How Does Stanford Match Up with the ACC?

There is no doubt that Stanford basketball has had a great start to the year. Beginning the year 3-0, the Cardinal beat Portland State, Montana and Montana State, which includes two of the projected top teams in the conference. In addition, Stanford beat USF and Oregon in preseason battles.

But while the Cardinal have succeeded early in their non-conference schedule, so have other ACC opponents, which is leading up to what should be a bounce back year for the conference. So how are the other conference opponents doing early into the year?

15 of the 18 teams in the conference have started undefeated, but some certainly have looked better than others. Early, Duke looks like the best team in the conference, not because of who they have played, but how they are playing. And coming off of a rivalry win over Kentucky, Louisville is starting to make noise on the national stage as well.

The next three in the conference are easily North Carolina (No. 27), Clemson (No. 21), and NC State No. 24), who all rank well in KenPom. Two of the three have played easy schedules so far, but the Tar Heels’ win over Kansas puts them in the AP Poll Top 25, edging themselves out over the other two.

Cal, Georgia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Virginia Tech and Virginia are also interesting teams after 3-0 starts, but it seems like none of them have had a true tough test just yet. Syracuse sit at 2-0, and have a similar status of beating inferior teams in front of them.

The final two tiers of the ACC are the most interesting though. On Tuesday night, Wake Forest and Florida State both dropped games. However, both programs losing nail-biters on the road to top-10 teams proves that they may be legit after all.

Finally there's Boston College, who is in a league of its own. After losing two of their first three games to FAU and Central Connecticut, they look like possibly the worst team in the entire power five.

Despite being ranked number 85 on KenPom, good for 16th in the conference, the Cardinal truly should finish around 10th in the ACC. With a somewhat tough non-conference schedule that could still see Stanford go undefeated, if not close to it, that will allow the Cardinal to get some wins.

Following the non-conference games, things will get a bit more tricky for the Cardinal, who will be facing those tough ACC teams. We'll get a good idea of where Stanford stands when those games begin.