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College Basketball ACC Power Rankings: Week 18

By Charlie Maikis

CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 04: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates as he cuts down the net after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 90-83 to clinch the ACC regular season title at the Dean Smith Center on March 4, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 04: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates as he cuts down the net after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 90-83 to clinch the ACC regular season title at the Dean Smith Center on March 4, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The ACC regular season is finished. How do the teams look heading into March Madness?

Well, we made it. The ACC regular season wrapped up on Saturday and it is officially time for March Madness. We start with the ACC Tournament this week leading into Selection Sunday. As such, this will be our final power rankings of the year. Roy Williams and North Carolina won the league with a two game cushion at the end. Don’t let that lead you to believe there is no parity here: the next eight teams were within two games of each other, and two more were within two of that. Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently projects the league to have 10 NCAA Tournament bids with two more teams in his “next four out”. Some timely wins in the ACC Tournament and we could see 11 or 12 ACC teams in the field.

Eleven ACC teams are in Kenpom’s top 50. He has the conference rated as the second-strongest in the nation behind the Big 12 (which has five fewer teams to drag it down). The ACC undoubtedly has the largest collection of great teams, leading to some of the most difficult schedules in the country. So let’s take a look back at the 2016-17 season in the best college basketball conference in the country. We’ll assess how each team did relative to expectations and name each team’s biggest contributor. First, let’s have a little fun with a general recap and some superlatives.

This year the ACC was defined by a fluid middle class, and that was shown in the rankings. Just one team had an average ranking over the nine weeks between No. 4 and No. 7. That team was Duke, coming in at 6.8. As stated, this conference has a whole slew of elite teams, and that was validated with five teams having an average ranking below 4.0. All five of those teams spent at least one week at No. 1. All five of those teams also spent at least one week as low as No. 7, a great indicator of parity.

Superlatives

Highest Average Rank: North Carolina, 2.6

Lowest Average Rank: Boston College, 13.8

Most Volatile: Georgia Tech/Miami, 25 total spots moved each over the eight rankings changes

Most Consistent: Boston College, 9 total spots moved over the eight rankings changes

Worth noting here: Clemson, Notre Dame, and UNC each came in at 10 total spots moved, also very consistent. Clemson spent an astounding five straight weeks at 13, more than any other team spent at any ranking overall.

Widest Range: NC State, from 6 (Week 12) to 15 (Weeks 11 and 16)

Smallest Range: Boston College, from 11 (Week 12) to 15 (Weeks 15, 17, and 18)

Now, without further ado, here are the final ACC power rankings, regular season wrap-up edition.

15

Boston College Eagles

Last week: 9-22, 2-16 ACC
Last rank: 15

Finish: 15th in the ACC

Projected Finish: 15th

Boston College was picked to be bad and they were bad. Despite winning just two ACC games and owning an active 14-game losing streak, they may have overachieved this season. After finishing 0-18 in the ACC last year, winning even two this year is a solid improvement. After opening the new year 2-2 with wins over Syracuse and NC State, things seemed to be looking up. Then the real Boston College revealed itself, manifesting in this current losing streak. A win over Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament would be a nice cap to the season for Jim Christian’s team.

Biggest Contributor: Jerome Robinson

The sophomore guard broke out in a big way in 2016-17. He upped his scoring average 7 points to 18.7 per game in just a half-minute more on average. He led the way for the Eagles, totaling 48 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds in their two conference wins on 19-30 shooting and 4-6 from deep. His play alongside freshman Ky Bowman has to have Boston College fans excited for the next few years.

14

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Last week: 15-16, 4-14 ACC
Last rank: 14

Finish: 13th in the ACC

Projected Finish: 6th

In what is by far the biggest disappointment of the season, NC State wasted their year of Dennis Smith Jr. Barring a miracle ACC Tournament run, they won’t make postseason play. Bolstered by their star freshman and some talented veteran, NC State was voted to finish above the likes of Notre Dame and Florida State by the media. They have lost nine of their last ten games after upsetting No. 17 Duke in late January. Many thought that win, to make them 3-5 in the ACC, would be a turning point in the Wolfpack’s season. Those people were correct, just in the wrong way. All that’s left to do is send of fired head coach Mark Gottfried with some wins. They start that quest with their second straight game against Clemson in the ACC Tournament.

Biggest Contributor: Dennis Smith Jr.

The former five-star recruit lived up to the hype this season, winning ACC Freshman of the Year. He was the lone bright spot for the Pack as he led the team in minutes, points, assists, steals, and free throws made. Unfortunately the firepower he showed is no longer useful to NC State. Smith will almost certainly leave school for the NBA as he will likely be a top 5 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Wolfpack lose their coach and several other contributors as well, so it will be a rebuilding job going forward.