Jack Nevins gives his ACC basketball power rankings heading into week 17 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 16 team of the week: Duke Blue Devils
Week 16 game of the week: Duke defeats Michigan, 68-63
Week 16 player of the week: Tre Donaldson, Miami
Week 17 matchup of the week: #11 Virginia at #1 Duke (Feb. 21 – 6:30 p.m.)
Week 17 under-the-radar matchup of the week: #24 Louisville at #18 North Carolina (Feb. 23 – 7 p.m.)
1) Duke Blue Devils
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 25-2 (14-1)
Last week: W vs. Syracuse (101-64), W vs. #1 Michigan (68-63)
Next week: at Notre Dame (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), vs. #11 Virginia (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: Michigan (Neutral), at Michigan State, Kansas (Neutral), Florida, Arkansas, Louisville (2x), Clemson, SMU, Texas
Bad losses: None
Duke cruised past Syracuse, winning by 37, to then traveled down to Washington D.C. to take on the number one Michigan Wolverines. Duke came out on top, claiming the number one spot in the AP Poll, and is now the frontrunner to win the NCAA Tournament.
2) Virginia Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 24-3 (12-2)
Last week: W at Georgia Tech (94-68), W vs. Miami (86-83)
Next week: vs. NC State (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), at #1 Duke (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Louisville, at NC State, at SMU, at Texas, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: Butler
Virginia blew out Georgia Tech and then knocked off a great Miami team. The Cavaliers are top 30 offensively and top 20 defensively, and have already locked up an NCAA Tournament spot. Ryan Odom has something in the water in Charlottesville.
3) NC State Wolfpack
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+4)
Record: 19-8 (10-4)
Last week: W vs. #16 North Carolina (82-58)
Next week: vs. #11 Virginia (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), at Notre Dame (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, at Clemson, at SMU, VCU, Liberty, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: Georgia Tech
NC State blew out a UNC team missing its key players in Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. This was a huge bounce-back win after a loss against Louisville.
4) North Carolina Tar Heels
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-1)
Record: 22-6 (10-5)
Last week: L at NC State (82-58), W at Syracuse (77-64), W vs. #24 Louisville (77-74)
Next week: vs. Virginia Tech (Feb. 28 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Duke, at Virginia, Kansas, at Kentucky, Ohio State
Bad losses: NC State
Without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, the Tar Heels look lost. They got blown out by NC State, but got a good win on the road with a somewhat streaky Syracuse team. However, on Big Monday, they found a way to get a great home win over Louisville, keeping themselves in pace with the top of ACC basketball.
5) Louisville Cardinals
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-1)
Record: 20-7 (9-5)
Last week: L at SMU (95-85), W vs. Georgia Tech (87-70), L vs. #18 North Carolina (77-74)
Next week: at Clemson (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Kentucky, Indiana, NC State, Virginia Tech, Baylor
Bad losses: None
Louisville fell to SMU but bounced back with a win over weak Georgia Tech. The Cardinals are supposed to be a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, as three of their last four games are quad 1 matchups. Three of their last four games are quad 1 games. They could push themselves up.
6) SMU Mustangs
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+2)
Record: 19-8 (8-6)
Last week: W vs. #21 Louisville (95-85), W vs. Boston College (94-70)
Next week: at Cal (Feb. 25 – 10 p.m.), at Stanford (Feb. 28 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, Louisville, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: LSU
After dropping one on the road to Syracuse, SMU picked up a great win over Louisville. Mikel Brown scored 29 points, but Boopie Miller scored 27 points and dished out 9 assists. The Mustangs are 8-8 against quad 1 and 2 teams and are 11-0 against quad 3 and 4 teams.
7) Miami Hurricanes
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 21-6 (10-4)
Last week: W vs. Virginia Tech (67-66), L at #14 Virginia (86-83)
Next week: at Florida State (Feb. 24 – 9 p.m.), vs. Boston College (Feb. 24 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, at NC State, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: Florida State
Miami faced the two Virginia schools and split their series with a close win over Virginia Tech and a close loss to Virginia. Tre Donaldson, in my opinion, was the ACC Player of the Week, scoring nearly half of the Hurricanes’ points against VT with 32.
8) Florida State Seminoles
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+2)
Record: 14-13 (7-7)
Last week: W vs. Boston College (80-72), W at Clemson (70-65)
Next week: vs. Miami (Feb. 24 – 9 p.m.), at Georgia Tech (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Clemson, at Miami-Fla, Cal
Bad losses: UMass, Wake Forest
Florida State may be the hottest team in college basketball right now. The Seminoles have won seven of their last nine games, most recently defeating a once top-20 Clemson team. Just two weeks ago, they were still at the bottom of the ACC.
9) Clemson Tigers
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-4)
Record: 20-8 (10-5)
Last week: L at Wake Forest (85-77), L vs. Florida State (70-65)
Next week: vs. #24 Louisville (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: Miami-Fla, SMU, Georgia, West Virginia
Bad losses: at Georgetown, at Wake Forest, Florida State
Clemson has now lost four straight, and two of these losses come to Wake Forest and Florida State. The Tigers allowed the Demon Deacons to take a 20-point lead at one point. Clemson is set to be a 9-seed but needs to win one of their games against Louisville or UNC to avoid dropping down to the bubble.
10) Virginia Tech Hokies
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 18-10 (7-8)
Last week: L at Miami (67-66), W vs Wake Forest (82-63)
Next week: at #18 North Carolina (Feb. 28 – 8:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Virginia, George Mason, at Clemson
Bad losses: Wake Forest, Florida State
The loss by one to Miami cut the Hokies out of the big dance for the moment. After losing earlier in the season at Wake Forest, they got a good win in a revenge game. VTech must win out to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament, and this comes with beating UNC and Virginia.
11) California Golden Bears
Last week’s ranking: 12 (+1)
Record: 19-8 (7-7)
Last week: W vs. Stanford (72-66)
Next week: vs. SMU (Feb. 25 – 10 p.m.), vs. Pitt (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, UCLA, at Miami-Fla
Bad losses: at Kansas State, at Florida State
Cal got lucked out against Stanford, as the Cardinal missed 11 free throws, allowing the Golden Bears to get their second win over their state rival. According to CBS Bracket Projections, Cal is in the Last Four In and has SMU in their way this week. They play the bottom of the ACC following this game, but if they can pull off a win against the Mustangs, they will be on the side they want to be on in the bubble.
12) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Last week’s ranking: 13 (+1)
Record: 14-13 (5-9)
Last week: W vs. Clemson (85-77), L at Virginia Tech (82-63)
Next week: at Boston College (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), vs. Syracuse (Feb. 28 – 5:45 p.m.)
Quality wins: Clemson, West Virginia, Virginia Tech
Bad losses: Oklahoma, at Pitt
Wake Forest got a great quad 2 win over Clemson and held a 20-point lead at one point. This was very impressive for the Demon Deacons, considering they have been at the bottom of ACC basketball all season.
13) Syracuse Orange
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-2)
Record: 15-13 (6-9)
Last week: L at #4 Duke (101-64), L vs. North Carolina (77-64)
Next week: at Wake Forest (Feb. 28 – 5:45 p.m.)
Quality wins: Tennessee, SMU
Bad losses: Hofstra, Boston College
Syracuse lost to Duke by almost 40 points and then fell to UNC by 13 at home. The Orange were red-hot with three straight wins, but it is safe to say their NCAA Tournament chances are close to none.
14) Stanford Cardinal
Last week’s ranking: 14 (-)
Record: 16-11 (5-9)
Last week: L at Cal (72-66)
Next week: vs. Pitt (Feb. 25 – 8 p.m.), vs. SMU (Feb. 28 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, Louisville, Saint Louis
Bad losses: Seattle U, UNLV, Notre Dame, at Florida State, at Wake Forest
Stanford has now lost both games to Cal this season and can certainly be a spoiler in the ACC Tournament.
15) Pittsburgh Panthers
Last week’s ranking: 18 (+3)
Record: 10-17 (3-11)
Last week: W vs. Notre Dame (73-68)
Next week: at Stanford (Feb. 25 – 8 p.m.), at Cal (Feb. 28 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: Ohio State
Bad losses: Quinnipiac, Hofstra, at Boston College
Pitt has finally won 10 games! They only played six players in the win over Notre Dame.
Off the court, head coach Jeff Capel has found himself with a top 10 recruiting class. Could this be a turnaround for the Panthers for next season?
16) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Last week’s ranking: 15 (-1)
Record: 12-15 (3-11)
Last week: L at Pitt (73-68)
Next week: vs. #1 Duke (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), vs. NC State (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: TCU, Missouri
Bad losses: Purdue Fort-Wayne, Florida State, at Pitt
Notre Dame found a way to lose to last-place Pitt at home and would need a miracle to even make the ACC Tournament at this point.
17) Boston College Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 16 (-1)
Record: 9-18 (2-12)
Last week: L at Florida State (80-72), L vs. SMU (94-70)
Next week: vs. Wake Forest (Feb. 24 – 7 p.m.), at Miami (Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: CCSU, at FAU, UMass, at Georgia Tech, at Florida State
Boston College has now lost their last eight games, dropping their most recent games to FSU and SMU. The Eagles may not win another game this season, and could potentially fall short of 10 wins overall.
18) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Last week’s ranking: 17 (-1)
Record: 11-17 (2-13)
Last week: L vs. #14 Virginia (94-68), L at #21 Louisville (87-70)
Next week: vs. Florida State (Feb. 28 – 12 p.m.)
Quality wins: at NC State
Bad losses: DePaul, Drake, Mississippi State, Pitt, Wake Forest, at Notre Dame
Georgia Tech has not lost nine games in a row and have lost 12 of their last 13 games. They lost by 26 at home to Virginia and then 17 to Louisville. It’s tough to see how this team found a way to beat NC State.