ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 14

Virginia, Miami, then who?

I wrote at the beginning of power rankings a few weeks ago what my criteria is. Click here to check it out.

Approaching the final quarter of ACC play, first place and seventh place are separated by just three games. 

ACC Standings

T1. Virginia Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3)
T1. Pitt Panthers (18-7, 11-3)
3. Miami Hurricanes (20-5, 11-4)
4. Clemson Tigers (18-7, 10-4)
5. NC State Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5)
6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-9. 9-6)
T7. Duke Blue Devils (17-8, 8-6)
T7. North Carolina Tar Heels (16-9, 8-6
T7. Syracuse Orange (15-10, 8-6)
T10. Boston College Eagles (12-14, 6-9)
T10. Florida State Seminoles (8-18, 6-9)
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (15-10, 5-9)
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-15, 2-12)
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-16, 2-13)
15. Louisville Cardinals (9-16, 2-13)

KenPom.com still ranks the Atlantic Coast Conference as the seventh best league in the nation, behind the Mountain West. Five ACC teams rank outside the top 180 in college basketball.

KenPom Rankings

1. Virginia Cavaliers - 14th in Division I (25th Offensive Efficiency, 22nd Defensive)
2. North Carolina Tar Heels - 32nd (32nd Off, 46th Def)
3. Miami Hurricanes - 35th (9th Off, 125th Def)
4. Duke Blue Devils - 36th (66th Off, 29th Def)
5. NC State Wolfpack - 41st (41st Off, 54th Def)
6. Pitt Panthers - 58th (45th Off, 81st Def)
7. Virginia Tech Hokies- 61st (26th Off, 110th Def)
8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - 73rd (31st Off, 148th Def)
9. Clemson Tigers - 79th (104th Off, 64th Def)
10. Syracuse Orange - 88th (68th Off, 120th Def)
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - 185th (72nd Off, 312th Def)
12. Florida State Seminoles - 188th (143rd Off, 235th Def)
13. Boston College Eagles - 192nd (236th Off, 131st Def)
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - 204th (257th Off, 136th Def)
15. Louisville Cardinals - 295th (275th Off, 294th Def)

At this point, nine ACC teams have a shot at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the dream of an automatic bid remains a possibility for the other six. Let's see how these squads stack up entering the heart of February:

Power Rankings

1. Virginia Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3)

Last week: 1

Last week’s results: W 63-50 vs NC State, W 69-62 OT vs Duke

Virginia keeps on winning. In typical Tony Bennett fashion, the Cavaliers held the high powered NC State offense to 33.3% shooting and just 50 points in the win on Tuesday. On Saturday, Virginia held off Duke for an overtime victory, but not with controversy. The no-call on Kyle Filipowski's last second field goal attempt was announced as a mistake by the ACC after the game. Virginia capitalized with a strong overtime performance. Armaan Franklin was awesome in the win, scoring 24 points. Virginia should continue to add to their win total with an easy stretch of games upcoming.

Up next: 2/15 at Louisville, 2/18 vs Notre Dame

2. Miami Hurricanes (20-5, 11-4)

Last week: 2

Last week’s results: W 81-59 vs Duke, W 93-85 vs Louisville

The Hurricanes made a big statement on Monday with a blowout win over Duke, wreaking havoc with 13 steals and 21 forced turnovers. Only holding a one-point halftime lead over Louisville at home on Saturday isn't a great look, but the result of the game was never really in jeopardy. Isaiah Wong, Norchad Omier, and Nijel Pack all scored 20+. Jim Larrañaga's squad has now won four straight games, and they've only lose two games all season by more than one possession. A top 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament is in play.

Up next: 2/13 at North Carolina, 2/18 vs Wake Forest

3. Duke Blue Devils (17-8, 8-6)

Last week: 3

Last week’s results: L 81-59 at Miami, L 69-62 OT at Virginia

I'm keeping Duke at three even after an 0-2 week and a blowout loss to Miami because no ACC team has come closer to a win at John Paul Jones Arena this season. Plus, if the correct call was made at the end of regulation, Kyle Filipowski (a 76% FT shooter) would've needed to hit just one of two from the line. It was a tough week for Filipwski, who scored a combined nine points (zero vs UVA) while turning the ball over eight times across the two losses against the two best teams in the league. Jon Scheyer is happy to have Dariq Whitehead back in action, who scored 10 off the bench in the loss Saturday. 

Up next: 2/14 vs Notre Dame, 2/18 at Syracuse

4. Pitt Panthers (18-7, 11-3)

Last week: 6

Last week’s results: W 91-57 vs Louisville, W 83-75 at Florida State

Make it five straight wins for Jeff Capel's Pittsburgh Panthers. Pitt put up big point totals this week in wins over two teams with losing records on the season this week. Jamarius Burton and Blake Hinson both scored 19 in the win on Saturday at the Tuck, and Nike Sibande provided a key spark off the bench with 12 points in the final eight minutes of the game. Currently tied for first place, Pitt has a very legitimate shot at winning a portion of the regular season ACC title. This veteran group has great chemistry and a handful of talented scorers that are playing great basketball right now.

Up next: 2/14 vs Boston College, 2/18 at Virginia Tech

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (16-9, 8-6)

Last week: 4

Last week’s results: L 92-85 at Wake Forest, W 91-71 vs Clemson

After a weak effort in the loss in Winston-Salem on Tuesday, the home matchup vs Clemson was a must win spot. Hubert Davis' team responded with a 20-point home victory on Saturday over the Tigers. Caleb Love and RJ Davis connected on 10-19 three-pointers and combined for 40 points, while Armando Bacot added 19 and 11 rebounds. When UNC is playing fast and the guards are hitting shots, they look capable of another deep March run. The Tar Heels will look to continue building momentum on a short turnaround with a crucial Big Monday matchup vs Miami looming.

Up next: 2/13 vs Miami, 2/19 at NC State

6. NC State Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5)

Last week: 7

Last week’s results: L 63-50 at Virginia, W 92-62 at Boston College

Hard to knock NC State for losing in Charlottesville. The Wolfpack are still winners of five of their last six after demolishing Boston College by 30 points on Saturday. BC has caused plenty of problems on their home floor, and I always say a strong metric of how good a team is is their ability to blowout teams they should be beating. Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and dished out six assists in the victory. Good news for Kevin Keatts - Jack Clark saw action for the first time in 2023 on Saturday, making both of his three-point attempts in 10 minutes of action. The LaSalle graduate transfer started the first 15 games of the season for the Wolfpack, so his return should provide an important boost.

Up next: 2/14 at Syracuse, 2/19 vs North Carolina

7. Clemson Tigers (18-7, 10-4)

Last week: 5

Last week’s results: L 91-71 at North Carolina

The Tigers are sliding, now losers of three straight games. After a bye in the middle of the week, Clemson ran into a pissed off North Carolina team at the wrong time. While KenPom thinks the Tigers, who held sole possession of first place in the league for most of the season, are the ninth best team in the league, I still think this is an NCAA Tournament team. Brad Brownell's group should get back into the win column this week as their schedule lightens up.

Up next: 2/15 vs Florida State, 2/18 at Louisville

8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-9. 9-6)

Last week: 8

Last week’s results: W 92-85 vs North Carolina, W 71-70 vs Georgia Tech

Wake Forest kept their name in the bubble conversation with two much needed wins this week. Tyree Appleby put together a 35 point 11 assist gem in a dominating win against North Carolina on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Demon Deacons were lucky to escape unscathed after a valiant fight from Georgia Tech. Wake trailed by five points with two minutes remaining, but late game heroics from Appleby guided the Deacs to a one-point win. Cameron Hildreth led the way with 19 points, his best effort in weeks. Steve Forbes' guys have the middle of this week off before two upcoming quad one opportunities. 

Up next: 2/18 at Miami

9. Virginia Tech Hokies (15-10, 5-9)

Last week: 9

Last week’s results: L 82-76 vs Boston College, W 93-87 at Notre Dame

Virginia Tech's at-large hopes took a big hit when they lost at home to Boston College on Wednesday. The downfall for Mike Young's team has been uninspiring defensive execution during most of ACC play. That trend continued on Saturday in South Bend, but an impressive offensive performance led the Hokies to a win anyway. Grant Basile put together a monster week with back to back 33 point performances, while shooting 63% from the field and 42% from behind the arc.

Up next: 2/15 at Georgia Tech, 2/18 vs Pitt

10. Syracuse Orange (15-10, 8-6)

Last week: 10

Last week’s results: W 76-67 vs Florida State

Here's a stat: Syracuse is 8-1 this season against teams behind them in the ACC standings, and 0-5 against the teams ahead of them. The Orange took care of business in Tallahassee on Wednesday before having Saturday off. Joe Girard made five threes on his way to a 26 point performance. Jesse Edwards and Judah Mintz added 18 and 16 apiece respectively. Those three have had to carry the weight for Syracuse all season long. Jim Boeheim's team hasn't proved themselves capable of taking down any of the top teams in the league yet this season, but they'll get two more tries at it in the Carrier Dome this week.

Up next: 2/14 vs NC State, 2/18 vs Duke

11. Boston College Eagles (12-14, 6-9)

Last week: 12

Last week’s results: W 82-76 at Virginia Tech, L 92-62 vs NC State

Boston College turned in an impressive performance on the road in Blacksburg on Wednesday, knocking down 12 threes in the win. My guy Quentin Post (who deserves Third Team All-ACC) turned in 24 points, while Makai Ashton-Langford dished out 12 assists. While the Eagles have been good at home in league play, NC State's explosive offense was too much for them on Saturday, and the game got out of hand.

Up next: 2/14 at Pitt, 2/18 at Florida State

12. Florida State Seminoles (8-18, 6-9)

Last week: 12

Last week’s results: L 76-67 vs Syracuse, L 83-75 vs Pitt

Florida State has lost five of six, and their only win in that span came against lowly Louisville. The Seminoles were right there in both of their home losses this week, but just didn't have enough to come away with a win either time. My preseason pick for ACC Most Improved Player, Jalen Warley, turned in a career high 23 points in the loss vs Pitt.

Up next: 2/15 at Clemson, 2/18 vs Boston College

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-16, 2-13)

Last week: 14

Last week’s results: W 70-68 vs Notre Dame

Josh Pastner's team has definitely been playing better ball these last few games. Lance Terry's buzzer beating tip in lifted Georgia Tech to a win over Notre Dame on Wednesday and put an end to a nine game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets almost followed that up with an impressive road win over Wake Forest, but they didn't execute well enough in the last couple of minutes. 

Up next: 2/15 vs Virginia Tech

14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-15, 2-12)

Last week: 13

Last week’s results: L 70-68 at Georgia Tech, L 93-87 vs Virginia Tech

Another tough week for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have lost seven of their last eight games, the one win coming against Louisville. After the heartbreaking loss in Atlanta on Wednesday, Mike Brey's group wasted a 33-point gem from Nate Laszewski in a home loss to Virginia Tech. Thirteen made three-pointers and only six turnovers should be enough to win a home game, but Notre Dame is simply abysmal on the defensive end of the floor. According to KenPom they have the 312th best defense in the nation.

Up next: 2/14 at Duke, 2/18 at Virginia

15. Louisville Cardinals (3-22, 1-13)

Last week: 15

Last week’s results: L 91-57 at Pitt, L 93-85 at Miami

Hey, they gave Miami a better game than Duke did. Only trailing by one at half against the Hurricanes is impressive. 

Up next: 2/15 vs Virginia, 2/18 vs Clemson

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