10 (4-5) 11 12 122 125
Boston College 9-11 (1-7) 12 11 120 122
Georgia Tech 10-11 (1-8) 13 15 82 92
Wake Forest 10-12 (2-7) 14 13 111 138
Virginia Tech 9-12 (1-7) 15 14 160 191

Games of the Week:

Mid-week:  Virginia @ UNC, Louisville @ Miami

Weekend:  Louisville @ Virginia, Notre Dame @ Duke

Tier 1:

1. Virginia (Last Week: L vs. Duke  Next: Monday @ UNC, Saturday vs. Louisville)

2. Duke (Last Week:  L @ Notre Dame, W @ Virginia.  Next: Wednesday vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday vs. Notre Dame)

3. North Carolina (Last Week: W vs. Syracuse, L @ Louisville  Next: Monday vs. Virginia, Saturday @ Boston College)

4. Notre Dame (Last Week: W vs. Duke, L @ Pittsburgh Next:  Wednesday vs. Boston College, Saturday @ Duke)

5. Louisville (Last Week: W @ Boston College, W vs. North Carolina Next: Tuesday @ Miami, Saturday @ Virginia)

Virginia still remains on top of our ACC Power Rankings...but unlike last week, we can't argue they are head and shoulders above the pack. I brought UVA down to "earth," at the same tier as the rest of the ACC's best, but the Hoos are still the team to beat atop the ACC.

UVA's biggest problem?  The Hoos have not dominated the interior as they did earlier this season. VT and Duke made 61 and 58% of their 2s, respectively.  Offensively, Anthony Gill has cooled off, registering more human numbers (19 points on 7-18 shooting since the BC game), while Mike Tobey has been quiet (26 points in last 6 games, 8 of which came on 3-10 shooting at Duke).

Duke beat UVA, UVA beat Notre Dame, Notre Dame beat Duke and North Carolina, North Carolina beat Louisville, and Louisville beat North Carolina as well. The top of the ACC has been as wild as we expected.

Tier 2:

6. NC State (Last Week: L vs. Clemson, W @ Georgia Tech.  Next: Tuesday @ Wake Forest)

7. Miami (Last Week: L vs. Georgia Tech, L @ Florida State. Next: Tuesday vs. Louisville, Sunday vs. Clemson)

8. Syracuse (Last Week: L @ North Carolina. Next: Tuesday vs. Virginia Tech, Saturday @ Pittsburgh)

It was a rough week for this grouping, as the gap between NC State and Louisville is growing into a chasm; the three teams at tier 2 combined to go 1-4 this week. The Wolfpack's losing streak was extended to 3 with a home loss to Clemson, and it took a long buzzer-beater to beat GT in overtime. Miami seriously damaged its NCAA hopes, as it added two bad losses to Georgia Tech and Florida State. Syracuse fell to UNC.

All three teams have March Madness hopes, but each has serious work to do, or the conference could be at risk of getting just five bids

Tier 3:

9. Clemson (Last Week: W @ NC State, W vs. Boston College. Next: Wednesday @ Florida State, Sunday @ Miami)

10. Pittsburgh (Last Week:L @ Virginia Tech. W vs. Notre Dame. Next: Monday vs. Bryant, Saturday vs. Syracuse)

Clemson and Pitt teeter perilously above the basement, but also are closing the gap above them.  Clemson is on a three-game winning streak, with three of its four league losses against "tier 1" teams. Its defense, which was solid if unremarkable during the out-of-conference, is second in the ACC during league play, allowing .99 PPP.  They, not Virginia, lead the league in two-point defense.

Pitt lost to Virginia Tech and beat Notre Dame, so that's weird. Their defense has been the worst so far in the ACC, but they out-dueled the Irish behind Jamel Artis's 19 points - he's scored in double figures for 6 consecutive games.

Tier 4:

11. Florida State (Last Week: W vs. Wake Forest, W vs. Miami. Next: Wednesday vs. Clemson, Saturday @ VT.)

12. Boston College (Last Week: L vs. Louisville, L @ Clemson. Next: Wednesday @ Notre Dame, Saturday vs. UNC.)

13. Georgia Tech (Last Week: W @ Miami, L vs. NCSU. Next: Wednesday @ Duke, Saturday vs. Wake Forest.)

14. Wake Forest (Last Week: L @ Florida St., W vs. Virginia Tech. Next: Tuesday vs. NCSU, Saturday @ Georgia Tech)

15. Virginia Tech (Last Week: W vs. Pittsburgh, L @ Wake Forest. Next: Tuesday @ Syracuse, Saturday vs. FSU)

After a hapless start to the season, FSU is looking surprisingly capable. They've won 3 of their last 4, only falling to UNC on the road by four. The Noles have done it with improved defense, holding Clemson and Miami to under a point per possession.

Other bright spots this week include Georgia Tech's recovery to beat Miami on the road and send NCSU to OT.  They were due. Their other 8 losses are aided by some really bad luck: besides their blowout at JPJ, GT's other 7 losses were all in single-digits. One was in double OT, one was in OT, and three others were by as basket or less.

The Hokies also picked up their first win, vs. Pitt, but fell back to the bottom again by default; I considered Wake Forest for the spot too, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, as they beat VT this weekend (albeit by three at home).

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