ACC men’s basketball standings ordered by Quad 1 record at start of conference play: Duke, Flagg lapping the field
Many college basketball fans weren't expecting the blue-blood-led ACC to be at the top of its game this season outside of the two usual suspects. The Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels were the only two teams ranked inside the preseason AP Top 25. But now that the calendar has flipped to 2025 and ACC play is fully underway, it's only Duke that remains — though they've climbed up to No. 4.
One of the biggest things that's really hindered the ACC, Duke aside, has been the lack of success against the cream of the crop in men's college basketball season. When March Madness rolls around, we'll hear a ton of talk about Quad 1 wins and their meaning. For the uninitiated in all of the Bracketology talk, such a win is based on the NCAA's NET Rankings. A win at home against a Top 30 team, a win on a neutral site against a Top 50 squad, or a road win against a Top 75 team in the NET is considered Quad 1.
In essence, this is all about quality wins, whereas Quadrants 2-4 are lower-quality opponents, but losses in those games can be much more penal in front of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
There will be more opportunities, even with the ACC being down, in conference play to pick up more Quad 1 wins. But as of Jan. 6, let's take a look at how the conference stacks up in the ACC standings based solely on their Quad 1 records, specifically with Quad 1 wins.
ACC basketball standings ordered by Quad 1 wins
Team | Quad 1 Wins | Quad 1 Losses |
|---|---|---|
1. Duke Blue Devils | 4 | 2 |
2. Pittsburgh Panthers | 2 | 2 |
3. Clemson Tigers | 2 | 1 |
4. North Carolina Tar Heels | 1 | 6 |
5. Louisville Cardinals | 1 | 5 |
6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 1 | 4 |
7. Virginia Cavaliers | 1 | 4 |
8. Stanford Cardinal | 1 | 3 |
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 1 | 2 |
10. Cal Golden Bears | 0 | 5 |
11. Syracuse Orange | 0 | 4 |
12. Virginia Tech Hokies | 0 | 4 |
13. NC State Wolfpack | 0 | 3 |
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 0 | 3 |
15. SMU Mustangs | 0 | 2 |
16. Florida State Seminoles | 0 | 2 |
17. Miami Hurricanes | 0 | 1 |
18. Boston College Eagles | 0 | 0 |
Note: Standings ordered by Quad 1 wins with the tiebreaker being number of Quad 1 games played.
As mentioned, Duke has really separated itself atop the ACC, both in terms of overall record and, by proxy, by way of the wins they've accrued. What's scarier for the rest of the conference, however, is that Cooper Flagg appears to be gaining steam a bit down the stretch. If Kon Knueppel can recapture his early-season shooting prowess, the Blue Devils have a national championship look to them.
Pitt and Clemson outshine North Carolina in this department with a pair of Quad 1 wins under each of their belts, though the Tigers have fared better overall than the Panthers with only one loss. Still, credit to Pittsburgh for going for it a bit. As for UNC, Hubert Davis deserves credit for a tough Tar Heels schedule — it just would be a lot better if it wasn't one win and six losses. That will bode well for them with no losses outside of Quad 1 come Selection Sunday but, at the same time, the lone win over UCLA is holding them up.
After Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia, Stanford and Notre Dame, no other ACC team has a Quad 1 win. And shouts to Boston College, a team that's only 9-6 on the season but has not played a single game in Quadrant 1. How that's even possible is wild but not exactly a great sign for what's to come for the Eagles.
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