ACC Weekly Roundup: Power Rankings and the Good, Bad, and Ugly

William Smythe | Feb 2, 2025

Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Following a week of ACC action, let’s check in on the conference’s state of affairs. Duke dominated North Carolina, Georgia Tech’s victory over Louisville ended the Cardinals’ ten-game winning streak, and SMU thumped the West Coast schools.

There are still eight potential tournament bids out there. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, here are the following ACC squads in the hunt: Duke (1), Louisville (5), Clemson (7), Pittsburgh (Last Four Byes), North Carolina (Last Four In), SMU (Last Four Out) and Wake Forest (Last Four Out). Lest we mention that someone outside of this bunch could rip through the ACC Tournament and steal a berth for the Big Dance. 

In a League of their Own:

1. Duke (19-2, 11-0 ACC)

2nd Tier:

2. Clemson (18-4, 10-1)
3. Louisville (16-6, 9-2)
4. SMU (17-5, 8-3)
5. Wake Forest (16-6, 8-3)
6. Pittsburgh (14-7, 5-5)
7. Stanford (15-7, 7-4)
8. North Carolina (13-10, 6-5)

3rd Tier:

9. Florida State (13-9, 4-7)
10. Notre Dame (10-11, 4-6)
11. Georgia Tech (10-12, 4-7)
12. Virginia Tech (10-12, 5-6)
13. California (11-11, 4-7)
14. Syracuse (10-12, 4-7)
15. NC State (9-10, 2-6)
16. Virginia (10-12, 3-8)
17. Boston College (10-11, 2-8)
18. Miami (5-17, 1-10)

The Good: Duke throttles North Carolina in Cameron, SMU’s success in the ACC grows

In all fairness, North Carolina never really stood a chance in this one. The Dukies — a taller, more physically-imposing team boosted by a No. 1 pick in freshman forward Cooper Flagg — raced out to a 23-6 lead with 13:16 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Coach Jon Scheyer didn’t want to taste defeat against the Heels at Cameron again, with North Carolina stealing an 84-79 win last March. What more can be said about Flagg? The five-star has exceeded the sky-high expectations placed upon him in Durham, as he finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists alongside five “stocks” in a lopsided win. 

The Blue Devils shot 50.0% from three-point range, besting Carolina’s 36.8% clip. The Tar Heels’ porous first half eviscerated any hope of a comeback in a hostile environment. Now, Coach Hubert Davis’ group will have to scrap to make the NCAA Tournament, even if the metrics are still oddly in the Heels’ favor. They have yet to gain a signature win. Duke, however, is a near-lock to receive a No. 1 seed.

Suffice it to say that not many expected SMU to land in the top-five of the ACC. The Mustangs just took it to their fellow newcomers — California and Stanford — winning by double-digits in Dallas. By the time Lunardi updates his Bracketology from the weekend, SMU should find themselves on the good side of the bubble. They don’t have a marquee win, however, and a couple of slip-ups against middling ACC rosters could doom their case.

Freshman center Samet Yigitoglu (10.6 PPG, 6.6 REB) — a 7’2 big man from Turkey — has set the tone for the Mustangs’ frontcourt. He went toe-to-toe with a surefire All-ACC First-Team selection in Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud, posting 17 points and seven rebounds in a 24-point win for SMU. Senior guard Boopie Miller (13.6 PPG, 5.9 AST) has also emerged as an elite distributor for their well-balanced offensive group. 

The Bad: Louisville’s streak falls against Georgia Tech, Virginia loses the Commonwealth Clash

The Cardinals’ magic fizzled out in a 77-70 loss against Georgia Tech yesterday. Boasting a ten-game winning streak, Coach Pat Kelsey’s group held a 12-point lead over the Yellow Jackets early into the second half and conceded a ten-point run with 12:48 remaining. From there, Georgia Tech stole the momentum. A road loss against a still-talented Yellow Jacket team isn’t nightmarish for the Cardinals, but they looked poised to capture another smooth ACC win through the first 20-ish minutes. Senior guard Reyne Smith went cold with a one of five performance from behind the arc; in wins against Wake Forest and SMU, Smith scored 46 points on a 14 of 27 three-point clip.

Louisville is, however, blessed with a weak slate going forward. They’ll play five bottom-half ACC teams and will finish the season against Pitt, California, and Stanford. Wins over Clemson, SMU, Pitt, and Wake Forest will keep their resumé fit for a tournament berth. 

Virginia can’t wait for the offseason to come. Barring a miracle run in the ACC Tournament, the ‘Hoos will not make the Big Dance. A home loss to Virginia Tech has the program trending towards its first losing season since 2009 — Bennett’s first year at the helm. The Hokies did shoot well in John Paul Jones Arena, though, with a 52.4% 3PT performance a boon in their big rivalry win. Despite rumors of retirement or an inevitable firing, Virginia Tech’s Mike Young has done an impressive job with a unit riddled by inexperience in a major conference. 

The ‘Hoos are still without junior forward Elijah Saunders (11.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG). However, sophomore center Blake Buchanan (5.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG) hasn’t made the necessary leap in Year 2, and Virginia has struggled to create offensively outside of sharpshooter Isaac McKneely (13.0 PPG) and the much-improved Andrew Rohde (8.7 PPG, 3.6 APG). 

Unfortunately, the ‘Hoos are staring down a gauntlet. Pitt, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Clemson loom for a team spiraling downhill, and three of those matchups come on the road.

The Ugly: Florida State goes 0-fer this week, North Carolina’s woes worsen

Florida State’s season has snowballed following a strong start to conference play. The Seminoles have now lost four straight, including this week’s defeats to Virginia Tech and Boston College. Any hope of a bounceback campaign from Coach Leonard Hamilton is fading fast. One has to wonder whether the longtime head of the Seminoles — in the midst of his 23rd year — calls it quits at the end of this campaign. Or, as we have discussed, will Tallahassee’s top brass move on regardless? It seems as if the possibility of a mutual parting of ways has grown.

If the Seminoles couldn’t reap low-hanging fruit against Boston College and Virginia Tech, how will they fare against Clemson and Wake Forest in the next two weeks? Now, they’re fighting to claw back into the top-half of the conference.

North Carolina has frequently found themselves in the bottom two categories of our ACC Weekly Roundups. Yes, a loss to Duke at Cameron is expected, but it’s the manner in which they crumbled so early in a fiercely competitive rivalry. Following a bitter loss at Pitt, the Tar Heels looked utterly defeated against the Blue Devils, who led by as much as 32. This could be one of the most dominant college basketball teams that we have seen in recent memory, or perhaps Duke’s dominance is a reflection of a conference that has suffered from a down season. Nonetheless, Carolina can’t salvage a positive from this one.

While I believe that Coach Hubert Davis will see another full season, he’s got some work to do to turn around a lousy campaign in Chapel Hill. They need a win over Clemson or Pitt — ideally against both — to make their tournament case more compelling. The committee can rely only so much on preseason buzz.

Click here to read last week's edition of the ACC Basketball Weekly Roundup.