ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 11

Virginia has a firm hold on the top spot

Two weeks ago I wrote about what my criteria is while building my power rankings. Click here to check it out.

Not a ton of movement in the rankings this week, as the tiers of teams in the ACC are becoming increasingly clear. Clemson finally lost a conference game this week, and Virginia is now in full control of second place. Let's take a look at the standings:

ACC Standings:

1. Clemson Tigers (16-4, 8-1)
2. Virginia Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2)
T3. Miami Hurricanes (15-4, 6-3)
T3. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3)
T3. North Carolina Tar Heels (14-6, 6-3)
T3 Syracuse Orange (13-7, 6-3)
T3. Pitt Panthers (13-7, 6-3)
8. Duke Blue Devils (14-5, 5-3)
T9. NC State Wolfpack (15-5, 5-4)
T9. Florida State Seminoles (7-13, 5-4)
11. Boston College Eagles (9-11, 3-6)
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-8, 1-7)
T13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-11, 1-8)
T13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-11, 1-8)
15. Louisville Cardinals (2-17, 0-8)

The computer models continue to rank ACC as the weakest power six conference. KenPom only has three ACC schools in the top 40:

KenPom Rankings:

1. Virginia Cavaliers - 11th in Division I (19th Offensive Efficiency, 24th Defensive)
2. North Carolina Tar Heels - 24th (16th Off, 61st Def)
3. Duke Blue Devils - 30th (45th Off, 35th Def)
4. NC State Wolfpack - 41st (44th Off, 54th Def)
5.. Miami Hurricanes - 43rd (8th Off, 139th Def)
6. Virginia Tech Hokies- 47th (59th Off, 57th Def)
7. Clemson Tigers - 60th (65th Off, 62nd Def)
8. Pitt Panthers - 68th (56th Off, 90th Def)
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - 76th (30th Off, 151st Def)
10. Syracuse Orange - 81st (61st Off, 129th Def)
11. Florida State Seminoles - 143rd (112th Off, 197th Def)
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - 156th (201st Off, 126th Def)
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 160th (83rd Off, 272nd Def)
14. Boston College Eagles - 186th (254th Off, 110th Def)
15. Louisville Cardinals - 283rd (306th Off, 233rd Def)

First place Clemson continues to rank very low in KenPom. It's pretty wild that the Tigers, 8-1 in league play, are behind 1-7 Virginia Tech in the predictive model.

Power Rankings

1. Virginia Cavaliers

Last week: 1

Last week’s results: W 78-68 vs Virginia Tech, W 76-67 vs Wake Forest

That’s five straight wins for Virginia, who are beginning to create some separation on their title of best team in the ACC. Armaan Franklin drilled in five three-pointers on his way to a 25-point performance in the win at Wake Forest, and Kihei Clark led the way with 20 points in the win over Virginia Tech. Tony Bennett has fully committed to small ball, and it’s paying dividends offensively. Virginia scored over 70 in back to back games this week for the first time since November. 6’8” freshman guard Ryan Dunn saw a major uptick in minutes this week, and Bennett seems to be very pleased with him. The Cavaliers’ two ACC losses this season have come on the road against Miami and Pittsburgh, by a combined margin of five points. Virginia now has seven days of rest before they host Boston College.

Up next: 1/28 vs Boston College

2. North Carolina Tar Heels

Last week: 2

Last week’s results: W 72-64 vs Boston College, W 80-69 vs NC State

Since the second week of December, North Carolina has won nine of 11 games, with the only two losses being tough ACC road games — at Virginia (without Armando Bacot), and at Pitt. The Tar Heels let Boston College hang around — they only led by one point with six minutes remaining — but escaped unscathed on Wednesday. On Saturday, Bacot became North Carolina’s all time leading rebounder in the win over NC State. Bacot went for 23 and 18 in the victory, his third-straight game with 16 or more boards. He’s the current frontrunner for conference player of the year. Caleb Love scored 16 points in both wins this week, but continues to be incredibly inefficient. He’s now shot under 39% from the field in six straight games.

Up next: 1/24 at Syracuse

3. Clemson Tigers

Last week: 3

Last week’s results: L 87-77 at Wake Forest, W 51-50 vs Virginia Tech

Clemson finally lost an ACC game on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, but bounced right back on Saturday with a gritty one-point win over Virginia Tech. Down two with 14 seconds left in the game, Brad Brownell drew up a beautiful play, and Hunter Tyson drilled a game winning three-pointer. Things were more difficult for the Tigers this week with Chase Hunter missing both games with an injury. Without Hunter and the continued absence of Alex Hemenway, Brownell has asked for more out of PJ Hall and a handful of freshmen. Hall has scored 20 or more in three straight, and this week he set his season-high in minutes in back to back games (30 and 31).

Up next: 1/24 vs Georgia Tech, 1/28 at Florida State

4. Duke Blue Devils

Last week: 5

Last week’s results: W 68-66 vs Miami

Jeremy Roach returned to action Saturday and Duke secured a close home win over Miami. Roach scored 14 points and dished out four assists off the bench. Kyle Filipowski recorded his third-straight double-double, putting up a 17-point and 14-rebound statline. The Blue Devils remain undefeated at home, but Jon Scheyer and this young group have only won one road game this season (65-64 win at Boston College on Jan. 7). This week presents two opportunities for Duke to find success away from Cameron Indoor.

Up next: 1/23 at Virginia Tech, 1/28 at Georgia Tech

5. Miami Hurricanes

Last week: 4

Last week’s results: W 82-78 vs Syracuse, L 86-66 at Duke

Miami trailed by as many as 11 in the second half against Syracuse, but a strong late push helped the Hurricanes escape with a win. On Saturday, they played Duke very close in Cameron, but were never able to get over the hump in the final 16 minutes and take the lead. Considering the fact that Isaiah Wong only scored seven points, only losing by two on the road is pretty impressive. Nijel Pack made four three-pointers on his way to 18 points, the most he has scored in the new year. The Hurricanes have lost three road games in a row now, and they’ve got two more on the schedule this week.

Up next: 1/24 at Florida State, 1/28 at Pitt

6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Last week: 8

Last week’s results: W 87-77 vs Clemson, L 76-67 vs Virginia

Wake Forest hosted the top two teams in the standings this week, and split the matchups. The Deacs took down red-hot Clemson on Wednesday, behind a combined 76 points from Tyree Appleby, Cameron Hildreth, Damari Monsanto and Andrew Carr. The Deacs fell behind 34-15 to Virginia on Saturday at home, but cut the deficit to just one point in the second half. Wake never ended up taking the lead, and eventually fell by nine. Monsanto drilled seven threes on his way to a career high 25 points.

Up next: 1/25 at Pitt, 1/28 vs NC State

7. NC State Wolfpack

Last week: 6

Last week’s results: W 78-66 at Georgia Tech, L 80-69 at North Carolina

Wolfpack star Terquavion Smith took a scary fall on Saturday against North Carolina and was taken off the court on a stretcher. Luckily, all x-rays were negative, and his playing status is day-to-day. It was a tight game until the Tar Heels took control midway through the second half, but the Smith injury effectively halted the Wolfpack’s chance at the road upset. Earlier in the week on Tuesday, NC State secured a road win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday, behind a 25-point, five-assist performance from Smith.

Up next: 1/24 vs Notre Dame, 1/28 at Wake Forest

8. Pitt Panthers

Last week: 7

Last week’s results: W 75-54 at Louisville, L 71-64 vs Florida State

Pitt beat Louisville by 21 on Wednesday which, at this point, is just common courtesy when playing the Cardinals. Greg Elliott hit five three-balls on his way to a season high 23 points. Saturday’s home loss to Florida State is a brutal knock on the resume considering the Seminoles’ horrendous record. All of a sudden, Jeff Capel doesn’t have much depth, as all five starters played 34 minutes or more in that one. Jamarius Burton recorded 20 points and five assists.

Up next: 1/25 vs Wake Forest, 1/28 vs Miami

9. Syracuse Orange

Last week: 9

Last week’s results: L 82-78 at Miami, W 80-63 at Georgia Tech

Syracuse has quietly been playing very solid ball lately. If the Orange could’ve held onto their late lead in Miami on Monday, they would be on a four-game win streak right now. It was still a very strong road effort. Jesse Edwards went for 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Joe Girard had 21 points and five assists. Unlike Miami, the Orange took care of business on the road against one of the ACC’s worst in Georgia Tech on Saturday. Girard continued his strong streak of play with a 28 point, seven assist, five rebound performance where he connected on 6-10 attempts from behind the arc.

Up next: 1/24 vs North Carolina, 1/28 at Virginia Tech

10. Virginia Tech Hokies

Last week: 10

Last week’s results: L 78-68 at Virginia, L 51-50 at Clemson

The Hokies are on a terrible slide, now losers of seven in a row after an 11-1 start to the season. KenPom still ranks Virginia Tech as the sixth-best team in the ACC, but like last year, this team continues to lose close games. Hunter Cattoor is back in action, which is a big boost, but matchups on the road against Virginia and Clemson were tall tasks. The Clemson loss is the biggest stinger, as the Hokies led by two with 15 seconds left on the clock before Tyson’s game winner. Tenth is the lowest I can rank this team, though, because just like last season, they’re much better than their ACC record.

Up next: 1/23 vs Duke, 1/28 vs Syracuse

11. Florida State Seminoles

Last week: 12

Last week’s results: W 84-71 at Notre Dame, W 71-64 at Pittsburgh

Major props to Leonard Hamilton’s crew for securing two road wins this week. Darin Green Jr. turned in back to back gems, with 20 points against Notre Dame and 24 against Pitt. He connected on 9/16 three-point attempts in the two victories. He’s playing a few guys only single-digit minutes off the bench, but the Seminoles looked more like themselves this week as Hamilton went ten deep in both games. This team is much better than their 7-13 record, and will continue to play spoiler on their way to potentially a decent seed in the ACC Tournament.

Up next: 1/24 vs Miami, 1/28 vs Clemson

12. Boston College Eagles

Last week: 13

Last week’s results: L 72-64 at North Carolina, W 84-72 at Notre Dame

Boston College put up a strong fight on Wednesday in the Dean Dome, hanging around the whole game and never letting the Tar Heels build a big lead. On Saturday, the Eagles notched their first road victory of the season in South Bend, behind Quinten Post’s monster 29-point, 14-rebound performance. Post scored 17 in the loss to UNC, and is sneakily establishing himself as one of the best big men in the ACC. Credit to Earl Grant for continuing to squeeze a lot out of this roster.

Up next: 1/25 vs Louisville, 1/28 at Virginia

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last week: 11

Last week’s results: L 84-71 vs Florida State, L 84-72 vs Boston College

This season has been a total disaster in South Bend. Head coach Mike Brey announced that he’ll be stepping down at the end of the season after a very successful career. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t look like he will be ending his time at Notre Dame on a high note. The Fighting Irish continue to disappoint, with back-to-back double-digit home losses against two teams with losing records. Notre Dame is inexcusably ranked 272nd in the country in defensive efficiency by KenPom.

Up next: 1/24 at NC State, 1/28 vs Louisville

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last week: 14

Last week’s results:

The home win over Miami back on Jan. 4 seemed like a step in the right direction for Josh Pastner’s team. Instead, the Yellow Jackets have lost five-straight games since that ranked win, including three in a row at home, all by double digits. Georgia Tech is lucky that Louisville exists and isn't ranked last, because frankly they aren’t very good at all.

Up next: 1/24 at Clemson, 1/28 vs Duke

15. Louisville Cardinals

Last week: 15

Last week’s results: L 75-54 vs Pitt

Only one blowout this week because they only played one game. The Cardinals have impressively strung together two separate eight-game losing streaks this season.

Up next: 1/25 at Boston College, 1/28 at Notre Dame

Follow @DeaconsDaily on Twitter and Instagram for more Wake Forest content