ACC Power Rankings: Final Week

Well, here we are: The ACC Regular Season is coming to an end. Two weeks ago Carolina was spiraling into the abyss we’d have given anything for it to be over already. Now, with their current form, we’d give anything for two more weeks to hopefully tack on a few more wins and improve our conference tournament seeding. Basketball man...

Elsewhere in the ACC, the prevailing sentiment among the league leaders is that no one has the slightest bit of interest in being the #1 seed. Since the last iteration of this list, Florida State was tripped up at Clemson, opening the door once again for Louisville and Duke to grab a share of the title. Unthinkably, that now includes Virginia, who climbed back into the rankings by upsetting the Blue Devils and now stand a chance to take a share of the regular season title yet again should they win out.

1) #7 Florida State Seminoles 25-5 (15-4)

The Seminoles allowed themselves once again to be caught when they were knocked off in a thriller against Clemson on Saturday, but saved their title chances with a dramatic win over Notre Dame. The Noles’ two wins over Louisville give them the tiebreaker between the two top teams in the league and if they take care of business against Boston College, they’ll be the #1 seed in the ACCT. Their tournament resume is also boosted by the fact that they are 4-1 against ranked opponents.

2) #10 Louisville Cardinals 24-6 (15-4)

Chris Mack’s squad looked like they had committed an all-time bungle job in the last month when they surrendered the lead in conference play, but FSU’s loss is their gain. However, they’ll need to get a big road win in Charlottesville on Saturday if they are to maintain the pace for the regular season crown.

3) #12 Duke Blue Devils 24-6 (14-5)

The Blue Devils had an opportunity to seize control of the title race this weekend but they were, ahem, blocked by Virginia (yay Jay Huff!). Due to their loss to Lousville, they can do no better than 2nd in the tournament, but could drop to 4th if UNC pulls off the upset and UVA wins out.

4) #22 Virginia Cavaliers 22-7 (14-5)

At some point you’ve just got to (grudgingly) tip your hat and give respect to Tony Bennett and Co. Butt ugly, unwatchable, and effective, they’ve gotten better and better as the season’s gone on and now they have a shot at repeating as ACC co-champions. They have a huge opportunity to end their regular season with another signature win against Louisville.

6) Syracuse Orange 17-13 (10-9)

Beating the Orange is starting to become an annual tradition for the Tar Heels, which is pretty surprising considering the fanfare with which Boeheim and Co. came into the ACC.

6) Clemson Tigers 15-14 (9-10)

Let’s give credit to the Tigers, who once against played the role of giant killer this weekend. After knocking off Louisville to alter the top of the league, they reset the map again by stunning FSU. Unfortunately, they squandered some bubble momentum with a rough loss to Virginia Tech.

7) Notre Dame Fighting Irish 18-12 (9-10)

The Irish looked to be righting the ship a bit in the past few weeks, before suffering a bad loss on the road to Wake Forest and then suffering a heartbreaker to FSU. With such a crowded pack at the middle of the ACC, that could be the difference between them playing a bad team in the ACCT First Round...or a really bad team.

8) NC State Wolfpack 18-12 (9-10)

It was a long shot for the Pack to pick up a season sweep of Duke by winning on the road at Cameron, but the way in which they were dismantled doesn’t bode well for either their current form OR their tournament hopes.

9) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 16-14 (10-9)

Next!

10) North Carolina Tar Heels 13-17 (6-13)

Yeah, this might be a little prisoner of the moment-y but take a look at the teams behind the Heels and tell me any one of them is playing better basketball right now. UNC hasn’t shown yet that they are back on track to the tune of beating top teams, but they are undeniably putting some things together at the right time. Saturday’s game in Cameron will be more than just a shot at revenge, it’ll be a good indicator of just how real this turnaround is heading into a must-win ACCT.

11) Virginia Tech Hokies 15-14 (7-12)

In a season, not unlike our own, of extended ups and downs, the Hokies ended their four game losing streak by knocking off Clemson pretty comfortably at home last night.

12) Miami Hurricanes 14-15 (6-13)

The Canes dropped their last two on the road before a tough home loss toUVA. They finish up against Syracuse at home.

13) Wake Forest Demon Deacons 13-16 (6-13)

The Deacs had a good thing going for a moment, following up their upset of Duke with a solid win over Notre Dame, before they were victimized by UNC’s hot shooting on Tuesday.

14) Boston College Eagles 13-17 (7-12)

The Eagles will look to end their four game losing streak when they head to FSU on Saturday.

15) Pittsburgh Panthers 15-16 (6-14)

The Panthers had a shot at being a bubble team before the month of February started, but they’ve been horrific of late, dropping seven straight games, five of them by double digits, to come to rest at the bottom of the ACC.