In the entirety of my lifetime, the ACC has been the best conference in college basketball. I believe that college basketball is better when the ACC is good. Now, I grew up on Tobacco Road, so I’m a little biased. But I do believe that the ACC is back, and it is good for college basketball. This league should be able to get 5+ bids into the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Basketball: ACC Rankings
1. Duke
The Blue Devils are just a juggernaut. Part of what makes this team so effective is its collective height. This allows them to utilize Jon Scheyer’s defensive principle of switching all screens 1 – 4, which is different from what you see out of most teams. They’re a tough team to prepare for and an even tougher team to beat. By the looks of their latest recruiting efforts, things may not change for a long while.
2. Louisville
Be ready for some strange results with this Louisville team. They lead the nation in 3-point rate to this point in the season. The 3-point shot creates a lot of volatility, as some nights will just feature better shooting than others. So be ready to embrace the chaos with Pat Kelsey’s bunch this season.
3. Virginia
There is no team in the ACC that I was more wrong on in the preseason than Virginia. They have completely flipped from their slow, plodding style under Tony Bennett and are now embracing a pressure-filled, “havoc”-style defense. They have an elite frontcourt in Thijs De Ridder and Johann Grunloh, and are set up to be one of the top contenders in the ACC.
