Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 12 of the 2023 season.
Matchup of the week: Clemson vs. Duke (Jan. 27 – 4 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: NC State vs. Syracuse (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.)
All games listed are EST.
1) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 15-3 (7-0)
Last week: W vs. Louisville (86-70), W at Boston College (76-66)
Next week: vs. Wake Forest (Jan. 22 – 7 p.m.), at Florida State (Jan. 27 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Tennessee, Oklahoma, at Clemson, at NC State, at Pittsburgh
Bad losses: N/A
North Carolina remains the only undefeated team in conference play, and they continue to look like a top team in the nation. Boston College fought valiantly against the Heels, but UNC still never trailed in the second half. A tricky task coming up will be traveling into Tallahassee, playing a very strong and athletic FSU squad.
2) Duke Blue Devils
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 13-4 (4-2)
Last week: L vs. Pittsburgh (80-76)
Next week: at Louisville (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), vs. Clemson (Jan. 27 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Baylor, Michigan State
Bad losses: at Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh
The good news for Duke is that the rest of the ACC looks so vulnerable that they stay at the two rank despite losing at home to a bad team (again). However, losing to Pittsburgh at home after smoking them on the road the week before is inexcusable. Duke got out-rebounded by seven in their loss. Duke should never lose out on that many boards, particularly against a far inferior opponent.
3) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 13-5 (3-4)
Last week: L vs. Georgia Tech (93-90), W at Florida State (78-67)
Next week: at #12 Duke (Jan. 27 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Alabama, TCU, Boise State, South Carolina, at Florida State, at Pittsburgh
Bad losses: Georgia Tech
More unusual movement in the ACC Basketball Power Rankings! Clemson lost to Georgia Tech at home? Move ’em up! Winning at Florida State by 11 gives the Tigers their bump up this week, and it took the Yellow Jackets 3 overtimes to knock off Clemson. PJ Hall continues to play incredibly, scoring 31 in the loss and averaging just under 20 a game this year. He is on the shortlist of ACC POTY candidates.
4) North Carolina State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 13-5 (5-2)
Last week: W vs. Wake Forest (83-76), L vs. Virginia Tech (84-78)
Next week: at Virginia (Jan. 24 – 7 p.m.), at Syracuse (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Virginia, Wake Forest
Bad losses: N/A
NC State is one of a few ACC teams that won a big game during the week just to get knocked off their high horse that weekend. The Wolfpack came up with a huge win over Wake Forest just to lose at home to Virginia Tech. They had a real opportunity to not only push up in these rankings but also make a push for a top 25 ranking if not for a bad home loss. They now travel to Virginia, and although they handled the Cavaliers in Raleigh, Virginia is a whole different animal at JPJ Arena.
5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)
Record: 13-5 (5-2)
Last week: L at NC State (83-76), W vs. Louisville (90-65)
Next week: at #3 North Carolina (Jan. 22 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Florida, Miami (Fla), Virginia
Bad losses: LSU
Wake was unable to win a big road contest at NC State but came back with a trampling of Louisville over the weekend. The Demon Deacs continue to be an intriguing bubble team but really need a signature win to get on the right side of that conversation. A win at UNC? Absolutely does just that.
6) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 11-7 (5-2)
Last week: W at Miami (Fla) (84-75), L vs. Clemson (78-67)
Next week: at Syracuse (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), vs. #3 North Carolina (Jan. 27 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Colorado, at Miami (Fla), Wake Forest
Bad losses: South Florida, Lipscomb
Florida State continues to shock the conference. They traveled in-state to Miami and handled the Hurricanes, and, like NC State, could not finish off a great week, losing at home to Clemson. Nonetheless, the Seminoles have done a fantastic job turning their season around and are officially on the bubble. They host UNC on Saturday with a great opportunity to garner even more national attention.
7) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-)
Record: 13-5 (4-3)
Last week: W vs. Virginia Tech (65-57), W at Georgia Tech (75-66)
Next week: vs. NC State (Jan. 24 – 7 p.m.), at Louisville (Jan. 27 – Noon)
Quality wins: Texas A&M, Florida
Bad Losses: at Notre Dame
The road woes finally ended for Virginia, as the ‘Hoos battled back from a 12-point first-half deficit to win on the road against GT. Before that, Virginia played some of their best defense against rival Virginia Tech, leading to an 8-point win. Jordan Minor has been a great addition for Virginia, as he has just been plugged into the starting lineup and has added some quality post minutes on both sides of the floor.
8) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+1)
Record: 13-5 (4-3)
Last week: W at Pittsburgh (69-58), W vs. Miami (Fla) (72-69)
Next week: vs. Florida State (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), vs. NC State (Jan. 27 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: Oregon, Miami (Fla), Pitt (x2)
Bad losses: N/A
Is Syracuse a tournament team? They very well could be. Wins at Pitt and against Miami led to a 2-0 week for the Orange, who now sit at 13-5 overall and in the middle of the ACC basketball standings. They host two opponents with better records than them, and wins could shuffle the standings even more.
9) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-3)
Record: 12-6 (3-4)
Last week: L vs. Florida State (84-75), L at Syracuse (72-69)
Next week: at Notre Dame (Jan. 24 – 7 p.m.), vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 27 – 2:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kansas State, Clemson, at Virginia Tech, Georgia, UCF
Bad losses: Louisville
Miami is much better than the ninth-best team in the conference, let it be known. However, the Hurricanes are ice-cold. After starting the season strong and being nationally ranked, Miami has hit a wall. Since beating Clemson, Miami has lost four of their last five, including two losses this week. They need some wins fast, and, luckily, they have two winnable contests this week.
10) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)
Record: 11-7 (3-4)
Last week: L at Virginia (65-57), W at NC State (84-78)
Next week: vs. Boston College (Jan. 23 – 9 p.m.), vs. Georgia Tech (Jan. 27 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: Iowa State, at NC State, Clemson, Vermont
Bad losses: N/A
Virginia Tech could not beat their rival on the road, but they did beat NC State in Raleigh, which was a huge win. It still seems like VT is a ways away from being close to the bubble, but Hunter Cattoor returning will be huge to turn it around.
11) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 11-7 (2-5)
Last week: W vs. Notre Dame (63-59), L vs. #4 North Carolina (76-66)
Next week: at Virginia Tech (Jan. 23 – 9 p.m.), at Notre Dame (Jan. 27 – Noon)
Quality wins: St. John’s, Richmond
Bad losses: Loyola Chicago
BC has not been quite able to turn the corner to reach that next tier. They scraped by Notre Dame and hung with UNC but could not upset the top team in the conference. They play two winnable road games this week to try to slowly climb the ranks.
12) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+2)
Record: 11-7 (2-5)
Last week: L vs. Syracuse (69-58), W at #7 Duke (80-76)
Next week: at Georgia Tech (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), at Miami (Jan. 27 – 2:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Duke
Bad losses: N/A
Pitt pulled off what possibly could be the upset of the year in Durham, knocking off Duke just a week after losing to the Blue Devils at home substantially. Pitt still has a lot of work to do in terms of their overall body of work, but the win is nothing to look down upon.
13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)
Record: 9-9 (2-5)
Last week: W at Clemson (93-90), L vs. Virginia (75-66)
Next week: vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), at Virginia Tech (Jan. 27 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: Duke, Mississippi State, Clemson
Bad losses: UMass Lowell, Notre Dame
GT had a thrilling 3OT win over Clemson and looked to be getting back on track, even leading Virginia by double-digits in the second half, but could not close out an otherwise impressive week. The Yellow Jackets sit at 9-9 with a very subpar 2-5 ACC record, so postseason basketball is just about a dream in Atlanta barring a crazy ACC Tournament.
14) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 12 (-2)
Record: 7-11 (2-5)
Last week: L at Boston College (63-59)
Next week: vs. Miami (Jan. 24 – 7 p.m.), vs. Boston College (Jan 27 – Noon)
Quality wins: Virginia
Bad losses: The Citadel
Notre Dame narrowly fell to BC on the road in their lone contest this week to drop them to 7-11 on the year. They host two games this week, including a rematch with BC which can make for an interesting contest.
15) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 6-12 (1-6)
Last week: L at #4 North Carolina (86-70), L at Wake Forest (90-65)
Next week: vs. #12 Duke (Jan. 23 – 7 p.m.), vs. Virginia (Jan. 27 – Noon)
Quality wins: at Miami (Fla)
Bad losses: Chattanooga, DePaul, Arkansas State
Louisville fell off their high horse really quickly after their first road win in two years. They played UNC as tough as they could, but fell by 16, and then went into Winton-Salem and got whooped by 25. They host two teams that historically give them trouble, so wins seem unlikely this week. But, in the world of college hoops, nothing is impossible.
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