ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 10

Virginia has reclaimed the top spot

I wrote at the beginning of last week's power rankings what my criteria is. Click here to check it out.

As conference play marches on during the month of January, some things are becoming clear about the ACC. There are a distinct top ten squads, and a subsequent drop-off thereafter. The teams in the top ten are there because beating them at home is impressive, and they are all capable of winning on the road. 

The surprising Clemson still has a two-game lead at the top of the standings, but it's very tight in the middle.

ACC Standings:

1. Clemson Tigers (15-3, 7-0)
T2. Miami Hurricanes (14-3, 5-2)
T2. Virginia Cavaliers (13-3, 5-2)
T2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-5, 5-2)
T2. Syracuse Orange (12-6, 5-2)
T2. Pitt Panthers (12-6, 5-2)
T7. North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6, 4-3)
T7. Duke Blue Devils (13-5, 4-3)
T7. NC State Wolfpack (14-4, 4-3)
10. Florida State Seminoles (5-13, 3-4)
11. Boston College Eagles (8-10, 2-5)
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-6, 1-5)
T13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-9, 1-6)
T13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-9, 1-6)
15. Louisville Cardinals (2-16, 0-7)

Below are how the teams rank in Ken Pomeroy's computer ratings, based on a team's work across the entire season. 

KenPom Rankings:

1. Virginia Cavaliers - 12th in Division I (30th Offensive Efficiency, 16th Defensive)
2. North Carolina Tar Heels - 22nd (18th Off, 57th Def)
3. Duke Blue Devils- 29th (47th Off, 33rd Def)
4. NC State Wolfpack - 36th (38th Off, 49th Def)
5. Miami Hurricanes - 39th (11th Off, 127th Def)
6. Virginia Tech Hokies- 45th (41st Off, 61st Def)
7. Clemson Tigers - 54th (43rd Off, 69th Def)
8. Pitt Panthers - 62nd (39th Off, 90th Def)
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - 74th (34th Off, 142nd Def)
10. Syracuse Orange - 86th (67th Off, 130th Def)
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 130th (70th Off, 232nd Def)
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - 140th (185th Off, 107th Def)
13. Florida State Seminoles - 173rd (132nd Off, 220th Def)
14. Boston College Eagles - 200th (279th Off, 111th Def)
15. Louisville Cardinals - 283rd (306th Off, 233rd Def)

Power Rankings:

1. Virginia Cavaliers (13-3, 5-2)

Last week: 2

Last week’s results: W 65-58 vs North Carolina, W 67-58 at Florida State

Virginia reclaims the top spot after a strong 2-0 week. They caught a break when UNC's Armando Bacot injured his ankle while the score was 0-0, but Tony Bennett’s guys still turned in a top-level defensive performance and got the win. Isaac McKneeley and Ben Vander Plas continue to provide scoring pop off the bench, combining for 28 points and being responsible for all six UVA makes from three-point range. The Cavaliers held another team under 60 when they completed the season sweep over the Seminoles at the Tuck on Saturday. Virginia shot 11-22 from deep in this one, and Armaan Franklin made 4/7 attempts on his way to 20 points. Bennett has been shifting more and more towards his small-ball lineup with Vander Plas and Jayden Gardner in at the big spots, and Kadin Shedrick on the bench. When this team shoots well they are very tough to beat.

Up next: 1/18 vs Virginia Tech, 1/21 at Wake Forest

2. North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6, 4-3)

Last week: 1

Last week’s results: L 65-58 at Virginia, W 80-59 at Louisville

Do they win in Charlottesville if Bacot doesn’t get hurt? I honestly think the Heels would’ve. A close loss at Virginia without Bacot or Pete Nance is still an impressive performance. Those injuries have forced Hubert Davis to utilize his bench a bit more, and it’s clear that guys like Seth Trimble, D’Marco Dunn and Jalen Washington are talented and capable of taking on additional minutes. On Saturday, Bacot returned and easily took care of Lousivlle in a balanced effort. No Tar Heel player scored more than 14 points

Up next: 1/17 vs Boston College, W 1/21 vs NC State

3. Clemson Tigers (15-3, 7-0)

Last week: 4

Last week’s results: W 83-70 vs Louisville, W 72-64 vs Duke

The first place Tigers keep on winning. They did however only lead Louisville by six with a minute left on the clock at home on Wednesday night. If this really is the best team in the ACC, they should be blowing the doors off the laughing stock of the league. On Saturday, the Tigers fought their way to a very impressive home win over Duke, which should finally be enough to get this team into the AP Top 25 on Monday. PJ Hall carried the team with a 26-point gem on an off night for both Hunter Tyson (seven points) and Chase Hunter (1-10 FGs, five points).

Up next: 1/17 at Wake Forest, 1/21 vs Virginia Tech

4. Miami Hurricanes (14-3, 5-2)

Last week: 3

Last week’s results: W 88-72 vs Boston College, L 83-81 OT at NC State

Miami stays near the top after a .500 week. They dominated Boston College at home on Wednesday, with a lights out 12/18 (67%) shooting performance from behind the arc. On Saturday, the Hurricanes almost did enough for a road win, but the Wolfpack were able to hold on in overtime. It was impressive that Miami even had a chance to win, considering they lost the turnover battle 17-4. Isaiah Wong continued to build his ACC Player of the Year case with 47 points across these two games.

Up next: 1/16 vs Syracuse, 1/21 at Duke

5. Duke Blue Devils (13-5, 4-3)

Last week: 5

Last week’s results: W 77-69 vs Pitt, L 72-64 at Clemson

This young and talented Duke team put together a brilliant second-half effort in Cameron Indoor on Wednesday in the comeback win over Pitt. Trailing by 11 going into the break, the Blue Devils dominated the second half 45-26. Duke owned the glass, hauling in 24 offensive boards. Kyle Filipowski had a monster 28-point and 15-rebound performance against Pitt, and then went for 18 and 14 in the loss at Clemson. Three-point shooting was abysmal in the two-game stretch. Scheyer’s group shot a combined 9/47 (19%) across the two games. This team needs to win some away games, as the Blue Devils are now 1-3 in the league on the road, and the one win came by just one at Boston College.

Up next: 1/21 vs Miami

6. NC State Wolfpack (14-4, 4-3)

Last week: 7

Last week’s results: W 83-81 OT vs Miami

The Wolfpack only played one game this week, and secured a great home win over ranked Miami. Terquavion Smith scored 20, but the x-factor was the play of the bigs off of the bench. Big smooth DJ Burns was massive in this one, with 13 points, nine rebounds and a career high seven assists. Sophomore Ernest Ross turned in a special performance as well. Not only did he score the winning bucket in overtime, but he also notched  17 points and grabbed six offensive rebounds for the first double-digit scoring output of his college career. Kevin Keatts is doing a great job with this group, especially considering that two early-season starters (Jack Clark, Dusan Mahorcic) are out with injuries.

Up next: 1/17 at Georgia Tech, 1/21 at North Carolina

7. Pitt Panthers (12-6, 5-2)

Last week: 6

Last week’s results: L 77-69 at Duke, W 71-60 at Georgia Tech

The Panthers were no match for Duke in the second half of action, but bounced back with a nice road win at Georgia Tech. Pitt looked fantastic in the first half, scoring 43 points. But after halftime, the offense stalled out, and the Panthers were dominated on the glass. This team is still very legit, and even the fact that they were up double digits in Cameron Indoor shows how much of a step Jeff Capel’s unit has taken this year. Against the Yellow Jackets, Nike Sibande provided a nice spark off the bench with a 21-point effort. Even though Pitt has been playing well without him, the news that John Hugley will not be playing the rest of the season is still disappointing.

Up next: 1/18 at Louisville, 1/21 vs Florida State

8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-5, 3-2)

Last week: 8

Last week’s results: W 90-75 vs Florida State, W 85-63 at Boston College

Wake Forest has totally found its stride, but I can’t move them up the rankings after three-straight wins against teams outside the KenPom top 150. Offensively, this is an elite group that has taken pressure off of Tyree Appleby with awesome play recently from Cameron Hildreth, Andrew Carr and Damari Monsanto. The upcoming stretch of games is a gauntlet, but if Wake can keep scoring at this high of a level, they are going to be tough to beat.

Up next: 1/17 vs Clemson, 1/21 vs Virginia

9. Syracuse Orange (12-6, 5-2)

Last week: 10

Last week’s results: W 82-72 vs Virginia Tech, W 78-73 vs Notre Dame

Syracuse is quietly 5-2 in the ACC after two home wins this week. Joe Girard scored 24 in the victory over Virginia Tech, and against Notre Dame, the Orange overcame a double-digit second-half deficit. Jim Boeheim is asking a lot out of his freshman talent, and they were huge in the win on Saturday against the Irish. Chris Bell connected on 5-8 threes on his way to a career-high 17 points. Maliq Brown had his career high as well with 15, his third-straight game in double figures. Brown has played heavy minutes in January after being excluded from the rotation earlier this season. Jesse Edwards continues to anchor the 2-3 defense well, and leads the ACC in rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.9) per game. Nobody is talking about the Orange right now, but they are absolutely in the mix.

Up next: 1/16 at Miami, 1/21 at Georgia Tech

10. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-6, 1-5)

Last week: 9

Last week’s results: L at Syracuse

No team should forget how to win when you take away their fourth-leading scorer, but that’s exactly what has happened with Mike Young’s Hokies. Virginia Tech is on a five-game losing streak ever since Hunter Cattoor got injured. Cattoor is a crucial piece on both ends of the floor, and it’s clear that this team is not the same without him being a part of the puzzle. Grant Basile, Justyn Mutts and Sean Pedulla were responsible for 80% of the team’s scoring in the loss to Syracuse. Things aren’t getting any easier for the Hokies, who began the season 11-1. Back-to-back road games against Virginia and Clemson are as tough as it gets.

Up next: 1/18 at Virginia, 1/21 at Clemson

11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-9, 1-6)

Last week: 14

Last week’s results: W 73-72 OT vs Georgia Tech, L 78-73 at Syracuse

Notre Dame moves up even though they didn’t do much to impress this week. This is more a reflection of how bad the teams below them are, and a bit of belief in Mike Brey to find a way to improve this situation. Needing overtime to beat Georgia Tech at home is disappointing, but at least they won. Dane Goodwin put up 19 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. The Fighting Irish put their shooting prowess on display against Syracuse, connecting on 15-37 (41%) of their threes. But the defensive struggles remain prevalent. Marcus Hammond scored a season high 18 in the loss.

Up next: 1/17 vs Florida State, 1/21 vs Boston College

12. Florida State Seminoles (5-13, 3-4)

Last week: 12

Last week’s results: L 90-75 at Wake Forest, L 67-58 vs Virginia

Baba Miller made his debut in the loss to Wake Forest, only to miss the game against UVA with tonsillitis. The Seminoles couldn’t stop the explosive Wake offense, but against Virginia, offense was the problem. Leonard Hamilton only getting six points and 19 minutes from his bench shows how disoriented this program currently is.

Up next: 1/17 at Notre Dame, 1/21 at Pittsburgh

13. Boston College Eagles (8-10, 2-5)

Last week: 11

Last week’s results: L 88-72 at Miami, L 85-63 vs Wake Forest

Not being able to keep up with Miami on the road comes as no surprise. But the Eagles fall in the rankings for not being able to maintain their image as a frisky home team. BC was no match for Wake Forest on Saturday. Earl Grant’s Eagles are still going to cause some problems on their home floor with the defense they can play, but offensively this team is simply lacking talent.

Up next: 1/17 at North Carolina, 1/21 at Notre Dame

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-9, 1-6)

Last week: 13

Last week’s results: L 73-72 OT at Notre Dame, L 71-60 vs Pittsburgh

Credit to Josh Pastner for getting his guys to play hard, but this roster simply isn’t good enough to come close to .500 in league play. He’s got some intriguing young guards in Miles Kelly and Devion Smith. Defensively, this team is in the top half of the league in terms of KenPom efficiency. They led by six with under three to go in South Bend, but let it slip away. They never held a lead in the second half against Pitt.

Up next: 1/17 vs NC State, 1/21 vs Syracuse

15. Louisville Cardinals (2-16, 0-7)

Last week: 15

Last week’s results: L 83-70 at Clemson, L 80-59 vs North Carolina

They were competitive against Clemson. Tough to find silver linings when you are 2-16, but at least this team hasn’t quit on Kenny Payne.

Up next: 1/18 vs Pitt

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