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College Basketball ACC Power Rankings: Week 14

By Charlie Maikis

Feb 6, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward V.J. King (0) shoots the ball over Virginia Cavaliers guard Devon Hall (0) in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2017; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward V.J. King (0) shoots the ball over Virginia Cavaliers guard Devon Hall (0) in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 17, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) drives to the basket past Pitt Panthers guard Jamel Artis (1) during the first half at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) drives to the basket past Pitt Panthers guard Jamel Artis (1) during the first half at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Though the ACC has started to settle, the top of the conference is fluctuating as much as ever. Who gets the top spot this week?

The ACC looks to be calming down a bit after a wild first month of league play. Teams are starting to settle in and assume their spots in the hierarchy as results become more predictable over a larger sample. It remains a close race at the top as seven teams are within three games of first place with nearly half of the conference schedule still to be played. As the bottom of the league stayed largely the same as it was last week, the is still in a seemingly never-ending cycle. We do have the first repeat number one team in five weeks, but no other team in the top nine stayed in the same spot as last week. That said, let’s get down to the rankings.

15

Pittsburgh Panthers

Last week: 12-11, 1-9 ACC
Last rank: 15

Pittsburgh just can’t seem to get out of the gutter. Their losing streak has now reached eight games after close games on the road to North Carolina and Duke. Unfortunately Jamel Artis’s last-second running 3 point attempt to sink the Tar Heels missed the rim and the Blue Devils put together a second-half surge, or the Panthers might have had some momentum heading into one of their easiest stretches this season. Consistency issues continue to plague them. After hitting 45 percent of their threes against UNC, Kevin Stallings’ team went just 2-14 from deep against Duke. A showing similar to the one against UNC and they likely would have been able to pull out the win. Pittsburgh has three games this week, all against unranked foes. They travel to Boston College on Wednesday before heading home to host Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The bout against the Eagles is a big one as it could vault the Panthers out of last place in the ACC for the first time in weeks.

14

Boston College Eagles

Last week: 9-15, 2-9 ACC
Last rank: 14

The Eagles are back where everybody thought they would be at the beginning of the season. Losing their seventh straight game in a blowout loss to Louisville has the Eagles dangerously close to last place, just one game ahead of Pittsburgh. Their guard play continues to carry them, though their deficiency down low is what is really costing them. In losing to Wake Forest for the second time this season, they gave up a 14-0 run in the second half during which Demon Deacons forward John Collins scored 13 of the 14 points. Against Louisville, Cardinals forwards Mangok Mathiang and Deng Adel combined for 31 points on 14-of-21 shooting. Boston College had three players, all big men, foul out over the course of the two games as well. If they want to turn it around this week with matchups against Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame, they will need to focus on getting their dynamic backcourt some help down low.