To say that the ACC has disappointed so far is not much of a stretch. While there were high hopes for several teams entering the season, the conference finds themselves with only five wins against power conference opponents through two weeks. Can the top teams find wins against other top teams? Our weekly ACC Power Rankings find no significant movement from last week, but is that a good thing? I’d argue no.
ACC Power Rankings for Week 3: Unexpected Top Spot
18. Georgia Tech, 2-2 (Last Week: 17)
The league’s only two-loss team? Georgia Tech. The only team to lose a game against a one-bid conference opponent? Georgia Tech. They haven’t exactly looked incredible in their wins, either. Unfortunately for them, they have a good Cincinnati team on Saturday. They’ll have to step it up if they want to avoid staying at the bottom of the ACC Power Rankings.
17. Boston College, 2-1 (18)
Boston College won against Temple. Sure, it was a home game by three points, but a win is a win. This team will have to fight for every single win. We will learn a lot about BC this week as they face two teams who will test their ability to finish close games. If they lose one, they’ll probably fall right back down to last.
16. Syracuse, 3-0 (16)
What is wrong with the Orange? They look terrible against opponents they should be beating handily. One could argue that no team looks worse than Syracuse right now, but they haven’t lost. If they continue to play this way, Texas will dismember them, and they will no longer have a zero in the loss column. At least they got Kiyan Anthony in recruiting.
15. Virginia Tech, 3-1 (9)
We have our first big drop in the rankings this season. The Hokies went 1-1 in week two, but a close win against Winthrop and a blowout loss to a supposedly poor Penn State team doesn’t look good on the resume. They have a near-must win against Jacksonville on Wednesday, that’s not a good thing to say in November.
14. California, 3-1 (15)
They haven’t played great basketball, but they picked up a huge win against USC on the road. This California team isn’t going to blow away any team, including bad ones. However, they rebounded from a bad loss to Vanderbilt. Somehow, they find themselves in a more positive direction after losing to Vanderbilt. Who knew?
13. Florida State, 3-1 (14)
Florida State feels like they are just gliding in neutral right now. Handling bad teams in a non-convincing fashion is one aspect. Another is the fight they put up against Florida, only to lose by 15. They haven’t really shown what they could be. They need to clean things up and win important games. However, they only have one more power conference opponent in non-conference play. They must avoid the bad losses that doomed them in the past few seasons.
12. Louisville, 1-1 (11)
I almost dropped them lower, but their team shouldn’t be demoted because of their Athletic Director. Seriously, who doesn’t schedule a game for the second week of the season? I’ve never seen that before, but what do I know? Louisville has two games this week, so we will see after 10 days what the loss to Tennessee really means.
11. SMU, 3-1 (8)
SMU had a strong week one, but week two slapped them in the face. They were not ready for Hinkle Fieldhouse and subsequently lost by 11 to a suspect Butler team. They have a couple more chances in the non-conference to earn a decent win, but they better be prepared for power conference basketball. This isn’t the American anymore, SMU needs to act like it.
10. Stanford, 4-0 (13)
Stanford just keeps winning big; their closest game was 14 points against UC Davis on Sunday. Maxime Raynaud will be a serious force in the ACC, averaging 21.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. Stanford hasn’t played anybody of note and will continue that trend through most of December. If they keep playing this way, they’ll probably make it through the early stretch of the schedule with one or no losses; I didn’t have that in my predictions, even with their light schedule.
9. Notre Dame, 3-0 (12)
Notre Dame continues to handle business as well. I am high on Notre Dame this season, even if I don’t think they’ll compete for an NCAA Tournament bid come March. They certainly continue to look improved in the second season under Micah Shrewsberry. Markus Burton will make an All-ACC team if he stays healthy, and Notre Dame will find themselves in the middle of the ACC.
8. NC State, 3-0 (7)
There is one difference between them and other teams who are similarly struggling with inferior opponents: I trust that they are better than what they are playing. I know that’s not exactly the point of this. However, NC State is coming off a Final Four trip and undoubtedly has an identity crisis following the loss of star DJ Burns. However, Jayden Taylor, Ben Middlebrooks, and Michael O’Connell all return from that team. They will turn it on when it matters most.
7. Virginia, 3-0 (10)
They passed their first test with a win over Villanova. Tennessee sits on the schedule this week, so we will see if they can keep up the good play. Isaac McKneely is shooting lights out, but can he keep it up? Can the team continue to shoot 44.6% from three this season? If they can, they certainly will be a contender in the ACC. If not, they’ll struggle. It’s a fairly simple analysis for a team that loves to grind out low-scoring wins.
6. Pittsburgh, 4-0 (6)
Pitt’s 24-point win against West Virginia may be the most impressive of the season so far for the ACC. That’s only a mild compliment that says much more about the ACC’s performance so far. However, Pitt has a chance this week against LSU and eventually Wisconsin or UCF in the Greenbrier Tip-Off. So far, the opponents haven’t been good. Win a few games this week, and they’ll catapult themselves in these rankings. The defense has been stellar, and the offense is humming. The real tests start soon.
5. Clemson, 3-1 (3)
I am once again debating Clemson and Wake Forest. Clemson finds themselves losing the battle this week. A less-than-stellar performance against Eastern Kentucky came before another poor performance against Boise State. Clemson has to figure out how to win three straight before they face Kentucky. They’ll be at home, but they have to solve their problems quickly, or the non-conference season will be a waste.
4. Wake Forest, 4-1 (4)
Wake Forest has a good win and a respectable loss. That’s why they didn’t fall this week. They did nothing to keep the spot, but nobody else did anything to take it from them. The Demon Deacons cannot shoot the ball, making only 26.8% of their three-point attempts this season. They should have no problems winning this week, but like most other teams, there is only so much time before they have to figure it out and win some basketball games against better opponents.
3. Miami, 3-0 (5)
They only moved up because they didn’t lose. Wake Forest and Clemson moved down for bad performances on the road. Miami hasn’t been tested, but their talent has been evident. Scoring 98 points per game as a team with six different players averaging double figures shows a balanced approach that will translate to better opponents. However, watch out for Drake on Thursday. Miami will face its first test.
2. North Carolina, 2-1 (2)
North Carolina has the best loss in the country so far if that is any consolation prize. However, great losses aren’t the goal for teams like North Carolina. They rebounded well against American and have two stingy teams in the next week. The season is far from over for the Tar Heels, but they will need to win some key games to find themselves at the top of the ACC Power Rankings.
1. Duke, 3-1 (1)
Duke played very poorly for several stretches against Kentucky and lost. Good teams not only beat bad teams, but they also beat other good teams. Duke hasn’t beaten anybody good yet. Their next two games come against two top-25 teams. They won’t be easy wins, but to maintain the one spot in the ACC Power Rankings, they’ll need to win at least one of the two. The ACC struggles continue. Simply put, nobody in this conference has won important games. Nevertheless, Duke’s incredible talent and impressive play against lesser opponents is enough for them to keep the top spot, for now.
