Another weekend, more craziness. I have to tell you guys, the easiest play of the weekend was that North Carolina State team heading to Chestnut Hill and losing. I said it, the week before on the Busting Brackets podcast. Three days before heading to Cameron? FSU to follow that on Saturday? Easy money. The computers still seem to like the Pack well enough, but they have to get one of these next two to even sniff those bubbles, and even then, I’m doubtful.
Virginia has solidified themselves as that fourth best team in the conference and it is undeniable at this point. The shooting of Tomas Woldetensae has become just what this team needed and has allowed the Cavs to shoot back into the NCAA Tournament picture, if they were ever out to begin with.
We still have the jumbled mess of Syracuse, Notre Dame and NC State in the middle. I have to be honest I don’t know if any of these teams have the wins to get around some of these Big Ten bubble teams like Wisconsin or Michigan who just have better resume’s. Notre Dame probably has the best case, but I still think Syracuse is the better team. Honestly, North Carolina State has no business being involved in the tournament discussion at this point. They just can’t be trusted.
Pittsburgh, Clemson and Virginia Tech have all played themselves right into the NIT which is where Georgia Tech could end up given their final schedule. The Jackets should go 4-2 down the stretch at worst, but 1-5 is also in play.
Here they are, the updated ACC Power Rankings:
| Rank | Team | Overall | ACC | Q1 Record | Haslam | Kenpom | NET Rank |
| 1 | Duke | 22-3 | 12-2 | 5-1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Florida State | 21-4 | 11-3 | 3-3 | 20 | 22 | 15 |
| 3 | Louisville | 21-5 | 12-3 | 4-3 | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| 4 | Virginia | 17-7 | 9-5 | 3-3 | 46 | 52 | 56 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 16-10 | 7-8 | 1-6 | 56 | 65 | 61 |
| 6 | Syracuse | 14-11 | 7-7 | 2-5 | 57 | 54 | 64 |
| 7 | Boston College | 13-13 | 7-8 | 1-5 | 152 | 155 | 143 |
| 8 | Clemson | 13-12 | 7-8 | 2-6 | 71 | 73 | 80 |
| 9 | Georgia Tech | 12-13 | 6-8 | 2-6 | 75 | 82 | 87 |
| 10 | NC State | 16-9 | 7-7 | 3-2 | 64 | 60 | 60 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 15-10 | 6-8 | 2-5 | 98 | 93 | 76 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh | 15-11 | 6-9 | 2-6 | 94 | 98 | 99 |
| 13 | Miami | 13-12 | 5-10 | 1-8 | 111 | 104 | 102 |
| 14 | Wake Forest | 11-14 | 4-11 | 0-7 | 100 | 97 | 104 |
| 15 | UNC | 10-16 | 3-12 | 3-7 | 81 | 94 | 92 |
Some things to note:
- Virginia now has a record against Quadrant 1 teams of 3-3, the same as Florida State
- Wake Forest is the only team in the conference with zero quadrant 1 victories
- Boston College is hated by the computers but is a respectable 7-8 in ACC play. Jim Christian has as many wins in the league as Jim Boeheim, Kevin Keatts and Mike Brey. Has he saved his job?
One more thing, it will be interesting to see how the ACC handles the ACC/B1G challenge next season. In the past, it has typically been the last place team that was not invited, but it’s not a rule. Virginia Tech sat out this season during the Mike Young transition. Wake Forest was left out the previous season despite Pittsburgh finishing 8-24. That was almost certainly due to Pitt’s exclusion the season prior. However, Wake Forest also didn’t play in 2016. Will the ACC leave UNC out of event? They are certainly unlikely to leave the Hokies out for two consecutive seasons and leaving the Demon Deacons out of 3 of 5 seems like a slap in the face. This final six game stretch of the season has more at stake for Georgia Tech, Miami (Fl) and possibly Pittsburgh than conference tournament seeding and post season births.
ACC Basketball Report 