The Atlantic Coast Conference basketball season is in full swing, with conference play presently underway. As stacked and deep as ever, the ACC looks to field a bevy of teams in this year’s edition of March Madness. Thus far, that depth has made for parity in the ACC, with plenty of upsets and no clear-cut favorites for the regular season conference title. Here are Week 9’s power rankings to help paint the picture of how the ACC is stacking up.
1. #7 Duke Blue Devils: 14-2 (2-1) 0
When Grayson Allen is not too busy tripping opponents (and getting suspended as a result), the Blue Devils are virtually unstoppable offensively, which was proved by their destruction of the Yellow Jackets last week.
2. #11 North Carolina Tar Heels: 14-3 (2-1) 0
Hotshot guard Joel Berry, Jr., is carrying the Tar Heels, with his three-point acumen helping them eke out a win at Clemson.
3. #9 Florida State Seminoles: 15-1 (3-0) 0
The ‘Noles have continued to prove that they are a top power in the ACC, both game in and game out. Guard Dwayne Bacon is proving to be one of the ACC’s best all-around players.
4. #20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 14-2 (3-0) 0
The Fighting Irish beat Louisville and Clemson at home last week to extend their recent solid play. Notre Dame is one of the ACC’s best three-point shooting teams.
5. #19 Virginia Cavaliers: 12-3 (2-2) 0
The Cavs are gradually getting over their slow start to conference play, as they dominated Wake Forest in every facet of the game over the weekend.
6. #14 Louisville Cardinals: 13-3 (1-2) 0
Louisville was outmatched by Notre Dame this past week, but the Cardinals have endured a rough schedule as of late. This is one of the youngest teams that Rick Pitino has had since taking over as head coach at Louisville, so the Cardinals have been understandably inconsistent this season.
7. Clemson Tigers: 11-4 (1-2) 0
Despite getting outrebounded by 19, the Tigers took the Tar Heels to overtime last Tuesday. That is a testament to the “Clemson Grit” mantra that Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell espouses. Also, if not for Notre Dame’s hot shooting from behind the arc over the weekend, Clemson could have upset the Fighting Irish, too.
8. Virginia Tech Hokies: 12-3 (1-2) 0
After the Hokies got walloped by N.C. State, the upset of the Grayson Allen-less Blue Devils did not seem as impressive. The Hokies could very well fall off at any time now, as they have been a true Cinderella story so far.
9. Pittsburgh Panthers: 12-4 (1-2) 0
Losing at Syracuse took away the momentum gained from the upset of Virginia, but, nonetheless, Pitt is playing well to start conference play, especially considering the degree of difficulty of their first three ACC games.
10. North Carolina State Wolfpack: 12-4 (1-2) 0
Star freshman guard Dennis Smith, Jr., continues to make a case for ACC Player of the Year. The Wolfpack’s domination of the Hokies serves as a definite March Madness résumé booster, but the beatdown at the hands of the Tar Heels definitely does not.
11. Syracuse Orange: 10-6 (2-1) 0
The Orange played well against the Hurricanes and are currently trying to make up for their highly disappointing non-conference performance. Expect Syracuse to work its way into NCAA Tournament bubble team discussions soon.
12. Miami Hurricanes: 11-3 (1-1) 0
The ‘Canes appear to be significantly better at home than on the road, getting beat handily at Syracuse last week. A lack of quality wins makes Miami’s good overall record misleading.
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 9-6 (1-2) 0
The Yellow Jackets were absolutely embarrassed by the Blue Devils on Wednesday, making it even more unbelievable that Georgia Tech handled UNC like they did two weekends ago.
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 10-6 (1-3) 0
The Demon Deacons are gradually improving under head coach Danny Manning, as they put up a valiant fight against UVA on Sunday. However, much improving still needs to be done before the Deacs can be relevant again.
15. Boston College Eagles: 8-8 (1-2) 0
It is an uphill battle in Chestnut Hill for the Eagles. This season is yet another taxing one for Boston College.