ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 4
With an action packed week of the ACC vs Big Ten Challenge and the beginning of conference play, we learned more about these 15 schools. Let’s take a look at how they stack up.
1. Virginia Cavaliers (7-0)
Last week: 1
Last week’s Results: 70-68 W at Michigan, 62-57 W vs Florida State
Virginia still holds the top spot with their perfect record, although their performance this past week was less impressive. The Cavaliers trailed by 11 at halftime against Michigan, and uncharacteristically gave up 45 first half points, before outscoring the Wolverines 36-23 in the final 20 and escaping with a road win. Reece Beekman went for a season-high 18 points. Hosting Florida State on Saturday, Tony Bennett’s crew once again trailed at halftime, 22-21. Like before, Virginia was able to pull away and win closely. While the wins were close, this is still an impressive team that’s No. 8 in KenPom offensive efficiency and will only get better on the defensive end.
Up Next: 12/6 vs James Madison, 12/17 vs Houston
2. Duke Blue Devils (8-2)
Last week: 2
Last week’s Results: 81-72 W vs Ohio State, 75-59 W vs Boston College
The Blue Devils picked up a quality win at home over Ohio State with a balanced scoring attack. A double-digit win over Boston College was no surprise. Kyle Filipowski continues to shine, with impressive season averages of 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Jeremey Roach has been solid in the backcourt as well (12.2 ppg, 3.7 apg). The key to this team’s ceiling is the progression of top recruits Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead. Both guys played less than 20 minutes this week’s wins but are starting to look more comfortable. Lively hadn’t scored more than five points in a game before Duke faced Ohio State, but scored 11 in that contest and eight against BC.
Up Next: 12/6 vs Iowa, 12/10 vs Maryland Eastern Shore
3. Miami Hurricanes (8-1)
Last week: 4
Last Week’s Results: 68-61 W vs Rutgers, 80-53 W at Louisville
Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack has gotten off to a rocky start shooting the ball this season. After connecting on 3.3-7.5 (43.6%) of his attempts from three point land per game last year, he’s only hit them at a 34.9% clip this season. Against Rutgers, Pack started the game 0-8 from the field, but stepped up when the team needed him to. He made three of four field goal attempts in the final six minutes of the game, including a dagger three with 22 seconds remaining to put the Hurricanes up five and secure the win. This came after Miami trailed by as many as 11 in the second half. Pack’s scoring punch will be increasingly important moving forward as Coach Larrañaga works on getting this group to play at an even higher level.
Up Next: 12/7 vs Cornell, 12/10 vs NC State
4. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-1)
Last week: 5
Last week’s Results: 67-57 W vs Minnesota, 80-72 W vs North Carolina
The Hokies are hooping. Justyn Mutts is the heart and soul of this team, and he turned in a couple of tremendous efforts this week. Mutts went for 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over Minnesota, and 27 points and 11 rebounds in the victory against Carolina. All of coach Mike Young’s starters have been playing heavy minutes, so finding some production off of the bench will be important. It could come in the form of freshman guard MJ Collins, who turned in his best effort of the season on Sunday in the win over UNC, with eight points and eight rebounds.
Up Next: 12/7 vs Dayton, 12/11 vs Oklahoma State
5. North Carolina Tar Heels (5-4)
Last week: 3
Last week’s Results: 77-65 L at Indiana, 80-72 L at Virginia Tech
This ranking might be too high, but I’ll cut the Tar Heels some slack with the team missing Armando Bacot in the loss at VT. Hubert Davis’ team looks exactly like they did for most of last season. When they are locked in on defense, playing fast, sharing the ball and hitting shots, they look like a top five team in the country. But too often, that’s just not the case. Make it four-straight losses for the Tar Heels, albeit against four NCAA Tournament teams. We know what UNC is capable of, but this group is not playing anywhere close to the level they should be. More bad news for the Tar Heels — sophomore guard D’Marco Dunn broke his hand in practice and is out indefinitely.
Up Next: 12/10 vs Georgia Tech
6. Clemson Tigers (7-2)
Last week: 10
Last Week’s Results: 101-94 2 OT W vs Penn State, 77-57 W vs Wake Forest
How about Brad Brownell’s guys? Clemson blew a late lead in regulation at home against Penn State, but were able to hold on in a double overtime win. Against Wake Forest, the Tigers trailed by seven at half, before demolishing the Deacs 51-24 in the second period. PJ Hall is playing at an All-ACC level, and he’s doing it efficiently in restricted minutes. He went for 22 points on 6-8 shooting against Penn State, and 21 with eight rebounds against Wake on 7-11 FGs. He also connected on 4-6 from downtown in the two wins. This veteran group is connected on both ends and is playing at a much higher level than I expected this offseason.
Up Next: 12/7 vs Towson, 12/10 vs Loyola Chicago
7. NC State Wolfpack (7-2)
Last week: 6
Last Week’s Results: 85-64 W vs William & Mary, 68-60 L vs Pittsburgh
I clearly think Pitt is good, but for a team that has scored in bunches this season and almost beat Kansas, the Wolfpack should not be dropping a game like that at home as heavy favorites. The NC State guards were ice cold in the loss, as transfers Jack Clark and Jarkel Joiner missed all TWENTY of their combined field goal attempts. Joiner is still averaging 15.4 points per game even after only registering a single point against the Panthers. I won’t overreact to this loss because the abysmal shooting is an outlier, and I’m a mainstay in the #PittIsGood camp. The Wolfpack were the lone wolf left out of the ACC vs Big Ten Challenge and smoked William & Mary instead on Tuesday. Casey Morsell and his scoring pop have been a revelation. He scored 23 and made six threes for the second time this season against the Tribe.
Up Next: 12/6 vs Coppin State, 12/10 at Miami (FL)
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-2)
Last week: 8
Last Week’s Results: 78-75 W at Wisconsin, 77-57 L at Clemson
The Deacs scored a marquee win in Madison on Tuesday night, taking down the Badgers in a thriller. Tyree Appleby was unbelievable, scoring 32 points on 11-16 shooting. Appleby couldn’t keep the momentum going against Clemson, only scoring eight points on 3-13 shooting from the field. Steve Forbes’ group was picked apart on both ends in the second half of the Clemson game, looking stagnant offensively, and not being able to deal with the Tigers’ physicality on the other end. This group is young and has their weaknesses, but Appleby is a star, and when this team shoots the ball well and defends as a unit they will be tough to beat.
Up Next: 12/10 vs LSU
9. Pittsburgh Panthers (6-3)
Last week: 11
Last Week’s Results: 87-58 W at Northwestern, 68-60 W at NC State
Pitt is good! Make it five straight wins for Jeff Capel and company. This team is going to be a tough out in the ACC all season long. As 9.5-point underdogs on the road in both games last week, the Panthers came away with back to back statement wins. Iowa State transfer Blake Hinson continued his strong play with 22 against Northwestern, and Jamarius Burton went for 24 against NC State. Pitt is playing hard and competing on the defensive end, and they are much improved in the shooting department. The Panthers secured these two road wins while getting virtually nothing from their presumptive best player, John Hugley, who only played 14 minutes in each game and scored a single basket. If he can get back to his dominant ways down low, watch out for this group.
Up Next: 12/7 at Vanderbilt, 12/10 vs Sacred Heart
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2)
Last week: 7
Last Week’s Results: 70-52 W vs Michigan State, 62-61 L vs Syracuse
This ranking may seem low, but the win over Michigan State looks a lot less impressive now after the Spartans lost at home to Northwestern on Sunday. Cormac Ryan scored 23 and connected on 6-7 attempts from downtown in the win. It was a different story against Syracuse, and the Irish cooled off from range and only scored 61 points. Mike Brey is happy to have Niagara transfer Marcus Hammond in the mix to stretch his short rotation of players from six to seven. Hammond scored six points and added three assists in nineteen minutes in his season debut against Syracuse. This team can be dangerous when they are moving the ball well and hitting shots, but their lack of depth and size also makes them very beatable.
Up Next: 12/7 vs Boston University, 12/11 vs Marquette
11. Syracuse Orange (4-4)
Last week: 9
Last Week’s Results: 73-44 L at Illinois, 62-61 W at Notre Dame
Freshman Judah Mintz’s go-ahead bucket with 13 seconds remaining was enough for the Orange to eke out a road win over Notre Dame on Saturday. It may seem confusing that I have Syracuse behind the Irish, but I still haven’t forgotten about the home losses to Colgate and Bryant. And while No. 16 Illinois is a very strong squad, losing by 29 points and only scoring 44 is a total embarrassment. Mintz, Jesse Edwards (22 points, 14 rebounds vs ND) and Joe Girard have to carry this team night in and night out, and that doesn’t give Boeheim’s group much wiggle room. Girard has been very hit or miss this year — just look at his scoring outputs in his last six games - 21, 31, 4, 5, 0 and 20.
Up Next: 12/6 vs Oakland, 12/10 vs Georgetown
12. Florida State Seminoles (1-9)
Last week: 13
Last Week’s Results: 79-69 L vs Purdue, 62-57 L at Virginia
More bad news in Tallahassee — Cam’Ron Fletcher suffered a season ending injury in the loss at Virginia. I refuse to rank this team any lower, though, after two valiant fights this past week. No. 5 Purdue looks like one of the best teams in the nation (they beat Duke by 19 two weeks ago), and the Seminoles held a second-half lead in the loss before the Boilermakers pulled away a bit late. FSU competed hard in Charlottesville Saturday, leading at halftime before falling by five. The Fletcher news makes this situation more bleak, but this team is clearly competing and still has a talented bunch.
Up Next: 12/10 vs Louisville
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-3)
Last Week: 12
Last Week’s Results: 81-65 L at Iowa, 81-63 W vs Northeastern
The Yellow Jackets were handled by a strong Iowa side on Tuesday, and cruised to an 18-point win over a lowly Northeastern squad on Monday. Sophomore guard Miles Kelly is emerging as this team’s top option. He scored 21 against Iowa and 16 against Northeastern. This team is filled with unproven commodities, and from what I’ve seen so far they seem a tier behind the low-middle of the conference.
Up Next: 12/6 vs Georgia, 12/10 at North Carolina
14. Boston College Eagles (5-4)
Last Week: 14
Last Week’s Results: 88-67 L at Nebraska, 75-59 L at Duke
The Eagles suffered back to back road blowouts suffered this week. Nebraska beat No. 7 Creighton by 10 on Sunday — so they might be good — and competing in Cameron Indoor is always a tough task. Earl Grant has some depth and young talent at his disposal, plus this team is still playing without Quinten Post. This team will form more of an identity and raise their level of play as the season goes on, but as of now they look like the second worst team in the ACC.
Up Next: 12/6 vs New Hampshire, 12/10 vs Villanova
15. Louisville Cardinals (0-8)
Last week: 15
Last Week’s Results: 79-54 L vs Maryland, 80-53 L vs Miami (FL)
I have no words to describe this situation. The Cardinals have yet to win and the blowouts are starting to stack up.
Up Next: 12/10 at Florida State
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