Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 10 of the 2024-25 season.
Matchup of the week:Â Pitt vs. Duke (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week:Â Clemson vs. Louisville (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.)
All games in EST.
1) Duke Blue Devils
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 12-2 (4-0)
Last week: W vs. Virginia Tech (88-65), W vs. SMU (89-62)
Next week: vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.), vs. Notre Dame (Jan. 11 – Noon)
Quality wins: at Arizona, Auburn, at SMU
Bad losses: None
Duke is far and beyond better than every ACC team this season. In a super down year, the Blue Devils have been the lone bright spot in the conference, continuing to win games and win them easily. The only concern with Duke going forward is if they go from now until March with little to no challenge, how will they fair against a worthy opponent when it matters?
2) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 12-2 (3-0)
Last week: W vs. Cal (86-74), W vs. Stanford (83-68)
Next week: at Duke (Jan. 7. – 7 p.m.), vs. Louisville (Jan. 11 – Noon)
Quality wins: LSU, at Ohio State
Bad losses: None
Pitt is the second best team in the conference, but the gap between Pitt and Duke is similar to the gap between Pitt and Syracuse right now, that is how good Duke is. Nonetheless, Jeff Capel has done a nice job with this team and has them primed on the bubble right now. Unfortunately, the way the league is, Pitt will have room to lose maybe 3 more games all season to make the tournament. Doable, maybe, but extremely difficult.
3) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 12-3 (4-0)
Last week: W vs. Stanford (85-71), W vs. Cal (80-68)
Next week: at Louisville (Jan. 7. – 7 p.m.), vs. Florida State (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: San Francisco, Penn State, Kentucky
Bad losses: None
Clemson has been a sneaky team and has been a pleasant surprise in the conference thus far. The Tigers have only 3 losses and stay undefeated in conference play with two wins over west coast teams. However, Clemson does not have a hefty resume, with their best win besides Kentucky coming over a bottom tier Penn State squad.
4) SMU Mustangs
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 11-3 (2-1)
Last week: L vs. Duke (89-62)
Next week: at North Carolina (Jan. 7. – 9 p.m.), vs. Georgia Tech (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Washington State, Virginia, LSU
Bad losses: None
SMU had a tough task last week, and any team facing Duke should expect a notch in the loss column. As long as it does not send the Mustangs on a down slope, the new face to the league should continue to fight for a double bye in the ACC tournament. A trip to Chapel Hill will be very challenging for SMU, but a win there will really solidify their status at the top half of the conference.
5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 6 (+1)
Record: 11-4 (3-1)
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (81-71), W vs. NC State (77-59)
Next week: at Miami (Jan. 11 – 5:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Michigan, Minnesota
Bad losses: None
Wake is another team who has been solid all season, but not at the level that top of the ACC teams usually are. The Deacs have one conference loss to 3 wins and have two solid wins over Big Ten teams. Wake is also intriguing because their conference schedule has been especially easy to this point, so they can get red hot going into their biggest games of the year.
6) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 9 (+3)
Record: 10-5 (3-1)
Last week: W vs. North Carolina (83-70), W vs. Virginia (70-50)
Next week: vs. Clemson (Jan. 7 – 7 p.m.), at Pittsburgh (Jan. 11 – Noon)
Quality wins: Indiana, West Virginia, at Florida State, North Carolina
Bad losses: None
Pet Kelsey has done a tremendous job flipping this program. From winning just 8 games a season ago to already standing a 10-5 with 3 conference wins, Louisville is now in a position to fight for a conference championship. They won two big games over powerhouses UNC and UVA, both by double digits, to improve to 3-1. This week, they face off with two current top-of-the-league teams, and two wins can really switch the conversation from Louisville’s turnaround to Louisville’s chances to win the conference this year.
7) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-2)
Record: 9-6 (2-1)
Last week: L vs. Louisville (83-70), W vs. Notre Dame (74-73)
Next week: vs. SMU (Jan. 7 – 9 p.m.), at NC State (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Dayton, UCLA
Bad losses: at Louisville
UNC has been such a disappointment and was an Elliott Cadeau 4-point play away from being a complete dumpster fire. If UNC had not came back to beat Notre Dame, they would fall to 8-7 and drop below .500 in conference play. Although they won that came, there is great cause for concern in Chapel Hill.
8) Stanford Cardinal
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-1)
Record: 9-5 (1-2)
Last week: L vs. Clemson (85-71), L vs. Pittsburgh (83-68)
Next week: vs. Virginia Tech (Jan. 8 – 9 p.m.), vs. Virginia (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Santa Clara, at Cal
Bad losses: Grand Canyon, Cal Poly
Stanford has been a surprise this year, but still not considered good, just surprising in that they are not bottom three in the league. Their first road trip east they went 0-2, losing both games by 10+, which is not a good sign for a team that joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.
9) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+1)
Record: 8-6 (1-2)
Last week: W vs. NC State (70-67), L vs. Louisville (70-50)
Next week: at Cal (Jan. 8. – 11 p.m.), at Stanford (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
It has been a rollercoaster season for Virginia, but not the fun rollercoaster you see in commercials for amusement parks, but rather the run down wooden ones you drive past at your local fair that you definitely would not let your children on. This team just does not have any sort of spark offensively and the defense has been equally if not more disappointing. Teams are scoring at will and the offense is sloppy, turning the ball over at record clips. Forgettable season in Charlottesville.
10) NC State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-2)
Record: 8-6 (1-2)
Last week: L vs. Virginia (70-67), L vs. Wake Forest (77-59)
Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Jan. 8. – 7 p.m.), vs. North Carolina (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Virginia
NC State is another team that just cannot seem to crack into the better portion of the league but is always right on the outside looking in. Unfortunately, there is no DJ Burnes to go on a magical run and make the NCAA Tournament this year.
11) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 10-4 (1-2)
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (90-74)
Next week: at Miami (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), at Clemson (Jan. 11 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Rice
Bad losses: None
FSU is not a good team, let’s get that out of the way. However, at 10-4, there is something intriguing about this team. Yes, their non conference schedule was among the easiest in basketball, and their best win is at Rice. However, a team like Florida State is not a team I would want to get used to winning if I was another ACC team. This is a team that can easily get hot and ruin a lot of seasons.
12) Cal Golden Bears
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 7-7 (0-3)
Last week: L vs. Pittsburgh (86-74), L vs. Clemson (80-68)
Next week: vs. Virginia (Jan. 8 – 11 p.m.), vs. Virginia Tech (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses: Cornell
Cal, like Stanford, went 0-2 on their road trip east, but Cal now falls to 0-3 in conference and .500 overall. Cal is easily the worst team of the three newcomers, but, luckily, have many worse teams behind them. Cal now hosts both Virginia teams this week, a good opportunity to get at least one conference win on the board, and two are far from impossible.
13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 17 (+4)
Record: 8-7 (2-2)
Last week: W vs. Notre Dame (86-75), W vs. Boston College (85-64)
Next week: at Syracuse (Jan. 7. – 7 p.m.), at SMU (Jan. 11 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: North Florida
Georgia Tech continues to be a thorn in the ACC’s side, winning two games easily this week and improving to over .500. The Yellow Jackets came out with a statement, and although they did not beat Duke and Pitt, the wins still get them moving up in the rankings. GT has another winnable game at Syracuse before traveling to SMU this week, hoping to stay red hot.
14) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-1)
Record: 7-7 (1-2)
Last week: L vs. Georgia Tech (86-75), L vs. North Carolina (74-73)
Next week: at NC State (Jan. 8 – 7 p.m.), at Duke (Jan. 11 – Noon)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Elon, Georgia Tech
Notre Dame could have had a signature win, but fouled a three point shooter up 3 with the clock winding down. They lost to North Carolina in the most heartbreaking way imaginable, falling down to 7-7 and 1-2 in ACC play. Now, the Irish have to travel to NC State and Duke this week, two contests that they will need to play perfectly to stay in the game.
15) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-1)
Record: 6-8 (0-3)
Last week: L vs. Wake Forest (81-71), L vs. Florida State (90-74)
Next week: vs. Georgia Tech (Jan. 7. – 7 p.m.), at Boston College (Jan. 11 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Notre Dame, at Florida State
Syracuse is just bad. There is no beating around the bush, this is not a good basketball team. From the first couple of games for the Orange it was apparent that this team would not make any noise in the conference, and that holds true, losing both games last week by double digits and falling to 0-3 in conference play.
16) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-1)
Record: 9-6 (1-3)
Last week: W vs. Miami (78-68), L vs. Georgia Tech (85-64)
Next week: vs. Syracuse (Jan. 11. – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: Boise State
Bad losses: Dartmouth, Georgia Tech
BC went 1-1 this week, beating up on Miami, who we will get to, eventually, and then falling big to Georgia Tech. This week perfectly encapsulated BC’s abilities as a basketball team. A lot better than the worst, but a lot worse than the 13th best. BC will likely float around the 14-16 rank in these power rankings for the rest of the season, and the main goal for the Eagles is to make the ACCT.
17) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 18 (+1)
Record: 6-8 (1-2)
Last week: L vs. Duke (88-65), W vs. Miami (86-85)
Next week: at Stanford (Jan. 8. – 9 p.m.), at Cal (Jan. 11 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Jacksonville
Virginia Tech picked up their first conference win, which very well could be their last. They barely squeaked one out against Miami at home after getting throttled by Duke. VT will join their commonwealth foes and travel to the west coast this week, hoping to find a win near the pacific.
18) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-2)
Record: 4-10 (0-3)
Last week: L vs. Boston College (78-68), L vs. Virginia Tech (86-85)
Next week: vs. Florida State (Jan. 8. – 8 p.m.), vs. Wake Forest (Jan. 11 – 5:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Drake, Charleston Southern, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech
What else can be said about this team. Miami has been the most disappointing team in the ACC maybe ever. The Hurricanes, who once were picked third in the ACC, now are 4-10, losing two games to two of the worst teams in the conference and not even looking competitive. This team is hard to watch, and it is beginning to become hard to blame Jim Larranaga for leaving.