ACC Men's Basketball Power Rankings Ahead of Virginia Tech's Exhibition Game
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College basketball is almost officially here. Exhibitions are occurring across the nation; Virginia Tech's will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. ET vs. Duquesne.
Our guys 🦃🔥
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) October 21, 2025
See them Saturday in Cassell 🔜🏰
🎟️: https://t.co/XGbXvH4EXG pic.twitter.com/FLhkmz6NCP
Duke sits atop the rankings once again, led by twin sensations Cameron and Cayden Boozer. The former was the 2023 and 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year for basketball. The Blue Devils’ latest No. 1 spot felt inevitable despite them losing all five starters to the NBA Draft. As well as the Boozers, Duke also sports Dame Sarr, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba and Isaiah Evans. The Blue Devils are my pick, unsurprisingly, to win the ACC this season.
I have the Cardinals in the same spot that they were a year ago. Should the Cardinals and Blue Devils meet in the ACC Tournament, I will not be surprised at all. In Year 2 under Kelsey, Louisville's added shooters like Adrian Wooley (42.2% from three in his rookie year with Kennesaw State), Ryan Conwell (All-Big EAST Third Team last year) and Isaac McKneely (All-ACC Honorable Mention last year at Virginia with 14.4 PPG). The Cardinals once again are a force and the media placing them at second is a decision I agree with.
After finishing 16th a season ago, the Wolfpack look to bounce back under new head whistle Will Wade. Wade was previously at McNeese for the past two seasons where he compiled a 50-9 record, including a 36-2 (!!) mark in the Southland Conference. In addition, the Cowboys made the tournament both years, making it to the second round in last year's tournament.
Then, there's another part in this equation. Darrion Williams. Last year, Williams was on the Big 12's First Team as a member of Texas Tech, which reached the Elite Eight. Williams was named this year's Preseason Player of the Year. He was also named to CBS Sports' Preseason All-America Third Team. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Wolfpack made it to the final game of the ACC Tournament — or that they win the whole thing.
With the departure of Elliott Cadeau and RJ Davis, it's a new dawn of sorts for the Tar Heels. Freshman Caleb Wilson and transfers Kyan Evans (Colorado State) and Henri Veesaar (Arizona) are among the highlights. The Tar Heels are one of the three ranked ACC teams in the preseason, sitting at No. 25. The other two are Duke (No. 6) and Louisville.
Virginia finds itself in a new dawn with incoming head whistle Ryan Odom, who comes to Charlottesville from VCU. The Cavaliers have as many as seven ready-to-go guys, including Belgium player Thijs De Ridder and San Francisco transfer Malik Thomas. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if the Cavaliers found their way back to the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson enters 2025-26 as one of the ACC’s more unpredictable teams. The Tigers are adjusting to life without longtime leader Chase Hunter, whose experience and versatility were central to last season’s third-place ACC finish and NCAA Tournament berth. Despite the sting of their early exit — an upset loss to McNeese in the Round of 64 — Clemson proved throughout 2024-25 that it could compete with nearly anyone when the offense clicked and the defense held firm. I don't think it reaches last year's mark, but that it does enough to make the Big Dance this year.
"Close, but no cigar" is my statement on the Mustangs. Though SMU performed admirably in its opening campaign as an ACC member, it just wasn't enough to make the tournament. The Mustangs are rather inexperienced this go around, but if guard Boopie Miller can anchor SMU once again, the Mustangs should be in the hunt for a bid to the Dance.
I think that at minimum, four ACC teams make the tournament. At maximum, I think it'll be seven or eight. I project the Hokies right on that cutline and with a strong showing in Charlotte this year, I think that the Hokies could make the Big Dance outright for the first time since 2021.
6-foot-9 Neoklis Avdlas was the headline acquisition of the offseason; the guard-wing hybrid possesses point guard attributes while being a scorer from both inside and outside. Alongside new transfers in Izaiah Pasha, last year's CAA Rookie of the Year, Amani Hansberry — who came with Chester Frazier from West Virginia — and Jailen Bedford, who played with UNLV and Oral Roberts, the Hokies appear to be a unit capable of contending for a spot in the Big Dance this year.
Young's main concern is shooting, but it's not one that causes him "heartburn", as he put it at the team's media day earlier this month.
“Yeah, I've got really good players. I've done it throughout my career with a number of guys that could really shoot it,” Young said. “We shoot the ball well. I don't think it's going to be an Achilles' heel. We don't knock the bottom out of it like some teams that I've had. I said the other day, we're going to have some games when we make 12 [threes]. We're going to have some games [that] we make six. But defensively, in other areas, we're going to be much improved. And I don't have a lot of heartburn about it.”
If the Hokies can upgrade their three-point shooting, a berth to March — and possibly a ticket to the Round of 32, should all go well — is well within the realm of possibility.
A season after finishing dead-last, Miami is ready to improve on its 3-17 ranking. After all, when you're at rock bottom (or thereabouts), you can only go up, especially with a new whistle in Jai Lucas. The Hurricanes added many transfer portal pieces, such as Tre Donaldson, Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh. However, Lucas' lack of experience as a head coach could pose some questions about the consistency of Miami in Year 1 of his tenure.
Kiyan Anthony headlines what should be an intriguing squad. Alongside Donnie Freeman, who returns following an abbreviated 2024-25 campaign that was cut short due to injury. The No. 8 to No. 11 range is one that can be hotly debated. Wake Forest, for example, ranks ahead of Syracuse in KenPom, with a No. 49 spot to Syracuse's No. 68.
I place the Orange here due to the combination of upside and uncertainty that defines Adrian Autry’s roster. Syracuse boasts as much raw talent as any team in the ACC's middle tier but youth and health loom as key variables.
Despite a 63.7% win mark over his last four campaigns, head coach Steve Forbes enters this season with an almost entirely new roster. Aside from returners Tre’Von Spillers, Juke Harris, and the oft-injured Omaha Biliew, the Demon Deacons will once again lean heavily on a collection of transfers to carry the load.
While the program’s track record under his direction suggests they’ll remain competitive, Forbes has not made it to March Madness with the Demon Deacons and I don't think that changes this year.
Guard Markus Burton enters the season as one of the nation’s premier backcourt threats. He averaged 21.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 44.2% from the field and 37.5% from three last year. However, as with many of the lower teams, Notre Dame is riding on youth producing.
Should the Yellow Jackets stay healthy, a promising season is on the cards. Anchored once again by Baye Ndongo, who averaged 13.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest, Georgia Tech appears imposing when healthy. However, that question of health leads me to put them at No. 13.
Like the majority of the squads around it, Pitt is a youth-centered unit bolstered by several transfers. Last year's leading scorer for the Panthers, Jaland Love, left for Kentucky after averaging 16.8 points per game last season. left for Cameron Corhen and Brandin Cummings are the mainstays; last year, the two averaged 11.0 and 6.3 points a night, respectively.
Pitt also lost twins Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham to San Francisco and Oregon State, respectively. The new transfers, such as Damarco Minor from Oregon State, Nojus Indrusaitis and Dishon Jackson from Iowa State and Barry Dunning from South Alabama, look to bring an offensive jolt for the Panthers.
Last year, Minor averaged 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals for the Beavers; at his previous stop, SIUE, he tallied 8.5 rebounds per contest in the 2023-24 season.
However, Pitt's not a team that I think will be uber-competitive due to the lack of a true No. 1 go-to option. I could see the Panthers' ceiling being around No. 9 based on the relatively close density of talent ceiling. KenPom agrees, putting six ACC schools between the No. 63 and No. 77 slots, including Virginia Tech (No. 71, No. 12 ACC)
Out, Leonard Hamilton and in, Luke Loucks. Loucks was named the team's head coach following the retirement of Hamilton and for his, the roster is a relatively even spread of veteran transfers and fresh newcomers. It leads to a depth chart that appears barren beyond the first wave, which includes transfers like Kobe MaGee from Drexel, Robert McCray from Louisville and Chauncey Wiggins from Clemson.
With the freshmen behind them appearing to be ready in a year or two's time, envisioning a highly competitive Seminoles unit is hard to see for this upcoming season. I envision this year as a building block; Loucks played at Florida State from 2009 to 2012 and led the Seminoles to an ACC championship. He also has tallied stints with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings and possesses assistant coaching experience in the professional game that could make a distinct difference — down the line.
Cal’s jump into the ACC was rocky. Their leading scorer, Andrej Stojakovic, averaged 17.9 points per game, but he's now off to Illinois. I don't see much from this roster that leads me to expect big things in the 2025-26 campaign.
After its first year in the ACC, Stanford takes a ten-place nosedive from last year's final standings to my projected order of finish. The main reason why is the exit of Maxime Raynaud. Last year, the first-team All-ACC center averaged 20.2 points per contest and 10.6 rebunds a night. However, Raynaud is now a pro, playing with the NBA's Sacramento ings. As a result of that and the prototypical inexperienced roster, I'm not expecting much from Stanford this year.
Last year, Boston College was second-to-last. This year, I predict that they go a step later. Though Donald Hand and Chase Forte are an intriguing duo, the Eagles have historically been a middling program. I expect Boston College to claim the majority of their non-conference contests, but anything beyond a bottom-three slot in the ACC would surprise me.
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Thomas is a sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in multimedia journalism with a minor in creative writing. He currently works with Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's student-run newspaper, as a staff writer for its sports section. In addition, he also writes for 3304 Sports as a staff writer and on-air talent, as well as Aspiring Journalists at Virginia Tech as a curator. You can find him on X: @thomashughes_05.
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