Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 5 of the 2024-25 season.
Matchup of the week: Auburn vs. Duke (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi State (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.)
All games in EST.
1) Duke Blue Devils
Last week‘s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 5-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Kansas (75-72), W vs. Seattle (70-48)
Next week: vs. Auburn (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. Louisville (Dec. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Arizona
Bad losses: None
Duke narrowly missed out on another quality win, but in a week of abnormality in college basketball, a lone loss to the top ranked team is about as good as it got for anyone. Duke is now just 1-2 against AP Top 25 teams this year, which is not ideal for resume purposes, especially with the weakness of the conference this year. Duke and Auburn play the premier game in the ACC/SEC challenge, which will be Duke’s last chance for a quality non-conference win.
2) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+3)
Record: 7-1 (0-0)
Last week: W at Ohio State (91-90)
Next week: at Mississippi State (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.), at Virginia Tech (Dec. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Ohio State, vs. LSU
Bad losses: None
Jeff Capel has Pitt firing on all cylinders, and the Panthers join Duke and UNC in the Top 25 for the first time this season. Zack Austin nailed a three at the buzzer on the road to cap off an absolute thriller in Columbus, giving Pitt another quality win to their 7-1 start. The Panthers travel to Mississippi State for a great contest before kicking off conference play against a weak VT squad.
3) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-1)
Record: 4-3 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Dayton (92-90), L vs. Auburn (85-72), L vs. Michigan State (94-91)
Next week: vs. Alabama (Dec. 4 – 7:15 p.m.), vs. Georgia Tech (Dec. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Dayton
Bad losses: None
UNC was part of the Maui Invitational gauntlet this week, finishing in fourth place after winning their first game and dropping two straight. In what seemed like a full on march preview, Maui was filled with great basketball, and UNC held their own, narrowly beating Dayton and falling to Michigan State in overtime in their third game in three days. Although a tough field, it is a bit concerning to see the Tar Heels go just 1-2.
4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 7-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Florida (75-58), W vs. Minnesota (57-51)
Next week: at Texas A&M (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.), vs. Boston College (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: Michigan, Minnesota
Bad losses: None
Wake Forest continues to beat the bottom half of the Big Ten, picking up their second win against the conference against Minnesota after falling to then 19th ranked Florida. Wake has shown flashes of being solid, but has yet to put it all together for a full game. Hunter Sallis continues to dominate, but production from the rest of the rotation has been lacking. If Wake wants to remain in the top portion of the conference, they will have to see more scoring from the rest of the team.
5) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 7-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. San Francisco (70-55), W vs. Penn State (75-67), W vs. Florida A&M (86-58)
Next week: vs. Kentucky (Dec. 3 – 9:30 p.m.), at Miami (Fla) (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: vs. San Francisco
Bad losses: None
It was about the perfect week for Clemson, who improved to 7-1, won the Sunshine Slam Beach Division, and now sit in a tie atop the ACC. For a small sample size, Clemson looks just fine despite losing a lot of talent this offseason. Chase Hunter looks like a first-team all-acc candidate, and Ian Schieffelin is a great compliment to the offense. The Tigers have a real test, squaring off with Kentucky at home, and go to Coral Gables to face an ice cold Miami team to kick off conference play.
6) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+3)
Record: 5-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Indiana (89-61), W vs. West Virginia (79-70), L vs. Oklahoma (69-64)
Next week: vs. Ole Miss (Dec. 3 – 6 p.m.), vs. Duke (Dec. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: vs. Indiana, vs. West Virginia
Bad losses: None
Louisville was just an arms reach away from winning the Battle 4 Atlantis and making a serious statement. Nonetheless, the Cardinals had a huge week, absolutely annihilating Indiana and beating West Virginia in an overtime thriller. Despite a high emotional win against WVU, Louisville still came out and took Oklahoma to the wire in another fantastic game. The Cardinals sit at 5-2. and have gone from the laughing stock of the league to a serious contender in just one season. Nice work, Pat Kelsey.
7) NC State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-4)
Record: 5-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Purdue (71-61), L vs. BYU (72-61)
Next week: vs. Texas (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. Florida State (Dec. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
The Wolfpack finally showed a bit of vulnerability, losing two in a row after an undefeated start. NC State fell to Purdue in a Final Four rematch before dropping a crucial one to BYU in the consolation. Although early, NC State had an opportunity to get a quality win in the third-place game and they failed to do so. Looking at the rest of their schedule, this week against Texas and a later trip to Lawrence are the Wolfpacks only remaining opportunities for quality wins. Especially given the unlikeliness of a win at Kansas, the date with the Longhorns is a huge game.
8) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)
Record: 5-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Manhattan (74-65), W vs. Holy Cross (67-41)
Next week: at Florida (Dec. 4 – 7:15 p.m.), at SMU (Dec. 7 – 2:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
It was a nice bounce back week for Virginia, who got back on track with two buy game wins. There are absolutely causes of concern for Virginia, especially against athletic defenses who create turnovers, as there is no healthy pure ball handler on the team. Andrew Rohde has been very impressive, averaging 10 a game after a rough season last year and being designated to the bench early on this year. He is back in the starting lineup and starting to play with a lot of poise.
9) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-3)
Record: 3-4 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Charleston Southern (83-79)
Next week: vs. Arkansas (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. Clemson (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Drake, Charleston Southern
Yikes. Miami had a brutal loss this weekend, and we are not talking about the one on the gridiron to Kyle McCord and co. No, Miami had another bad loss this weekend, this one in basketball, falling to Charleston Southern at home. The Hurricanes are now 3-4 and on a four game skid. They have to face Arkansas before hosting Clemson, and either Miami will figure it out quickly, or it will be a long fall from the top for the Hurricanes.
10) Cal Golden Bears
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)
Record: 6-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Mercyhurst (81-55)
Next week: at Missouri (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. Stanford (Dec. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses: None
The Golden Bears beat up on first year D1 Mercyhurst in their only game this week to improve to 6-1 on the year. Although Cal’s schedule has been somewhat light thus far, it is still impressive that a team with little to no recognition at the beginning of the year is off to such a good start. Andrej Stojakovic and Jovan Blackshear Jr. are a great 1-2 combination offensively. Cal has a road test ahead before opening ACC play against familiar foe Stanford.
11) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+2)
Record: 7-1 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. West Carolina (91-57)
Next week: at LSU (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.), at NC State (Dec. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Rice
Bad losses: None
Do not look now, but Florida State is 7-1 going into December. It is hard to gauge how good this team really is, with their best win being on the road against Rice, but as they continue to win games handily the way they should, the Seminoles become more and more intriguing.
12) SMU Mustangs
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 6-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Cal Baptist (79-77), W vs. Washington State (77-60)
Next week: vs. Alabama A&M (Dec. 3 – 8 p.m.), vs. Virginia (Dec. 7 – 2:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Washington State
Bad losses: None
SMU took home the Acrisure Holiday Invitational, narrowly escaping Cal Baptist before mopping Washington State in the final. The Mustangs are not necessarily an elite level team, but this is a squad that will give a lot of teams trouble down the line and could make a run later in the season. They have a great matchup against Virginia at home to kick off their ACC play, a game that could bring a lot of attention to the program.
13) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 15 (+2)
Record: 3-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Cornell (82-72)
Next week: at Tennessee (Dec. 3 – 7:30 p.m.), at Notre Dame (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Syracuse had its first game that was not decided by single digit points this season last week, beating Cornell by 10. It is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, things balance out and it is likely that the Orange will lose by 10 or more this week in Knoxville. It is a very tough draw for Syracuse, but they have a good bounce back test, flying to South Bend to open conference play.
14) Stanford Cardinal
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-3)
Record: 6-2 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Grand Canyon (78-71), L vs. Cal Poly (97-90)
Next week: vs. Utah Valley (Dec. 3 – 10 p.m.), at Cal (Dec. 7 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Santa Clara
Bad losses: vs. Cal Poly
Stanford had a rough week after starting off great, but they were bound to come down to Earth at some point. The Cardinal lost two very resume damaging games, one to Grand Canyon at a neutral site and then a buy game against Cal Poly. This is more like the Stanford we expected when the year began.
15) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 4-4 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Rutgers (95-84), L vs. Houston (65-64), L vs. Creighton (80-76)
Next week: at Georgia (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. Syracuse (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Elon
The Irish lost three games by a combined 6 points this week. All good teams as well, and losing three very close games in a row like that cannot be good for morale. From the outside, Notre Dame needed to play those games close, as the loss to Elon the previous week was concerning. However, it will be interesting to see how the team responds after losing back-to-back-to-back heartbreakers.
16) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-)
Record: 6-2 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Missouri State (76-74), W vs. Boise State (63-61), L vs. Dartmouth (88-83)
Next week: vs. South Carolina (Dec. 3 – 7 p.m.), at Wake Forest (Dec. 7 – Noon)
Quality wins: vs. Boise State
Bad losses: at Dartmouth
BC picked up two narrow wins to win the Cayman Islands Classic before coming home to try to cap off a nice 3-0 week, however Dartmouth had other plans. It seems as though this will be the theme for BC this year, win some nice games and then come back to ground level with a bad loss.
17) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)
Record: 3-4 (0-0)
Last week: L vs. Michigan (75-63), L vs. South Carolina (70-60)
Next week: vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 4 – 9:15 p.m.), vs. Pittsburgh (Dec. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Jacksonville
It was another rough week for VT, who fell by double digits twice to fall below .500. This team is definitely fighting with Georgia Tech for worst in the conference. VT does not have an easy upcoming week either, facing off with sneaky Vandy before hosting red hot Pitt. Tech could easily fall to 3-6 this week.
18) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 18 (-)
Record: 4-3 (0-0)
Last week: W vs. Charleston Southern (91-67), W vs. Central Arkansas (87-68)
Next week: at Oklahoma (Dec. 3 – 9 p.m.), at North Carolina (Dec. 7 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: North Florida
GT improved to 4-3 with two buy games, both of which they won without a problem. There are clearly issues for the Yellow Jackets, so pulling out these two wins with little stress is a positive. They have two very tough games this week, and a win in one of them would be a huge step in the right direction.