Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 14 of the 2024-25 season.
Matchup of the week: Duke vs. Clemson (Feb. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Wake Forest vs. Stanford (Feb. 5 – 11 p.m.)
All games in EST.
1) Duke Blue Devils
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 19-2 (11-0)
Last week: W vs. NC State (74-64), W vs. North Carolina (87-70)
Next week: at Syracuse (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), at Clemson (Feb. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Arizona, Auburn, at SMU, Pittsburgh, at Wake Forest
Bad losses: None
Duke continues to steamroll the rest of the ACC. NC State gave them a bit of a scare on Monday, but that could possibly be chalked up to a quick turnaround for the Blue Devils, because they destroyed North Carolina in the biggest rivalry game in college basketball. Duke not only is the best team in the ACC, but possibly could be the best team in the country.
2) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 18-4 (10-1)
Last week: W vs. NC State (68-58)
Next week: vs. Georgia Tech (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), vs. Duke (Feb. 8 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: San Francisco, Penn State, Kentucky, at Pittsburgh
Bad losses: None
Clemson won their only game this week, but steadily keeps winning. There is no secret formula for the Tigers, they just are a complete team that gets the job done. Chase Hunter is leading the way with almost 18 a game. 18-4 speaks for itself, but the Tigers will face their biggest test yet on Saturday, hosting Duke.
3) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-1)
Record: 16-6 (9-2)
Last week: W vs. Wake Forest (72-59), L vs. Georgia Tech (77-70)
Next week: at Boston College (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), vs. Miami (Feb. 8 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Indiana, West Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, Pittsburgh, at SMU
Bad losses: at Georgia Tech
Louisville throttled Wake Forest in what was supposed to be a tight matchup. After, however, in ultimate rollercoaster fashion, the Cardinals dropped a narrow game on the road at Georgia Tech. The loss does not hurt Louisville too bad in terms of ACC standings, however, a loss to any ACC team outside of the top 6 or 7 at this point is a blemish on a tournament resume.
4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)
Record: 16-6 (8-3)
Last week: L vs. Louisville (72-59), W vs. Pittsburgh (76-74)
Next week: at Stanford (Feb. 5 – 11 p.m.), at Cal (Feb. 8 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
Bad losses: None
Wake fell to Louisville but had a hard fought win over Pitt over the weekend to salvage the week. Wake is still scraping for a double bye in the ACC tournament, but needs a couple of more big wins against teams above them. Although they do not have that opportunity this week, they have the western roadtrip, which is a tough task for any team.
5) SMU Mustangs
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 17-5 (8-3)
Last week: W vs. Cal (76-65), W vs. Stanford (85-61)
Next week: at Virginia Tech (Feb. 5 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: Washington State, LSU, Stanford
Bad losses: None
SMU swept the California schools this week at home and did so handily. The Mustangs have looked solid all season and this week was no exception, winning two games by double digits, including a 24 point win over a red hot Stanford squad. Light week upcoming for SMU who travels to Blacksburg for their only contest.
6) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)
Record: 14-7 (6-6)
Last week: W vs. North Carolina (73-65), L vs. Wake Forest (76-74)
Next week: vs. Virginia (Feb. 3 – 7 p.m.), at North Carolina (Feb. 8 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: LSU, at Ohio State, North Carolina
Bad losses: at Florida State
Pitt almost had a remarkable bounce back week. The Panthers looked sharp against UNC and played Wake Forest tight the whole game but ultimately fell short of a 2-0 week. At 6-6 in the ACC, this week all but locked Pitt out of the bubble, on the wrong side looking in. Nevertheless, they host Virginia Monday night and then travel to Chapel Hill for a quick rematch with UNC.
7) Stanford Cardinal
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 15-7 (7-4)
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (70-61), L vs. SMU (85-61)
Next week: vs. Wake Forest (Feb. 5 – 11 p.m.), vs. NC State (Feb. 8 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Santa Clara, at Cal, at North Carolina
Bad losses: Grand Canyon, Cal Poly
Stanford took care of business against Syracuse but got molly-whopped by SMU over the weekend. Stanford is still quite solid, but losses like that make fans question their legitimacy. Uncompetitive losses to teams in the conference not named Duke are inexcusable for teams building a resume this season.
8) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)
Record: 13-10 (6-5)
Last week: L vs. Pittsburgh (73-65), L vs. Duke (87-70)
Next week: vs. Pittsburgh (Feb. 8 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Dayton, UCLA, at NC State
Bad losses: Stanford
North Carolina has no spark and no edge. The team looks flat and lacking passion and grit. You don’t even need to watch a game to see that. Getting smacked by Duke in a rivalry game shows all you need to know. Duke is the way better team, yes, but there was zero fight in the Tar Heels. From tip-off, it was all Duke. Hubert Davis might be on the hot seat going forward.
9) Cal Golden Bears
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-)
Record: 11-11 (4-7)
Last week: L vs. SMU (76-65), L vs. Syracuse (75-66)
Next week: vs. NC State (Feb. 5 – 11 p.m.), vs. Wake Forest (Feb. 8 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: at USC
Bad losses: Cornell, Virginia Tech, Syracuse
Cal slipped back to .500 with a rough week, dropping games to SMU and Syracuse. The SMU loss is one thing, but losing to Syracuse at home cannot happen for Cal. Now, the Golden Bears sit at 4-7, right in the middle of the lopsided bottom of the league fighting to make the league tournament.
10) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)
Record: 13-9 (4-7)
Last week: L vs. Virginia Tech (77-68), L vs. Boston College (77-76)
Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 4 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Rice, at Pittsburgh
Bad losses: at Cal, Virginia Tech, at Boston College
It was a brutal week for Florida State, losing to Virginia Tech and then absolutely collapsing against BC on the road. With the Seminoles up four, BC hit a jumper to cut the game to 2 late, and an errant pass by FSU led to a BC game winning three. Just a heartbreaker for the Noles, who are now 4-7 and slipping. Plus, with Leonard Hamilton stepping down, FSU now has a midseason crisis.
11) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 10-12 (4-7)
Last week: L vs. Stanford (70-61), W vs. Cal (75-66)
Next week: vs. Duke (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), vs. Boston College (Feb. 8 – 3:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Notre Dame, at Florida State
Syracuse had a nice trip out west, falling to Stanford but bouncing back with a win to salvage the trip. Syracuse does not have much to play for right now, but wins are wins. They host Duke this week, hoping to at least be competitive, followed by a game with BC to get them back in the win column.
12) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-1)
Record: 10-11 (4-6)
Last week: W vs. Georgia Tech (71-68), L vs. Miami (63-57)
Next week: at Florida State (Feb. 4 – 7 p.m.), vs. Virginia Tech (Feb. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Elon, Georgia Tech, at Miami
Notre Dame was really starting to look sharp, winning some nice games, playing good basketball, and just when you look away they give Miami their first conference win. The Irish had been red hot and fell to the worst team in the league. I guess that’s college basketball!
13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 14 (+1)
Record: 10-12 (4-7)
Last week: L vs. Notre Dame (71-68), W vs. Louisville (77-70)
Next week: at Clemson (Feb. 4 – 9 p.m.), at Virginia (Feb. 8 – 5:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Louisville
Bad losses: North Florida, at Florida State
Georgia Tech lost a close one to Notre Dame but really bounced back with a gutsy win over ranked Louisville. Louisville hung tight the whole game but it was Georgia Tech who held on for the home win, improving them to 4-7 in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets have a tough week upcoming, traveling to Clemson and then to a struggling Virginia.
14) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 16 (+2)
Record: 10-12 (5-6)
Last week: W vs. Florida State (76-66), W vs. Virginia (75-74)
Next week: vs. SMU (Feb. 5 – 9 p.m.), at Notre Dame (Feb. 8 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Jacksonville
Virginia Tech continues to stack ACC wins after having a nightmare non conference run to start their season. Two wins this week over Florida State and in state rival Virginia improve the Hokies to 5-6 in league play. Although both struggling teams, VT and Virginia played a great game, with the Hokies leading by as many as 13 before the ‘Hoos clawed back, but it was Virginia Tech emerging victorious after Virginia missed a try at the buzzer.
15) NC State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 13 (-2)
Record: 9-12 (2-8)
Last week: L vs. Duke (74-64), L vs. Clemson (68-58)
Next week: at Cal (Feb. 5 – 11 p.m.), at Stanford (Feb. 8 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Virginia, Virginia Tech, Cal
NC State had a tough week, losing two games to the top two teams in the league. The Wolfpack fall to 2-8 and are on the outside looking in of the ACC Tournament field. NC State is hoping to scrape at least one win in California this week to make a push to stay out of the bottom 3 of the conference.
16) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-1)
Record: 10-12 (3-8)
Last week: W vs. Miami (82-71), L vs. Virginia Tech (75-74)
Next week: at Pittsburgh (Feb. 3 – 7 p.m.), vs. Georgia Tech (Feb. 8 – 5:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: at Cal, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech
Virginia looked fantastic against Miami for their first road win of the season but lost a heartbreaker to VT over the weekend. Virginia let Tech pull ahead early in the second half but stormed back, cutting the game to 1. After a couple of missed free throws, Virginia had a chance to win with under 5 seconds to play, and Andrew Rohde took it coast to coast, missing the game winning shot by a hair.
17) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)
Record: 10-11 (2-8)
Last week: W vs. Florida State (77-76)
Next week: vs. Louisville (Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.), at Syracuse (Feb. 8 – 3:15 p.m.)
Quality wins: Boise State
Bad losses: Dartmouth, Georgia Tech, Virginia
BC won their only game this week, beating Florida State in miraculous fashion. The Eagles have just two ACC wins, but they will take all they can get at this point. The host Louisville, who is trying to avoid a skid, before traveling to Syracuse to close out their week.
18) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 18 (-)
Record: 5-17 (1-10)
Last week: L vs. Virginia (82-71), W vs. Notre Dame (63-57)
Next week: at Louisville (Feb. 8 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Drake, Charleston Southern, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech
Miami finally got on the board with a win over Notre Dame to get the goose egg out of their ACC win column. The Hurricanes still sit at 1-10 and do not have much light at the end of a tunnel, but still, it is really nice to win one after such a long skid.