2024-25 ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 15

Sam Bass gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 15 of the 2024-25 season.

Matchup of the week: Wake Forest vs. SMU (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m. EST)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: North Carolina vs. Clemson (Feb. 10 – 7 p.m. EST)

All games in EST.

1) Duke Blue Devils

Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)

Record: 20-3 (12-1)

Last week: W vs. Syracuse (83-54), L vs. Clemson (77-71)

Next week: vs. Cal (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), vs. Stanford (Feb. 15 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Auburn, at Arizona, at SMU, at Wake Forest

Bad losses: None

Duke dropped their first ACC game of the year on Saturday, falling to Clemson on the road in great contest. Despite the loss, Duke is still in sole possession of first in the ACC and still poised to get a top seed in the NCAA tournament. There are not many teams that one can afford to lose to in the ACC, but fortunately for Duke, Clemson is one of them, so this loss should not hurt at all in the long run.

2) Clemson Tigers

Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)

Record: 19-5 (11-2)

Last week: L vs. Georgia Tech (89-86), W vs. Duke (77-71)

Next week: vs. North Carolina (Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.), at Florida State (Feb. 15 – 12 p.m.)

Quality wins: Duke, Kentucky, San Francisco

Bad losses: Georgia Tech

Clemson had a rollercoaster of a week. It seemed that their sights were on Saturdays showdown a bit too early, as Georgia Tech snuck in to Clemson and beat them on their home floor in OT. However, Clemson bounced back in a big way, beating Duke by six to salvage the week. If anything, Clemson would chose to lose to GT to beat Duke, and it works out, as the now nationally ranked Tigers have a signature win on what looks like an at-large bid resume.

3) Louisville Cardinals

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)

Record: 18-6 (11-2)

Last week: W vs. Boston College (84-58), W vs. Miami (88-78)

Next week: at NC State (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), at Notre Dame (Feb. 15 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: Clemson, at SMU, West Virginia

Bad losses: at Georgia Tech

Louisville picked up two wins against the bottom portion of the league this week. The Cardinals sit at 11-2 in the ACC and also look like an NCAAT team at 18-6 overall. They have two road games this week against two more bottom tier opponents, and more bad than good can come out of these games, so the Cardinals better handle business.

4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)

Record: 18-6 (10-3)

Last week: W vs. Stanford (79-73), W vs. Cal (76-66)

Next week: vs. Florida State (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), at SMU (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: Michigan

Bad losses: None

Wake went 2-0 on their California road trip this week, escaping Stanford and then beating Cal by 10. The Deacs are also putting together a decent season, but four at large bids are tough to picture this season from the ACC, and Wake does not have that signature win. Although they will not have an opportunity for one this week, a win at SMU is a nice addition to their resume.

5) SMU Mustangs

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-)

Record: 18-5 (9-3)

Last week: W vs. Virginia Tech (81-75)

Next week: vs. Pittsburgh (Feb. 11 – 9 p.m.), vs. Wake Forest (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: None

SMU picked up a win in their only game this week, edging out VT by 6. The Mustangs are steady at fifth in the conference, but have not quite done enough to turn heads of the committee. Unless they pick up a couple huge wins in the final stretch of the year plus a deep run in the ACC Tournament, SMU will be NIT bound.

6) Stanford Cardinal

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)

Record: 16-8 (8-5)

Last week: L vs. Wake Forest (79-73), W vs. NC State (74-73)

Next week: at Georgia Tech (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), at Duke (Feb. 15 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Santa Clara

Bad losses: Cal Poly

Stanford had a 1-1 week, falling to Wake Forest before escaping a disastrous loss to NC State. The Cardinal sit at 16-8 now, with no great wins and some outstanding losses. Although it will not end with a tournament birth unless Stanford wins the ACC, it has been a very solid first season for the Cardinal in the ACC.

7) North Carolina Tar Heels

Last week’s ranking: 8 (+1)

Record: 14-10 (7-5)

Last week: W vs. Pittsburgh (67-66)

Next week: vs. Clemson (Feb. 10 – 7 p.m.), at Syracuse (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: Dayton, UCLA

Bad losses: Stanford

UNC avenged their previous loss to Pitt, beating the Panthers by one in Chapel Hill in the Tar Heels only game this week. The win is not enough to get Hubert Davis off of the hot seat nor get UNC a tournament birth though. A win over Clemson this week would do some good, but the fans want one thing: to beat Duke to end their season. Without that, Hubert Davis will have to sweat for his job this offseason.

8) Pittsburgh Panthers

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)

Record: 14-9 (5-7)

Last week: L vs. Virginia (73-57), L vs. North Carolina (67-66)

Next week: at SMU (Feb. 11 – 9 p.m.), vs. Miami (Feb. 15 – 12 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Ohio State

Bad losses: at Florida State, Virginia

Pitt hit their low point this year, losing at home to Virginia and then blowing a lead against UNC to drop to 5-7 in ACC play. The Panthers, who once were looking like the second-best team in the league, have been incredibly disappointing during league play. Their 5-7 mark encapsulates the state of the conference this year, where expectations are nowhere near being met and the actual outcome is extremely disappointing.

9) Florida State Seminoles

Last week’s ranking: 10 (+1)

Record: 14-9 (5-7)

Last week: W vs. Notre Dame (67-60)

Next week: at Wake Forest (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), vs. Clemson (Feb. 15 – 12 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Rice, at Pittsburgh

Bad losses: at Cal, Virginia Tech, at Boston College

Florida State beat Notre Dame in their only game this week, improving to 5-7 in ACC play, as well as 14-9 overall. More notably, Leonard Hamilton is stepping away after this season, he announced, which is the last domino to fall of ACC coaches leaving. The ACC has had so many historic coaches announce their retirements over the past five seasons, and Hamilton was the last longstanding leader to step down. Congratulations on a great career, coach.

10) Cal Golden Bears

Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)

Record: 12-12 (5-8)

Last week: W vs. NC State (74-62), L vs. Wake Forest (76-66)

Next week: at Duke (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), at Georgia Tech (Feb. 15 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: at USC

Bad losses: Cornell, Virginia Tech, Syracuse

Cal, like their West Coast counterpart Stanford, beat NC State and fell to Wake Forest in a 1-1 week. Not much to comment on for Cal, who is pretty much right where they were expected to be in terms of the ACC Basketball Power Rankings with under a month to go.

11) Syracuse Orange

Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)

Record: 11-13 (5-8)

Last week: L vs. Duke (83-54), W vs. Boston College (95-86)

Next week: at Miami (Feb. 11 – 7 p.m.), vs. North Carolina (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Notre Dame, at Florida State

Syracuse got embarrassed by Duke before beating BC in an overtime thriller to avoid an 0-2 week. JJ Starling has been a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season for Syracuse. They travel to Miami to start their week, hoping to avoid an embarrassing loss, but then play host to UNC hoping to pick up a quality win.

12) Virginia Tech Hokies

Last week’s ranking: 14 (+2)

Record: 11-13 (6-7)

Last week: L vs. SMU (81-75), W vs. Notre Dame (65-63)

Next week: vs. Virginia (Feb. 15 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Jacksonville

VT narrowly fell to SMU on the road before escaping Notre Dame at home to go 1-1 on the week. The Hokies have been surprising, losing a lot of talent and really struggling during non-conference play. However, VT sits at 6-7, which is the top half of the league’s standings, hoping to avoid the first day of play at the ACCT.

13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last week’s ranking: 13 (-)

Record: 11-13 (5-8)

Last week: W vs. Clemson (89-86), L vs. Virginia (75-61)

Next week: vs. Stanford (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), vs. Cal (Feb. 15 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Louisville, at Clemson

Bad losses: North Florida, at Florida State, at Virginia

Georgia Tech won a thriller at Clemson before losing pretty badly to Virginia over the weekend. It felt like vintage Georgia Tech, shocking the world by defeating a legit team before coming back down to their abilities and losing to a lesser opponent.

14) Virginia Cavaliers

Last week’s ranking: 16 (+2)

Record: 12-12 (5-8)

Last week: W vs. Pittsburgh (73-57), W vs. Georgia Tech (75-61)

Next week: at Virginia Tech (Feb. 15 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: at Pittsburgh

Bad losses: at Cal, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech

Virginia had a 2-0 week, something that has not been said since they were facing mid-majors in non-conference play. The ‘Hoos looked like old Virginia in a dominant performance over Pitt on the road, and then handily beat Georgia Tech on Saturday while honoring former coach Tony Bennett. Virginia is not playing for much this season, but Ron Sanchez hopes to keep turning this ship around to get the full-time position next season.

15) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last week’s ranking: 12 (-3)

Record: 10-13 (4-8)

Last week: L vs. Florida State (67-60), L vs. Virginia Tech (65-63)

Next week: at Boston College (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), vs. Louisville (Feb. 16 – 8 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Elon, Georgia Tech, at Miami, Virginia Tech

Notre Dame dropped two close games last week to fall to 10-13 and 4-8 in conference. Fortunately for the Irish, the bottom three ACC Basketball Power Rankings teams look set at this point, so they will reach the ACC Tournament. But, that is about it, as they have not put together much of a season this year.

16) NC State Wolfpack

Last week’s ranking: 15 (-1)

Record: 9-14 (2-10)

Last week: L vs. Cal (74-62), L vs. Stanford (74-73)

Next week: vs. Louisville (Feb. 12 – 7 p.m.), vs. Boston College (Feb. 15 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Virginia, Virginia Tech, Cal x2

NC State continues to fall, losing its seventh and eighth straight games this week to drop to 2-10 in ACC play. A once promising team, the Wolfpack have hit the lowest of lows, now sitting outside the ACC Tournament field. They hope a win this week could put them back on track, but the Pack are two games outside the bottom seed in the field.

17) Boston College Eagles

Last week’s ranking: 17 (-)

Record: 10-13 (2-10)

Last week: L vs. Louisville (84-58), L vs. Syracuse (95-86)

Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Feb. 12 – 9 p.m.), at NC State (Feb. 15 – 2 p.m.)

Quality wins: Boise State

Bad losses: Dartmouth, Georgia Tech, Virginia

BC dropped two games this week including an overtime thriller at Syracuse on Saturday. The Eagles look like their season will not include any postseason action, sitting at 2-10 in league play. They host Notre Dame this week and then go to NC State, and a couple of wins this week could sneak them into the conference tournament bracket.

18) Miami Hurricanes

Last week’s ranking: 18 (-)

Record: 5-18 (1-11)

Last week: L vs. Louisville (88-78)

Next week: vs. Syracuse (Feb. 11 – 7 p.m.), at Pittsburgh (Feb. 15 – 12 p.m.)

Quality wins: None

Bad losses: Charleston Southern, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech

Miami could not turn their win into a win streak, losing to Louisville by 10. They host Syracuse and then go to Pitt this week, and for Miami, any win is a shocker, so they are hoping for a shocker.