Entering the 2024-25 basketball season, the ACC hoped to find themselves in a better situation than previous seasons. Their lack of bids in the NCAA Tournament in recent seasons drove them to try and improve their perception. As a result, the ACC has had several key matchups through two weeks that could begin a reawakening for the once-dominant ACC. However, the ACC struggles continue as powerhouses like Duke and North Carolina have fallen in major games in the first two weeks.
ACC Struggles Continue with Lack of Big Wins
Duke
Duke is a national championship contender, but there are still serious problems that they have to overcome. They have to right the ship before they cement themselves atop the list. They were given a golden chance to top SEC powerhouse Kentucky. Cooper Flagg carried the team but turned the ball over at costly moments. Cramping once again wreaked havoc on their chances of victory. Kon Knueppel shot an abysmal 5-20 from the field in the worst game of his young career. They still had chances to win that game despite their poor performance.
However, that has been the story for many ACC teams in the past several seasons. Duke needs to find ways to win games like that against Kentucky if they hope to get respect in March. The ACC struggles continue, but the fix must start at the top. Duke has several opportunities in the next month to get those wins for the ACC, with Arizona, Kansas and Auburn on the schedule. Duke needs to find a way to win two of those games to give themselves a good chance at a one seed in March. It is surprising how important those games will be for the bubble teams too.
North Carolina
North Carolina has similar ACC championship and one-seed aspirations when March rolls around. Like Duke, they already had a chance to get a staple win at Kansas. However, they failed to close the huge comeback with no points in the last two minutes in a three-point loss. Kansas will continue to be a factor in college basketball for the remainder of the season, so is this really a big deal to lose that kind of game? There is nothing wrong with a loss to Kansas, but this is simply the continuation of the trend.
North Carolina fought back and led with two minutes to go in the game. They need to close it out regardless of who the opponent is. North Carolina actually missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023 because they scheduled several hard games in the non-conference and lost every single one. They still have Dayton, Alabama, Florida, and UCLA to provide them with some quality wins. North Carolina needs to prove they belong for their own sake in the next month. But the ACC desperately needs its two powerhouses to win these key games. RJ Davis needs to step up and lead this team to wins. Again, the tops teams in the ACC must lead the conference’s return to glory.
Clemson
Clemson surprised some people last year (not me) when they pulled off several key non-conference wins that secured their at-large bid. However, this year is not off to the same start. They took care of business in the first three games, but fell short in their first test at Boise State on Sunday. A poor performance highlights the struggle of second-tier ACC teams to win games against similar opponents.
The Mountain West had the same number of bids as the ACC last year. Clemson and Boise State will be battling for similar seeds just like their conferences. Mountain West 1, ACC 0 after Boise State’s win. Clemson doesn’t have the same opportunities as North Carolina and Duke, but Kentucky and Memphis do sit on the schedule along with South Carolina. The Tigers have to hope they can pull a couple wins from those games. Otherwise, they could be in serious trouble when it comes to earning a tournament bid.
ACC Struggles Continue with the Rest Too
I say that the rise starts at the top, but the rest of the teams can work to figure things out too. That isn’t happening. I can list at least five games that the ACC lost that will affect their seedings in March. We are only two weeks into the season! SMU lost to Butler, Wake Forest lost to Xavier, Louisville lost to Tennessee by 22, Florida State lost to Florida, and Virginia Tech lost to Penn State by 22.
Most of these teams will not make the NCAA Tournament. Any hopes of them making it are slowly fading away with each loss the ACC takes to fellow power conference teams. Wins by the middle-tier teams is crucial to increasing the quantity of bids to the Big Dance for the ACC. So far, these teams are failing to win games that matter. What looks better on a resume: a win against a team ranked 40th in the NET, or a team ranked 55th in the NET? The middle tier needs to win games against teams from the middle tier of other conferences. Those wins haven’t come.
The Last Word
Someone could easily say that the games I referenced aren’t ‘supposed’ to be wins. I think that further proves my point. The ACC needs to strive to win games that they aren’t supposed to win. Upsets matter and add up as the season rolls along. The ACC struggles continue in the games that aren’t easy wins. They will never reach the level they were in 2019 with three one-seeds in the NCAA Tournament if they cannot win any meaningful games.
Special shoutout to Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Notre Dame. Why? They are the only teams in the ACC who have beaten a power conference opponent through two weeks. It is a long season, but there needs to be some serious improvement over the next month or the ACC will be complaining in March once again about their lack of bids in the tournament. Through two weeks, they don’t deserve them.
