ACC Basketball Weekly Roundup: Power Rankings and the Good, Bad, and Ugly

No one is in Duke’s airspace in the ACC. The Blue Devils haven’t really been challenged outside of a late-game surge from Notre Dame, and they are currently riding a 12-game win streak. Coach Jon Scheyer has a well-rounded group that is fully capable of winning a title. Much of the ACC’s hopes rest on the Blue Devils, who have often found themselves the lone ambassador of the conference in the AP Poll.

Wake Forest has quietly risen up the ACC ladder as North Carolina may be watching its NCAA Tournament hopes slip away. A surprise under new coach Pat Kelsey, Louisville sits at second alongside Clemson.

More importantly, it’s been a long time since Virginia has struggled this much in the ACC. The ‘Hoos are 17th — second to last — with a lone win against NC State keeping their record out of the winless category.

In a League of their Own:

1. Duke (16-2, 8-0 ACC)

2nd Tier:

2. Louisville (14-5, 7-1)
3. Clemson (15-4, 7-1)
4. Wake Forest (14-4, 6-1)
5. North Carolina (12-7, 5-2)
6. SMU (14-4, 5-2)
7. Florida State (13-5, 4-3)
8. Stanford (12-6, 4-3)
9. Pittsburgh (12-6, 3-4)

3rd Tier:

10. Syracuse (9-9, 3-4)
11. NC State (9-9, 2-5)
12. Virginia Tech (8-10, 3-4)
13. Notre Dame (8-10, 2-5)
14. Georgia Tech (8-11, 2-6)
15. California (9-9, 2-5)
16. Boston College (9-9, 1-6)
17. Virginia (8-10, 1-6)
18. Miami (4-14, 0-7)

The Good: Stanford stuns North Carolina, Wake Forest’s six-game winning streak

While Duke looks head and shoulders above the rest of the ACC field, plenty are vying for a top-five position in the conference standings. Stanford, having lost four starters this offseason, has shattered preseason expectations under Coach Kyle Smith. The Cardinal looked destined for a rebuilding year in the ACC with the personnel assembled in Palo Alto, but a win over North Carolina has catapulted Stanford to the seventh spot in-conference (4-3). In poetic fashion, ex-Dukie Jaylen Blakes sank a midrange jumper as time expired in the Dean Dome. He and senior center Maxime Raynaud (20.8 PPG, 11.6 RPG) have churned Stanford forward, and the latter dominated the Tar Heels’ undersized frontcourt with 25 points and 13 rebounds — his 15th double-double on the year.

Winning on the East Coast will also give the Cardinal a bit of a cushion when they return to California to take on Miami, Florida State, and Syracuse. They could feasibly head into a road contest against SMU in February with a 7-3 ACC record.

Wake Forest is riding a six-game win streak and has clawed back from some painful non-conference losses to Xavier, Florida, and Texas A&M. Albeit having played against the lower rungs of ACC competition, the Demon Deacons defeated Stanford by 13 and avoided an upset on the road against Virginia Tech this weekend. Senior guard Hunter Sallis continues to impress as one of the most prolific scorers in the country, having registered 20+ points in his last seven outings. Three-point shooting has plagued Wake Forest throughout the season, however, and may be key in helping them to steal a few major games ahead.

The biggest stretch of their season looms. Home matchups against North Carolina and No. 2 Duke will be followed by an away contest against Louisville and another date in Winston-Salem with Pittsburgh. Talk about at-large opportunities!

The Bad: NC State’s slip-ups in narrow games, Boston College’s losing streak

The momentum of last season’s miraculous Final Four run is fizzling out for NC State. Even though Coach Kevin Keatts retained multiple key contributors and added some valuable portalers, the Wolfpack haven’t taken a leap in conference play and are mired in a three-game losing streak. They’ve lost these contests — to North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and California — by a combined eight points. The home loss to the Golden Bears puts a significant dent in the NC State’s metrics, and Virginia Tech’s massive comeback in Blacksburg will haunt them. These are the types of games you need to win before the big boys come knocking, as the Wolfpack will take on SMU, Duke, and Clemson in the next two weeks.

Akin to Wake Forest, NC State has struggled from behind the arc. A one of ten finish from three-point range against California is not a recipe for success.

Boston College’s last week wasn’t encouraging, even if everyone in-conference seems to be caught in the Duke buzz saw. The Eagles were tied 48-48 with 10:36 to play against Notre Dame and ended up losing by 18 in South Bend. A 28-point loss at home to Duke followed. A 32.6% 3PT disparity against the Irish (52.6% to 20.0%) still couldn’t play a big enough role for Boston College, who turned the ball over 18 times in the loss.

If anything is becoming clearer, however, it’s the blossoming of sophomore guard Donald Hand Jr. — a sophomore whose father played for Virginia from 1997-2001. Could the ‘Hoos extend a look to Hand in the portal this offseason? He leads the Eagles in scoring with 14.3 PPG and has notched three 20+ point games so far. It might be wise for Virginia’s new coach to recruit a budding talent with deep ties to the school.

The Ugly: Pitt’s slide, Virginia’s lack of competitiveness

What happened to the Panthers? Pitt followed up a five-game win streak with a four-game losing streak against Duke, Louisville, Florida State, and Clemson. These are all top-half ACC teams, but Coach Jeff Capel’s team has looked unrecognizable as of late. The Panthers showed heart in a futile comeback against the Tigers that resulted in overtime; however, they haven’t defended their home court and simply couldn’t close the gap in Tallahassee. With an at-large candidacy nearly out of consideration, they can only afford to lose two or three more contests. They failed to capitalize on opportunities presented against the Tigers and Cardinals, both positioned to make the Big Dance.

Both of Capel’s starting guards — sophomore Jaland Lowe (17.3 PPG) and senior Ish Leggett (16.5 PPG) — have to cut down on the turnovers if they want to see their winning ways return. The former committed eight against Florida State.

Virginia’s only salvation is a Wolfpack-esque ACC Tournament run, and that's only if they make it in to the 15-team field. The ‘Hoos have lost their last five and were only competitive against SMU, who cashed in a buzzer-beating jumper to escape with a win in Charlottesville. What’s worse is the five-point lead that Virginia held with 32 seconds remaining. However, freshman Ishan Sharma and sophomore Blake Buchanan have displayed some signs of improvement, with the former logging a career-high 15 rebounds against the Mustangs. Who knows which players will remain at Virginia following an imminent coaching change, but it wouldn’t hurt to retain several of the younger, more promising players on this roster such as Buchanan, Sharma, and forward Jacob Cofie.

The Cavaliers will hope to turn things around against Boston College at home Tuesday night. This would be the prime opportunity to do so, with four matchups approaching against bottom-half ACC teams — the Eagles, Notre Dame, Miami, and Virginia Tech.

Click here to read last week's edition of the ACC Basketball Weekly Roundup.