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College Basketball ACC Power Rankings: Week 13

By Charlie Maikis

Jan 21, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (32) dribbles the ball as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Josh Heath (11) defends during the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers won 62-49. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (32) dribbles the ball as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Josh Heath (11) defends during the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers won 62-49. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports /
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Syracuse Holy Cross
Nov 11, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Andrew White III (3) prepares to go in for a lay up as Colgate Raiders forward Tom Rivard (14) looks on during the second half of a game at the Carrier Dome.Syracuse won 83-55. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
5

Syracuse Orange

Last week: 13-9, 5-4 ACC
Last rank: 10

An awful nonconference performance seems to be in the rearview mirror for Syracuse as they took down Wake Forest and an elite Florida State team this week. Senior transfer Andrew White has really stepped up and played at the level he was expected to. He scored 25.5 points per game between the two wins, and potential lottery pick Tyler Lydon has chipped in as well, flashing his rare combination of long-distance shooting and rim protection.

Additionally, after watching their zone get shredded by the likes of Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in recent weeks, they came alive on that end of the floor, giving up just 76 to the Demon Deacons and 72 to the Noles. That 2-3 has a chance to build some momentum in stopping Dennis Smith Jr. and NC State on Wednesday night before hosting a lethal Virginia team at the Carrier Dome this weekend. With such a bad non conference slate, they’ll need to keep winning games in the tough ACC to make the NCAA Tournament.

4

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last week: 13-8, 5-4 ACC
Last rank: 11

The hottest team in the best conference in college basketball right now, Georgia Tech is the surprise team of the year, maybe in the country. Largely expected to be terrible in Josh Paster’s first season, they pulled off back to back upsets of No. 6 Florida State and No. 14 Notre Dame this week to go above .500 in conference play. Freshman Josh Okogie was the hero of the week, putting up a monster 35 point, 14 rebound, 5 assist, 2 steal line against Florida State and sinking the game-winning layup at the buzzer to beat Notre Dame.

Even more impressively, he spent much of the time against FSU being guarded by NBA-caliber defenders like Dwayne Bacon, but still thrived and went an incredible 14-17 from the charity stripe in that game. The Jackets hit the road this week, as they look to take down Clemson for the second time this year before trying to beat Wake Forest. They appear to have played their way into the postseason picture, something most people never though possible before the season started.