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ACC Power Rankings: Week of 2/13-2/19

ACC play is heating up, and there are still several schools in the hunt for a regular season title.

North Carolina v Duke Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

We’re in the final stages of conference play with a lot of teams still jockeying for the title, as well as top seeds for March Madness. Let’s take a look at this week’s ACC power rankings:

1. UNC 21-5 (9-3)

The Tar Heels had the chance to really put some pressure on the other teams in the ACC with a win over Duke, but they couldn’t stop the three-point barrage at Cameron Indoor. Carolina is still in the hunt for an ACC title and potentially even a top seed, but it’s been rare to see this team firing on all cylinders lately. Justin Jackson is still doing his thing, but the rest of the guys are struggling with consistency. After a rivalry game against NC State, UNC takes on Virginia in Chapel Hill, a team they’ve struggled with in recent seasons.

This week: at NC State 2/15; vs. UVA 2/18

2. Duke 20-5 (8-4)

The nightmare everyone predicted at the beginning of the season seems to be slowly happening in Durham. After a rocky start to conference play—at least by Duke’s standards—the Blue Devils have now won five games in a row, including a big win over UNC last week, and are finally looking like the preseason contender they were pegged as. They’re back in the conversation for an ACC title, Grayson Allen has over 20 points in three of his last four games and Luke Kennard continues to bury triples at a terrifying 45.9 percentage. Be afraid, ACC.

This week: at UVA 2/15; vs. Wake Forest 2/18

3. FSU 21-5 (9-4)

For whatever reason, Florida State still isn’t getting a lot of respect. The Seminoles still have a great shot at winning the ACC, boast wins over UVA, Duke, Notre Dame, and Louisville, but most people seem to be talking about Duke, UNC, and UVA. The Noles have an easy finish to ACC play with a game at Duke being the most challenging by far. Otherwise, this balanced and athletic team should end the season strongly with the hope to go deep into March.

This week: at Pitt 2/18

4. UVA 18-6 (8-4)

Virginia was all set to be number one in the power rankings until Seth Allen and Virginia Tech happened. The Cavaliers lost in a double-overtime thriller, and now find themselves right in the thick of an ACC title race. With the loss of Malcolm Brogdon, this team is still adapting and hasn’t looked as solid as Virginia teams in the past years.

This week: vs. Duke 2/15; at UNC 2/18

5. Louisville 20-5 (8-4)

Louisville only loses to good teams. Their five losses have come against Baylor, UVA (twice), Notre Dame, and FSU. The Cardinals still have a chance in the ACC and really only have UNC left on their schedule to worry about. Year after year, Coach Rick Pitino just continues to craft a well-rounded, formidable basketball machine, and this year is no different.

This week: at Syracuse 2/13; vs. Virginia Tech 2/18

6. Notre Dame 19-7 (8-5)

The Fighting Irish hit a bit of a rough patch, losing five of six before righting the ship somewhat with two victories over Wake Forest and FSU. This team is one of the hardest to predict in the ACC, as they’ve had great, continuous runs of high-level play mixed in with real struggles to get over losses. Still, they have one of the easiest finishes in the conference—the only real challenge is at Louisville—and could be primed for a solid run to end the year.

This week: at Boston College 2/14; at NC State 2/18

7. Syracuse 16-10 (8-5)

Everything was going great for Syracuse. Big wins over FSU and UVA and generally just a strong performance following an up-and-down non-conference schedule. Then, the Orange lost at Pitt to an erratic Panther team. Now, Syracuse has to play Louisville twice and Duke, and they’ll need to replicate the play they had against FSU and UVA if they want to improve their tournament standing.

This week: vs. Louisville 2/13; at Georgia Tech 2/19

8. Virginia Tech 17-7 (6-6)

The Hokies got a big win over Virginia last night. Now, they have a legitimate chance at making the NCAA Tournament.

This week: at Pitt 2/14; at Louisville 2/18

9. Georgia Tech 15-10 (6-6)

The Yellow Jackets have been good this year and have a relatively easy stretch of games to make sure they make the NCAA Tournament.

This week: at Miami 2/15; vs. Syracuse 2/19

10. Miami 16-8 (6-6)

The Hurricanes have had an up-and-down season with a win over UNC really being their only fantastic win on the resume. They’ll have the chance to turn a few more heads, as they play at Virginia, at FSU and home to Duke to end ACC play.

This week: vs. Georgia Tech 2/15; vs. Clemson 2/18

11. Wake Forest 15-10 (6-7)

Head coach Danny Manning has been doing some nice things at Wake Forest, helping them to a fine season thus far. They play Duke and Louisville in their final six games but, otherwise, the Deacons could put in enough work to make the NCAA Tournament.

This week: at Clemson 2/14; at Duke 2/18

12. Pitt 14-11 (3-9)

It’s a little surprising to see Pitt struggling this season since the Panthers have typically been a solid middle-of-the-pack ACC performer. An eight-game losing streak smack dab in the middle of conference play basically doomed their season and, although they have won their last two, three of their final six come against UNC, UVA, and FSU.

This week: vs. Virginia Tech 2/14; vs. FSU 2/18

13. Clemson 13-11 (3-9)

The Tigers have lost nine of their last 11 but, thankfully, they don’t have too tough of a schedule to finish the season out. Even though the 3-9 conference record doesn’t look great, this team is still fighting. Clemson lost to UNC by just three, Notre Dame by five, UVA by four, Virginia Tech by one, Syracuse by one, and Duke by two. If it wasn’t for some late-game failures, this squad could definitely be much higher up in the standings.

This week: vs. Wake Forest 2/14; at Miami 2/18

14. NC State 14-12 (3-10)

The Wolfpack are riding a five-game losing streak with UNC coming to Raleigh this week. The last time these two played? The Heels handed NC State a 107-56 beatdown. Coach Mark Gottfried is certainly on the hot seat at this point, and a big upset over Carolina would go a long way in solidifying his job safety. Otherwise, this appears to be another disappointing season for the Wolfpack, despite the tremendous efforts of Dennis Smith, Jr.

This week: vs. UNC 2/15; vs. Notre Dame 2/18

15. Boston College 9-17 (2-11)

Boston College is currently on a nine-game losing streak and, quite honestly, there’s a chance they don’t win another game in the conference until the ACC closer at Clemson. Jerome Robinson has been a bright spot averaging just under 20 points per game, but the Golden Eagles’ basketball program just hasn’t been on track recently.

This week: vs. Notre Dame 2/14