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.
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.
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.
For a moment there, it looked as if the Tigers’ season was starting to take a turn for the better. After dominating Georgia Tech in a game that was not as close as the score indicated, they had won two in a row and coach Brad Brownell appeared to be on the road to an NCAA Tournament berth that would save his job. Then Sunday rolled around and they got thoroughly dominated by Florida State in Clemson’s biggest loss since 1955. Beating a top-15 team on the road is no easy task, though fans would have liked to see a better effort. After previously being the hallmark of Brownell’s Clemson teams, their defense has seriously slipped in the last few weeks. After giving up a whopping 109 to the Seminoles, they are now Kenpom’s 78th-ranked defense. Guard Avry Holmes continues to be a bright spot as he is now shooting 28-52 (54 percent) from 3 in ACC play. The Tigers host a surging Syracuse team on Tuesday (after this was written) then go to Duke over the weekend. Losing both of those games would surely put the Tigers out of the postseason conversation for good.
NC State just can’t seem to get it together around their superstar. In an overtime loss to Syracuse last week, Smith became the first player in ACC history to have a triple-double in two conference games over their whole career. In that same game, he picked up his second 15-assist game, something there is just one of in the rest of Division I this season. Then, in a loss to Miami, he put up a game-high 31 points and 9 assists. He’s gotten some help on the offensive end as Maverick Rowan put up 31 against Cuse while Terry Henderson had an efficient 21 in support against Miami. Defense is really where the Wolfpack are lacking, though Smith is as much to blame for that as anyone. The freshman point guard can often be found watching the ball on that end of the court and not giving the necessary effort on every play. They’ll need to stop a great Florida State offense and contain Wake Forest’s John Collins, both on the road this week get to it turned around.
Miami’s up and down season continued this week. They have yet to win or lose more than two games in a row in conference play as they have a great ability to get out of ruts but can’t seem to maintain positive momentum. Coming off back to back wins, including one over No. 9 UNC, they got beaten down by Florida State in the second half after leading at the break. They were then able to bounce right back with a win over NC State just three days later. They struggled against the Seminoles’ length and athleticism, categories they dominate in most matchups, but their guards will need to find a way to overcome that if they want to make the leap. They continue to get almost all of their scoring from the backcourt, but as such they are prone to bunches of turnovers or forcing things if they can’t get good looks. They have games against Virginia Tech and Louisville this week, and if they want to get their first three-game win streak against ACC teams, they’ll have to contend with another very tough team in Louisville.
The toughest part is out of the way for the Hokies. Having already played five games against ranked teams, they escaped with a .500 record and only have two more against ranked foes left. After getting blown out by cross-state rival Virginia last week, they’ve had a week off to prepare for Miami in a big game Wednesday night. They’ll need to come in hot against the Canes as a slow start is what doomed them against the Cavaliers — being down 10-0 just three and a half minutes in. After battling Miami, they get that same Virginia team, this time at home, in a game where they will surely be seeking revenge. Being at home should help Hokie role players in support of their stars, as nobody other than Seth Allen and Zach LeDay scored more than five points in the loss last week. They close the week with a game at last-place Pittsburgh, a relatively easy way to end what will be one of Virginia Tech’s toughest weeks yet.
Josh Paster’s team wasn’t able to keep up the momentum gained from back to back big wins. They hit the road this week and lost two contests, at Clemson and Wake Forest. After beating Clemson earlier this season, losing to that one was tough, especially when center Ben Lammers had another huge game against the Tigers. Lammers wasn’t able to keep his good play up as he had three first-half fouls against Wake Forest with John Collins wreaking havoc down low. Losing that interior defense early on was big for Georgia Tech as they just couldn’t stop the Demon Deacons near the hoop. They get a break as they host Division II Tusculum on Tuesday after these rankings were written, before hosting one of the worst teams in the league in Boston College this weekend, Those games present a good opportunity for the Yellow Jackets to pick up some momentum and get back to .500 in conference play.
A strong week for Wake Forest saw them pick up two wins against Boston College and Georgia Tech. John Collins continues to carry the team and it appears they have settled into a comfortable position. They haven’t beaten any ranked teams this season, but their only bad loss in conference play was at home to Clemson way back in December. The Deacs are firmly in the middle of the ACC, riding Collins to beat the teams they should but not quite having enough help around him to take down a giant. With no great wins, that may not be enough to get them into the tournament, but it is significantly better than being in the gutter. On the bright side, they play Notre Dame Tuesday night (after the rankings were written), just the right time to face them. The Irish have been struggling lately and fell out of the most recent AP Poll. After that they play NC State and Clemson in a busy week. Winning two or all three of those games would be huge, getting Wake Forest back to or above .500 in conference play heading down the stretch.
With just one game this week, Notre Dame desperately needed to pick up some momentum after losing three in a row. Unfortunately that lone game was against first-place North Carolina. Though the game was postponed by a day and moved to Greensboro instead of the less-friendly Dean Dome in Raleigh, away against UNC is never an easy game. The Irish put up a valiant fight but ended up losing the game by seven. They came back after a rough first half and cut the deficit to two with just under four minutes remaining, but they were unable to complete the comeback as UNC pulled away. They have a few chances to end the skid this week, with games against Wake Forest, Florida State, and Boston College. After losing their first conference game in a close one to FSU just a few weeks ago, that game is sure to be another classic, though this time Notre Dame will have the upper hand at home.
The Blue Devils finally appear to have hit their stride in the ACC. They’ve won three in a row after making a change to the starting lineup and rotation. In the three wins, Jayson Tatum has started at power forward and has spent much of his time on the floor with just one big. That spacing has greased the Duke offense and unlocked some efficiency in Tatum’s game. The offense again led the way in the win against Pittsburgh, limiting turnovers and shooting nearly 40 percent as a team from 3. This week was especially big as Coach Mike Krzyzewski returned to the sideline after undergoing back surgery. He comes back just in time as they have perhaps their biggest game of the season, at home against hated rival North Carolina, on Thursday. They follow that up by hosting Clemson over the weekend. The game against UNC will be a big story as it remains to be seen whether or not Coach K will stick with the smaller rotation against UNC’s dominant front court.
The Seminoles got back on the winning track this week with blowouts over Miami and Clemson after dropping two straight bad ones. They looked comfortable throughout both games, as they won then by a combined margin of 66 points. They got balanced contributions against Miami, with four starters scoring in double digits. Against Clemson, star Dwayne Bacon got hot with 18 points in the first 15 minutes and led the way throughout as he finished by tying his career-high with 29 points on 10-14 shooting. Their defense was the star in both matchups, however, as they forced the two teams into a combined 36 turnovers. They play just one ranked team the rest of the way as they have an excellent chance to gain some serious momentum heading into the postseason. This week they play struggling NC State and Notre Dame teams, and if they keep up their recent form they will have a great chance to win both.
Is anyone doubting Syracuse now? They have won four straight including two over top ten Florida State and Virginia teams. Their new pieces are finally starting to mesh together and they’ve got momentum on their side. Transfer John Gillon (43 points, 9 assists, 10-13 FGs, 9-10 3PT) lead the way to surviving Dennis Smith Jr.’s monster game for NC State. Fellow transfer Andrew White III added 28 against NC State and 23 in the win over Virginia. Freshman Tyus Battle chipped in 23 as well against the Hoos. All of this is without mentioning potential lottery pick Tyler Lydon, and with all that talent clicking, the Orange are a dangerous team going forward. They played at Clemson Tuesday night before this was written and then get Pittsburgh and Louisville later in the week. Picking up wins over lowly Clemson and Pitt will set the stage for a big-time showdown against a top-five Louisville team in the Carrier Dome.
After losing to Virginia on Monday night, Louisville falls to 1-4 against ranked opponents in ACC play. They’ve made up for that lack of good conference wins, however, by dominating lesser competition. After beating Boston College by 23 last weekend, they are 6-0 against unranked ACC foes with an average margin of victory of 25.8 points. Out of their last four games against unranked opponents, that win over the Eagles was the closest one. Donovan Mitchell continues to excel with Quentin Snider out, scoring 17.5 points per game in their two games this week. VJ King provided great support from the wing, scoring the same number. They have two more chances to bolster their resume this week with games against Syracuse and Miami. Neither is ranked, but if they can continue to dominate, those wins will look good come March. With just one game remaining against a ranked team, they might have to in order to keep a high seed.
The Tar Heels now hold first place alone in the ACC after another strong week. They just managed to edge out Pittsburgh after Jamel Artis couldn’t convert a last-second 3, then they took care of Notre Dame in the game that finally took the Irish out of the AP Poll. Last week I wrote about which Justin Jackson is better, and the one from UNC certainly made his case this week. He was the team’s leading scorer in both games, totaling 36 points between the two. He continues to be part of a dominating front court that anchors the team while Joel Berry tries to find consistency at the guard spot. Berry had a great game with 19 against Pitt, but struggles again, shooting 3-10 from the field in the win over Notre Dame. UNC has just one game this week, but it is against their biggest rival as they travel across town to play Duke. That has a chance to be one of the best games of the year, and it could mean a lot to how the ACC standings shake out.
Finally we have our first team to repeat at number one. Florida State held the title two of the first three weeks, but not consecutively. While Virginia did lose a game this week, it was a close one to a hot Syracuse team in the Carrier Dome. They sandwiched that disappointment with two good wins, blowing out rival Virginia Tech and taking care of #4 Louisville. That marks the second time they’ve beaten a top-six Cardinals team this season, firmly planting themselves ahead in the ACC hierarchy. The bench continues to be a huge boon for the Cavaliers despite having dismissed transfer Austin Nichols in November. In their three games this week, 14 players saw at least five minutes off the bench, speaking to a depth not many teams can match. It allows them to keep their best players healthy which leads to fantastic balance: three different players led the team in scoring in their three games. No player reached the 20 point mark for Virginia this week. Tony Bennett spreads the ball around, and it works for them.
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71 seems to be the magic number for Virginia as four of their last five wins have come with them scoring exactly that many points, including both wins this week. The Hoos have lost just one game, an overtime contest against Pittsburgh, in which they scored 71 or more points (they scored 70 in regulation against Pittsburgh). They are one of the better defensive teams in the nation, so scoring even an average number of points usually nets them the victory. After a loaded week, they have a rest this week. They play just one game, a short trip to Virginia Tech to play the same team they beat down less than a week ago. Virginia is surging and looks like a legitimate title contender. Their defense and depth off the bench will continue to be keys going forward.