Week 12 Power Rankings
1. Florida State (13-5, 6-2)
Last Week: W 79-78 (OT) vs Duke, W 86-73 vs North Florida, W 61-60 @ Miami
This Week: @ Georgia Tech, vs Virginia Tech
And just like that, Coach Hamilton has the Seminoles back on top of the ACC. What an impressive week for Florida State. They withstood everything Duke had in an incredible rally by the Blue Devils to send it to overtime, but FSU was able to come away with an overtime victory (for an all-time record 13th straight time). It looked like they were going to run Miami out of their own gym yesterday, after leading 43-19 at half, they held on to win after Isiah Wong missed a would-be game winning shot. FSU will be on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble this week and should stay there.
2. Duke (15-3, 5-2)
Last Week: L 78-79 (OT) @ Florida State, W 79-59 vs Syracuse
This Week: vs Clemson, @ Louisville
Duke was down 9 late in the 2nd half against FSU and was able to take it to overtime before Wendell Moore had a shot blocked in the final seconds to preserve the win for Florida State. Duke will be looking for revenge on February 19th when the Seminoles make the trip to Cameron Indoor. The Blue Devils took out all their frustrations from that game on Syracuse. They dominated them from the tip, and it was never close. They shouldn’t have trouble with either of their games this week, but they travel to South Bend next Monday.
3. Miami (14-5, 6-2)
Last Week: W 85-57 vs North Carolina, L 60-61 vs Florida State
This Week: @ Virginia Tech, @ Georgia Tech
Even with losing to Florida State yesterday, Miami has clearly established itself as one of the three best teams in the ACC. The fact that they even had a chance to win the game yesterday is impressive. It was like they forgot how to score in the first half; however, they did not have that problem against North Carolina. The Hurricanes are off to a great start in conference, but have 2 upcoming road games this week to try to keep it going.
4. Wake Forest (16-4, 6-3)
Last Week: W 80-64 @ Georgia Tech, W 98-76 vs North Carolina
This Week: vs Boston College, @ Syracuse
Wake Forest has been rolling since the last ten minutes of their game against UVA last Saturday. Wake was down by 7 at that point and finished with a 15-point swing. They followed that up with 16- and 22-point wins over Georgia Tech and UNC. Wake is now sitting at 34 on KenPom and 40 in the NET. If they keep this up, they’ll comfortably be in the Tournament.
5. Notre Dame (12-6, 5-2)
Last Week: W 71-68 @ Howard, W 82-70 @ Louisville
This Week: vs NC State, vs Virginia
Notre Dame has now won 8 of their last 9 games, with the only loss coming on the road against a Virginia Tech team desperate for a win. Notre Dame is scorching from the 3-point line. They’re leading the conference at 41% in league games. They’ll continue to fight for a top-4 finish if they can keep that up.
6. North Carolina (12-6, 4-3)
Last Week: L 57-85 @ Miami, L 76-98 @ Wake Forest
This Week: vs Virginia Tech, vs Boston College, vs NC State
It must be extremely frustrating to be a Carolina fan this year. On paper they should be the second or third best team in the league, but it’s not translating to on the court. Their two best wins on the season are against underperforming teams in Michigan and Virginia, both of which were at home. They need to beat Virginia Tech tomorrow if they want to challenge for the top of the conference.
7.(Tie) Louisville (11-8, 5-4)
Last Week: W 67-54 vs Boston College, L 70-82 vs Notre Dame
This Week: @ Virginia, vs Duke
7.(Tie) Virginia (11-8, 5-4)
Last Week: W 66-61 @ Pitt, L 63-77 @ NC State
This Week: vs Louisville, @ Notre Dame
I’m putting Louisville and Virginia in a tie this week not because I can’t decide which team deserves the 7th spot, but because neither of them deserves it. Louisville has lost 4 of their last 5 games and Virginia is 2 missed threes in the final seconds by Virginia Tech from being in the same situation. Neither team could defend the three-point line yesterday and that led to them both getting beat by double digits. They also have identical conference and overall records, but they will get to break the tie tomorrow night when Louisville heads to Charlottesville.
9. NC State (10-10, 3-6)
Last Week: L 59-62 vs Virginia Tech, W 77-63 vs Virginia
This Week: @ Notre Dame, @ North Carolina
Holy-unconscious-shooting, Batman! Jericole Hellems and Terquavion Smith combined to shoot 16-25 from the field including 56.3% from three for 41 points against UVA yesterday. That plus ACC POY candidate, Dereon Seabron, getting whatever he wanted at the rim and the Wolfpack will be a very tough team to beat. Two tough road games are up next for NC State.
10. Syracuse (9-10, 3-5)
Last Week: W 91-78 vs Clemson, L 59-79 @ Duke
This Week: @ Pitt, vs Wake Forest
I can’t believe this Syracuse team is below .500. They’re 18th in the country in offensive efficiency, but there are serious issues with the zone this year. Buddy has really stepped up his game, averaging 21 PPG over the last 7, but they better figure out how to stop people on the defensive end if they want to turn this season around.
11. Boston College (8-9, 3-4)
Last Week: L 54-67 @ Louisville, W 68-63 vs Virginia Tech
This Week: @ Wake Forest, @ North Carolina, vs Pitt
James Karnik played the game of his life in a really nice win over Virginia Tech yesterday as the big man scored 26 points and added 9 rebounds. The Eagles have quietly won 2 of their last 3 games, but if they really want to impress people, they need to win one of their next 2 games.
12. Virginia Tech (10-8, 2-5)
Last Week: W 62-59 @ NC State, L 63-68 @ Boston College
This Week: @ North Carolina, vs Miami, @ Florida State
The Hokies looked like they were figuring out how to turn all the love from the computers into wins when they beat Notre Dame and NC State, but they dropped a head scratcher to Boston College. The league did VT no favors this week by rescheduling their game with UNC tomorrow when they already had a tough week. If they can go 3-0 or even 2-1 this week, they’ll start moving up this list and hopefully get back on the right side of the bubble.
13. Clemson (11-8, 3-5)
Last Week: L 78-91 @ Syracuse, W 75-48 vs Pitt
This Week: @ Duke
Clemson got embarrassed by Syracuse earlier this week, and then returned the favor to Pittsburgh yesterday. The Tigers still do not have a signature win on the year, but they’ll get a chance to get the best one in the ACC on Tuesday when they travel to Duke.
14. Pittsburgh (7-12, 2-6)
Last Week: L 61-66 vs Virginia, L 48-75 @ Clemson
This Week: vs Syracuse, @ Boston College
That was the worst loss Pitt has had all season. They have been in most games they’ve played, even though they haven’t won many of them. KenPom only projects them winning one more game this year, so anything more than that will be an accomplishment.
15. Georgia Tech (7-10, 1-6)
Last Week: L 64-80 vs Wake Forest
This Week: vs Clayton State, vs Florida State, vs Miami
Georgia Tech has dropped 5 of their last 6, but they should get add one to the victory column today when they take on Division II Clayton State. Georgia Tech may not win many more games, but Michael Devoe is having an All-ACC caliber year. He’s currently second in the league in scoring.