By: Luke Stone

Despite winning the ACC/Big Ten challenge 8-6, ACC basketball didn’t feel like winners two weeks ago. On December 1, preseason no. 1 North Carolina was in the midst of a four-game losing streak, Duke was days removed from a 19-point drubbing at the hands of now no. 1 Purdue, and Louisville still hadn’t won a game.

Fast forward to today: Duke is on the cusp of making the top 10, Carolina has finally strung some wins together and Louisville – still hasn’t won a game. Here’s the second volume of my ACC power rankings.

Tier 1 – Contenders

1. Virginia Cavaliers (8-0, 1-0 ACC)

Virginia is lucky it still has a zero in the loss column. After a spunky comeback road win against Michigan two weeks ago, the Cavaliers haven’t looked quite right. They scraped together five-point home victories against Florida State and JMU to keep the win streak alive but shot 38.5% from the floor and 25% from three. Against JMU, Virginia shot a paltry 50% (12 of 24) from the free-throw line. The reason for the slump? A hobbled Reece Beekman. 

The junior guard has faced limited minutes since tweaking his ankle in Ann Arbor. In fairness, though, the team is still undefeated, has played outstanding defense and has found countless ways to win. We’ll see if the streak continues and if Reece is finally healed up when no. 2 Virginia plays no. 5 Houston on Saturday in this week’s edition of “Non-Conference Clash of the Titans That Won’t Mean Anything Come March.” 

Not trying to disrespect awesome non-conference matchups or anything, but we as a basketballing society should avoid the temptation to overreact to these games. A head-to-head result from December 17 isn’t going to keep either of these teams from being a higher seed unless this game is decided by 20-plus.

2. Duke Blue Devils (10-2, 1-0)

Since the aforementioned blowout loss to Purdue, Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils have looked fantastic. They’re riding a four-game win streak that includes quality wins against ranked Ohio State and very-well-could-be-ranked Iowa.

Kyle Filipowski has emerged as an elite big man and Jeremy Roach has thrived as a playmaker and multi-level scorer at point guard. Even without Coach K, this still looks like the modern Duke team we’ve come to expect: One experienced starter with four scary, sizable freshmen. 

Its other starting guard Tyrese Proctor is 6’5, starting forward Mark Mitchell is 6’8, and its OTHER STARTING CENTER – Dereck Lively – is 7’1. If that five isn’t working, they are more than happy to throw in 6’7 freshman forward Dariq Whitehead into the mix to see what happens. Even if their shots aren’t falling, they’ll be hard to guard.

Tier 2 – Increasing Scary and Scrappy Spoilers

3. Virginia Tech Hokies (10-1, 1-0)

The AP voters got one right for once. These are not the same Hokies that pieced together an ACC Tournament run and squeaked into the bracket last March. They’re better. The Hokies have won five in a row – including three against power five opponents – and have looked fantastic.

Justyn Mutts, Sean Pedulla, and Grant Basile still average double figures and have continued to wow in recent weeks. Mike Young has proven he belongs in the top tier of ACC coaches and looks poised to have this team pushing for a four or five seed at least. 

4. Miami Hurricanes (10-1, 2-0)

Speaking of teams that the AP voters have noticed – the Miami Hurricanes! The only reason they’re lower than Virginia Tech is because they haven’t really won a big game yet. But they’re still a one-loss team – still ranked, still boasting a 27-point road win in the Yum! Center (an increasingly unimpressive feat) – and still a quality team until proven otherwise.

They’ll have a great opportunity for a great win when Virginia heads to the Watsco Center next Tuesday.

Tier 3 – Carolina’s Holding Cell

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (7-4, 1-1)

I tried to find so many ways to put Carolina lower than this, but I just couldn’t. Listen – I know they’re not that far away from being 4-7. I know Caleb Love is playing like Russell Westbrook (the last couple seasons version, not MVP version).

 I know an opposing coach said to ESPN, “the shots Love took in the Alabama game, he might as well drop-kick the ball at the rim and say f— it. Teams that aren’t great shooting teams shouldn’t hunt those shots early in the clock, but they shoot it like they’re the Splash Brothers.” 

But the ACC is so top-heavy that this is the only tier that works for them.

Also, it’d be foolish to rule out a team that lost one player from a Final Four run and added Northwestern transfer Pete Nance. They’re not playing their best basketball right now, but they’re about two weeks of good play away from being right back in the mix for the ACC regular season title.

Tier 4 – Kevin Keatts’s Bubble Watch Extravaganza!

6. NC State Wolfpack (9-3, 0-2)

That’s right–the ‘Pack have conquered the bubble watch tier and exiled Mike Brey and Notre Dame! While NC State is, in fact, 0-2 in conference play, their close loss to Kansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis and decent wins against Dayton and Butler are propping up their NCAA Tournament hopes. Upcoming tussles with Vanderbilt, Louisville and Clemson should provide chances to right the ship.

Tier 5 – Hello, New York City! (For the NIT Semifinal at Madison Square Garden)

7. Syracuse Orange (7-4, 1-0)

Things were looking bleak for Jim Boeheim and the Orange a few weeks back. After a gutsy overtime win against Richmond in the Vivid Seats Empire (so-called) “Classic,” Syracuse fired off losses to St. John’s, Bryant and Illinois. Since then, though, they’ve won four straight by an average of 16 points. Like always, it seems that they’ll be a tough out.

8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-3, 0-1)

Wake has been disappointing to watch recently. After they beat Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten challenge, I thought the Deacs might’ve been piecing something together. Instead, they followed up that great resume builder with an inexplicable blowout loss to Clemson (see tier six) and a home loss to LSU. However, the season is young, their coach is good, and the conference is pretty bad from here on down. So, they’re eighth for now.

9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3, 0-1)

This team almost fooled me. They beat No. 20 Michigan State by 18 – thoroughly trouncing them. But as they are trained to do, they immediately squashed any momentum they might’ve built with a loss to Syracuse, a white-knuckle six-point win against Boston University (not Boston College) and a 15-point loss to Marquette. Also, Michigan State is no longer ranked.

Tier 6 – Bad

10. Clemson Tigers (8-3, 1-0)

Lost to Loyola-Chicago (5-5) by 18. Don’t know why they beat Wake by so many. Not a good team.

11. Pittsburgh Panthers (7-4, 1-0)

Lost to Vanderbilt (5-5) by 1. Don’t know why they beat NC State on the road. Not a good team.

12. Florida State Seminoles (3-9, 1-1)

This team should eventually climb out of the ACC dungeon. But for now, their three wins are against Louisville, SC Upstate and Siena. They almost beat UVA and Purdue though! (kinda)

13. Boston College Eagles (6-6, 0-1)

Lost to Duke (75-59 – good team) by exactly the same score as Georgia Tech lost to Carolina (75-59 – not as good a team). Tie goes to the better blowout loss.

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-4, 0-1)

How to gauge Georgia Tech’s chances in a game: If you’ve never met anyone who goes to or went to the opposing school, they’ll probably win. If you have, they’re probably losing.

Tier 7 – Louisville

15. Louisville Cardinals (0-9, 0-2)

Kenny Pain. 🙁