Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 4 of the 2024-25 season.
Matchup of the week: Duke vs. Kansas (Nov. 25 – 9 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Clemson vs. San Francisco (Nov. 25 – 6:30 p.m.)
All games in EST.
1) Duke Blue Devils
Last week‘s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 4-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Arizona (69-55)
Next week: vs. Kansas (Nov. 25 – 9 p.m.), vs. Seattle (Nov. 29 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Arizona
Bad losses: None
Duke picked up a signature win early after dropping a tough one the week before. This win over Arizona is an instant resume builder for Duke, who now will likely reenter the top 10 this week. The Blue Devils have their biggest test yet, facing off with top-ranked Kansas. It will be important to watch how Duke’s young frontcourt handles Hunter Dickinson, and if they can stay out of foul trouble.
2) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 3-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Hawai’i (87-69)
Next week: vs. Dayton (Nov. 25 – 11:30 p.m.), vs. Auburn/Iowa State (Nov. 26), vs. UConn/Memphis/Colorado/Michigan State (Nov. 27)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
UNC had a nice trip to Hawai’i to pick up a win in their lone contest this week. The Tar Heels will likely stay in Hawai’i for the Maui Invitational, where they are part of a gauntlet of a field. A win over Dayton would task them with either Iowa State or Auburn, both ranked top 5 in the country. Not to mention, UConn is on the other side of the bracket as well. UNC has a great opportunity to make a big statement in Maui.
3) NC State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 5-0 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Colgate (72-49), W vs. William & Mary (81-58)
Next week: vs. Purdue (Nov. 28. – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
NC State continued their nice easy start to their schedule with two more wins. The Wolfpack have had five nice games to get them to 5-0 but have not had any true tests until this week, where they will have to face off with Purdue. In a rematch of last year’s Final Four, NC State hope this one has a different outcome.
4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)
Record: 6-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. West Carolina (82-69), W vs. Detroit Mercy (67-57)
Next week: vs. Florida (Nov. 28. – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Michigan
Bad losses: None
Wake had a nice bounce back week after losing on the road to Xavier last week. The Deacs won two buy games at home and sit at a nice 6-1. They now face off with Florida in their only game of the week on Thanksgiving. A win here would really set up Wake nicely, as no one has emerged as a clear cut third-best team in the league quite yet.
5) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 6-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. VMI (93-48), W vs. LSU (74-63), L vs. Wisconsin (81-75)
Next week: at Ohio State (Nov. 29. – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: LSU
Bad losses: None
Pitt has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing start for the conference. The Panthers went to the Greenbriar Tip-Off and handled LSU, and played a very good Wisconsin team down to the wire in the loss. Jeff Capel might have the third most talented team in the conference, and Pitt looks like they are putting it together nicely. Ishmael Leggett is an early candidate for first-team all-ACC.
6) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-3)
Record: 3-3 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Drake (80-69), L vs. Oklahoma State (80-74), L vs. VCU (77-70)
Next week: vs. Charleston Southern (Nov. 30. – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Drake
This week could not have gone worse for Miami. The Hurricanes dropped their first game of the Charleston Classic to Drake, which is not ideal, but two wins afterward would have salvaged the week. Miami did the opposite, dropping two more and falling to .500 with losses to Oklahoma State and VCU. Now, Miami has found themselves in a hole they have to climb out of, especially with two games against ranked opponents lying ahead in a couple weeks.
7) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+1)
Record: 4-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Radford (79-51)
Next week: vs. San Francisco (Nov. 25. – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Penn State/Fordham (Nov. 26), vs. Florida A&M (Nov. 29 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Clemson had a solid win over Radford, which is not enough to move the needle but can be enough to get them hot for the Sunshine Slam. The Tigers face San Francisco, a team that can absolutely give them trouble, and then the winner of Penn State and Fordham. This field is wide open and is one Chase Hunter and Clemson realistically can bring back.
8) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 3-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Tennessee (64-42), L vs. St. John’s (80-55)
Next week: vs. Manhattan (Nov. 26. – 7 p.m.), vs. Holy Cross (Nov. 29 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Virginia played one good half in the weekend in the Bahamas but the rest went off the rails. Tennessee and St. John’s had their way with the sloppy Cavalier offense, forcing Virginia to turn the ball over at crazy rates. Virginia was clearly overmatched in this tournament, and it might stay that way in some games for Virginia if their offense does not drastically improve.
9) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 3-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Bellarmine (100-68), W vs. Winthrop (76-61)
Next week: vs. Indiana (Nov. 27 – 12 p.m.), vs. West Virginia/Gonzaga (Nov. 28), vs. Oklahoma/Providence/Davidson/Arizona (Nov. 29)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Louisville won two buy games after a nice off week, putting them at a respectable 3-1 heading into Atlantis. The Battle 4 Atlantis is a stacked field this year, and Louisville did not get an easy draw. If they pull off the upset against Indiana, then the Cardinals will likely face Gonzaga in the next game. Arizona is on the other side of the bracket as well. If Louisville can pull out two wins here, it will be a successful trip.
10) Cal Golden Bears
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+2)
Record: 5-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Air Force (78-69), W vs. Sacremento State (83-77)
Next week: vs. Mercyhurst (Nov. 27. – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses: None
Cal had two nice home wins this week to improve to an impressive 5-1 to start the season. Although none of their wins have been incredibly flashy or head-turning, the Golden Bears have had a nice start to the season and should improve to 6-1 when they host first year D1 program Mercyhurst this week.
11) SMU Mustangs
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 4-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Prairie View A&M (110-69), L vs. Mississippi State (84-79)
Next week: vs. Cal Baptist (Nov. 26. – 9:30 p.m.), vs. Washington State/Fresno State (Nov. 17)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
SMU could not pull off the nice win against Mississippi State this week, dropping them to 4-2. It was not expected for the Mustangs to take down the Bulldogs, but a win would have moved them right into top half of the ACC discussion. Nevertheless, SMU has a matchup with Cal Baptist and then faces the winner of Washington State and Fresno State, a field that is very much up for grabs.
12) Stanford Cardinal
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+3)
Record: 6-0 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Norfolk State (70-63), W vs. Santa Clara (71-69)
Next week: vs. Grand Canyon (Nov. 26. – 7 p.m.), vs. Cal Poly (Nov. 30 – 10 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Santa Clara
Bad losses: None
Stanford is one of two remaining undefeateds in the ACC. Part of that is due to scheduling, as Stanford has yet to be highly challenged, however, the Cardinal did pick up a nice road win over Santa Clara this week. Stanford has another two lighter matchups this week, which can be said for most of their non-conference schedule, as their only Power 5 opponent is Oregon in late December.
13) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+1)
Record: 6-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Hofstra (79-61), W vs. Temple (78-69), W vs. UMass (92-59)
Next week: vs. West Carolina (Nov. 26 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Rice
Bad losses: None
Florida State picked up three wins this week, and although all of them are games that they were expected to win, 6-1 is nothing to ignore. FSU handily won all three games and should improve to 7-1 this week against West Carolina. The Seminoles might not be a juggernaut, but they will be a sneaky team to watch out for in January.
14) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-4)
Record: 4-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. North Dakota (75-58), L vs. Elon (84-77)
Next week: vs. Rutgers (Nov. 26. – 10:30 p.m.), vs. Houston (Nov. 28 – 12:30 a.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Elon
Notre Dame had a tough week, losing at home to Elon for their first loss of the season. Although the Irish sit at 4-1, they lack any quality wins and have a huge blemish with this loss. It will be hard to bounce back from, however, if they manage to somehow beat Rutgers of Houston, the conversation about ND will be very different than it is this week.
15) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-2)
Record: 3-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Texas (70-66), L vs. Texas Tech (79-74)
Next week: vs. Cornell (Nov. 27. – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Syracuse continues to play in super close games, except this week they did not fall in favor of Orange. ‘Cuse lost to two Texas foes, by four and five, respectively, dropping them to 3-2. The Orange had been winning close contests to bad teams, and now they have lost two games to good teams. Maybe Syracuse just likes playing in nail-biters.
16) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 18 (+2)
Record: 4-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Loyola Maryland (82-61), W vs. Old Dominion (82-52)
Next week: vs. Missouri State (Nov. 25. – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Dartmouth (Nov. 29 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Boston College picked up two wins this week to bring them to 4-1. The Eagles have two more winnable games this week, which would bring them to 6-1, a very nice start for a team that was not considered to be any good this season.
17) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-1)
Record: 3-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Jacksonville (74-64)
Next week: vs. Michigan (Nov. 25. – 6 p.m.), vs. South Carolina/Xavier (Nov. 27)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Jacksonville
VT lost a bad one this week to Jacksonville by 10 at home. This dropped the Hokies to 3-2 in the early go of the season and added a big blemish to their resume. They have an opportunity to pick a couple of nice wins this week, but given how they have played thus far, wins seem unlikely.
18) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-1)
Record: 2-3 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Cincinnati (81-58)
Next week: vs. Charleston Southern (Nov. 27. – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Central Arkansas (Nov. 30 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: North Florida
GT is the only ACC team below .500 after a loss to Cincy this week. They have two decently easy games this week to potentially get them over the .500 mark, but with GT, wins are never guaranteed.
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