Duke Tops ACC Early

With week 2 of ACC  play wrapping up Saturday evening I’d like to introduce you to the new ACC weekly round-up here on spartanburgsportsradio.com where we’ll break down each team in the ACC with their spot in the standings, previous results, upcoming schedule, and tournament outlook. For the tournament outlook we’ll be relying on the NET rankings the NCAA publishes which are a significant part of the selection process for the tournament. Typically the cut-off for at-large bids is being inside the top 50 of the NET and the higher you are the better your seed is likely to be. Without further ado let’s begin!

1. Duke Blue Devils 15-1 (4-0)

Last week: Won 84-73 @ Louisville, Won 82-75 vs SMU

Duke is one of three teams remaining without a blemish on their ACC record and one of just ten one-loss squads in all of D-1 Men’s Basketball. Duke passed their first two big tests of conference play with flying colors after a comeback road victory against Louisville where three Blue Devils scored 20 or more points with Cameron Boozer (27), Isaiah Evans (23), and Caleb Foster (20) paving the way for a 12 point comeback pushing Duke to 3-0 against Pat Kelsey. Then on Saturday Duke got another big performance from Boozer and Evans to erase an early deficit and secure a win over an SMU team playing without Boopie Miller. Duke forced the Mustangs into 21 turnovers and drew 21 fouls en route to a comfortable win. Both wins this week for Duke were Quad 1 which brings them to a 7-1 Q1 record, the most wins of that caliber in the nation, and are going to be impressive mantle pieces for Duke’s potential seeding. This upcoming week sees Duke become the latest ACC team to partake in the west coast road trip.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th @ California 11pm ACCN, January 17th @ Stanford 6pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #4 NET, Sitting pretty

2. Clemson Tigers 14-3 (4-0)

Last week: Won 74-70 vs SMU, Won 76-61 @ Notre Dame

Clemson is 4-0 in ACC play in back-to-back years for the first time in program history and did so in impressive style notching two Quad 1 victories. Clemson led for over 38 minutes and by as many as 15 points vs SMU despite shooting just 9-31 from 3 in the contest. Jestin Porter had 4 steals in the game vs the Mustangs and managed to outdo himself with 5 in South Bend adding 26 points to go along with his defense against the Irish having easily his best stretch of play in a Clemson uniform. Clemson forced a combined 27 turnovers total in this week and really took advantage of a listless Notre Dame offense that, without Markus Burton, just did not have the juice to be able to hang with Clemson. With almost all of Clemson’s metrics resting in the top 30 the Tigers have positioned themselves excellently for a third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and have a schedule to potentially win their first ACC regular season title since 1990. Their next week of games see Clemson play the first two of a three game homestand.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th vs Boston College 7pm ACCN, January 17th 2:15pm vs Miami The CW

Tournament outlook: #28 NET, Just keep winning

3. Miami Hurricanes 14-2 (3-0)

Last week: Won 81-77 @ Wake Forest, Won 91-81 vs Georgia Tech

One of the biggest surprises of the ACC this season so far has been Jai Lucas’ year one success in Coral Gables. Miami are winners of nine consecutive games and most recently survived a scare in Winston-Salem and taking care of business at home against Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes trailed by five late vs Wake but a 10-0 run flipped the script and put Miami in the driver’s seat before a late rally by the Demon Deacons tied it before Shelton Richardson gave Miami the lead with just under thirty seconds remaining to eek out a win despite shooting just 4-18 from 3, turning the ball over 13 times, and missing 7 free throws. Against GT Miami started hot and held off a late Yellow Jacket rally to hold on to a nice double digit victory. They improved from the Wake game from beyond the arc and in ball security but almost allowed FT shooting to tell the story again as they shot just 21-32 from the line to keep GT in it. The Wake win was a Quad 1 victory, Miami’s first of the season, and they’ll have plenty of opportunities to build off of that starting this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th @ Notre Dame 7pm ESPNU, January 17th 2:15pm @ Clemson The CW

Tournament outlook: #33 NET, Just keep winning

4. Virginia Cavaliers 14-2 (3-1)

Last week: Won 84-60 vs Cal, Won 70-55 vs Stanford

Speaking of year one success stories Ryan Odom’s first year in Charlottesville has proved incredibly fruitful as UVA is already just one win away from matching last season’s total. The Cavaliers proved to be unwelcome hosts to the west coast schools as they blew out both Cal and Stanford in impressive fashion. All three of Virginia’s league wins have been by at least fifteen points which is a huge boost to their metrics. Despite having a new coach the way in which Virginia wins basketball games is all too familiar with a stifling defense that held their opponents to 8-45 from deep this week. Something very impressive with this squad is that the scoring is so spread out, as four different Cavaliers average 10+ points per game with a fifth player averaging 9.9. With their impressive metrics and lack of a truly bad loss UVA is looking a lot like a tournament lock at this moment and they’ll have a chance to really improve their résumé with two road contests this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th @ Louisville 7pm ESPN2, January 17th @ SMU ESPN

Tournament outlook: #16 NET, Playing for seeding

5. North Carolina State 12-5 (3-1)

Last week: Won 79-71 @ Boston College, Won 113-69 @ Florida State

The third straight team in the standings with a new head coach in the 2025-26 season is easily the team who had the most anticipated hire in the league. Will Wade’s Wolfpack machine had gotten off to a bumpy start with a less than stellar non conference effort and a blowout home loss to Virginia but against probably the worst two teams in the ACC, NCSU got back on track. In their first game of the week the Wolfpack and Eagles combined to make 22 3s in front of dozens of fans in Chestnut Hill with ACC preseason player of the year Darrion Williams scoring 22 points. Will Wade must have seared the paint off the walls of the practice facility in Raleigh because on Saturday N.C. State scored 100 points on the road in ACC play for the first time in 35 years. The Wolfpack hit on 19-35 from 3 en route to a 113-69 thrashing of the Seminoles which featured runs of 11-0, 18-3, 23-3, and 15-1 by the road team. Wins like that do numbers for the metrics but hardly much for the résumé which is really where State needs to get going. They currently sit at 0-5 vs Quad 1 opponents but have 8 such opportunities remaining in ACC play so it is far from panic time in Raleigh right now. Just one game this week for N.C. State before the grind truly begins.

Upcoming schedule: January 17th vs Georgia Tech 12pm The CW

Tournament outlook: #31 NET, Need that big win

6. North Carolina Tar Heels 14-2 (2-1)

Last week: Won 87-84 vs Wake Forest

It is hard to call any Tar Heel squad a surprise but Hubert Davis’ team has come out firing in 25-26 with freshman phenom Caleb Wilson rating as one of the best players in America. Only one game this past week which was a home tilt against the Demon Deacons led by as many as 15 before Wake cut the deficit to 1 with 4 minutes to play. 22 points from Caleb Wilson and 25 from Henri Veesaar were enough to stave off Steve Forbes’ team and keep 10 missed FTs from spelling doom in Chapel Hill. UNC has a nice résumé but the predictive metrics are less of a fan than you’d imagine and the close games probably have a lot to do with it. They, like Duke, are taking part in the California tour this week so it’ll be two more Quad 1 opportunities for UNC to add to their bounty.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th @ Stanford 9pm ACCN, January 17th @ Cal 4pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #22 NET, Maybe start blowing some guys out?

7. Syracuse Orange 11-5 (2-1)

Last week: Won 82-72 @ Georgia Tech, Won 83-72 @ Pittsburgh

Two comfortable road wins in ACC play gave Syracuse a nearly 20 spot jump in metrics and a much needed reprieve for Head Coach Adrian Autry. It has been an up and down year 3 for Autry that has included highs like the win vs Tennessee and lows like the loss to Hofstra or going 0-3 in the Player’s Era tournament in Vegas. This team goes as Donnie Freeman goes with him scoring 18, 27, and 22 points in his three games since returning from a lower body injury he suffered in November. The Orange overall are 6-1 in games Freeman has played in with the one loss being by 3 points to Clemson. It is a very defensively oriented squad holding opponents on the season to barely above 30% from 3 and sub 45% from 2. They also excel at blocking shots and steals and will have two more opportunities this week against weaker teams to continue their climb. Syracuse has a lot of ground to make up from their tough OOC performance but more weeks like this past one will go a long way.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th vs Florida St. 9pm ACCN, January 17th @ Boston College 2pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #67 NET, Gotta go on a run here

8. Stanford Cardinal 13-4 (2-2)

Last week: Won 69-68 @ Virginia Tech, Lost 70-55 @ Virginia

Stanford had a nice record going into ACC play but with two buy game losses had a lot of question marks and so far they have had a confounding stretch of games. Held to 40 points at home in a close loss to Notre Dame, upset Louisville in a shootout, and then this past week pulling off a 14-1 run to stun Virginia Tech in Blacksburg before finally being blown out by Virginia on Saturday. Ebuka Okorie is the ACC’s 2nd leading scorer but just like Stanford themselves has run hot and cold as he shot 5-20 in Charlottesville on Saturday. The Cardinal’s non conference losses and how they’ve lost in conference play have dinged their metrics but they’re not completely out of it yet for the dance. They’ll have as good an opportunity as they can ask for with the two home games they have this week out on the farm.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th vs UNC 9pm ACCN, January 17th vs Duke 6pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #74 NET, Win these two and then we’ll talk

9. Virginia Tech Hokies 13-4 (2-2)

Last week: Lost 69-68 vs Stanford, Won 78-75 vs Cal

Mike Young’s team have been creatures of habit this season. They won their first six games, lost the next two, won the six after that, lost two more, and after Saturday we’ll see if they can win five more! This has been one of the more banged up squads in the ACC with 4 contributors out with injuries at the moment. The loss to Stanford was brutal as they held a 99.6% win probability with 3:18 to go and they bounced back nicely with six players scoring 10 or more points in the win vs Cal. VT’s big win over UVA will likely keep them afloat on the bubble but they also have some good wins vs Providence, Colorado St., and George Mason that have aged well and they’re going to have to string together a couple of wins to get themselves back in the conversation.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th @ SMU 9pm ESPNU, January 17th vs Notre Dame 12pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #61 NET, Get healthy get wins

10. Louisville Cardinals 13-4 (2-2)

Last week: Lost 84-73 vs Duke, Won 75-62 vs Boston College

Much like Virginia Tech, Louisville has also suffered from the injury bug this year with Ryan Conwell going down vs Duke and Mikel Brown Jr. missing the last six games. Brown’s absence was especially felt on Tuesday when Louisville dropped to 0-3 vs Duke under Pat Kelsey blowing their second double digit 2nd half lead in those three games. Without Conwell and Brown they got off to a rough start vs BC and trailed into the 2nd half before outscoring BC by twenty-one to have a comfortable win. Louisville strength of schedule and solid OOC wins will keep them afloat but they’re going to have another big shot at home vs a top tier ACC squad to move the needle in league play this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th vs UVA 7pm ESPN2, January 17th @ Pittsburgh 8pm ESPN

Tournament outlook: #17 NET, looking good and would love to have a BIG win

11. SMU Mustangs 12-4 (1-2)

Last week: Lost 74-70 @ Clemson, Lost 82-75 @ Duke

After their big win over UNC a week ago SMU was ranked in the AP Top 25 and feeling on top of the world, but the Mustangs got a taste of reality in a basketball league as good as the ACC after traveling to play the top two teams in the league consecutively. Despite shooting 26-29 from the line SMU couldn’t overcome the suffocating Clemson defense and then without star guard Boopie Miller due to illness vs Duke committed 21 turnovers to squander an early lead in Cameron Indoor. Moral victories aren’t worth much but hanging with Duke without Miller has to be something for Andy Enfield and co. to hang their hats on as they return home this week as they should get Miller back. The win over UNC will hold a lot of weight but the OOC win against Texas A&M is aging nicely and with Miller back this team will be a threat to rocket up the standings as they host the Virginias this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th vs Virginia Tech 9pm ESPNU, January 17th vs Virginia 12pm ESPN

Tournament outlook: #24 NET, Get back to winning

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-6 (1-2)

Last week: Lost 76-61 vs Clemson

Micah Shrewsberry’s team is struggling to find their identity on offense since the loss of Markus Burton to an ankle injury, ND sports the 17th rated offense in ACC play per KenPom, and a year 3 that was so important for Shrewsberry and the Irish is in danger of spiraling out of control. The good news for Notre Dame is that they will have plenty of opportunities at home to notch big wins, the bad news is that Burton is out until mid February at the very earliest so they’re going to have to find scoring and find it fast. The game vs Clemson was really emblematic of the issues that have plagued the entire Shrewsberry era with streaky shooting, gobs of turnovers, and issues in the paint on both ends of the floor that required nearly lights out shooting to have any chance of overcoming and they didn’t get it. A very big week looms for the Irish.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th vs Miami 7pm ESPNU, January 17th @ Virginia Tech 12pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: 75th NET, One Last Breath by Creed

13. California Golden Bears 13-4 (1-3)

Last week: Lost 84-60 @ Virginia, Lost 78-75 @ Virginia Tech

A 12-1 start is quickly in the rearview mirror for Mark Madsen and friends who have started ACC play in less than stellar fashion most recently falling victim to the Virginias in an east coast road trip where Cal never stood a chance in Charlottesville and let a six point lead slip away in the final minutes in Blacksburg. Cal has really struggled with scoring doughts and slow starts in ACC play shooting 30% or worse from deep in 3 out of 4 conference games so far. A very transfer laden squad has struggled to mesh as the calendar turns to league play after feeding on a OOC SOS that ranks 339th in the nation. Much like Stanford they’re not going to have a better chance than this upcoming one to turn their fortunes around as the tobacco road makes its way to Cali for some late night (at least for us) showdowns this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th vs Duke 11pm ACCN, January 17th vs UNC 4pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #72 NET, Big week huh

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 10-7 (1-3)

Last week: Lost 81-77 vs Miami, Lost 87-84 @ North Carolina

The Steve Forbes era in Winston-Salem seems to be coming to an end unless the Demon Deacons can pull something out of the hat here. Wake is on pace to finish lower than their preseason KenPom projection in 4 of 6 seasons under Forbes and with zero NCAAT bids to show for it his seat is getting warmer and warmer. The lack of big wins to bump Wake up the bubble pecking order in recent years has been the recurring theme and just this week they had two such opportunities slip through their fingers. Leading by 5 with 5 minutes to go vs Miami and even having the lead with under a minute to go but just couldn’t hang on, and then a furious comeback falling just short a few days later against UNC where Wake made 14 3s! Wake has the strength of schedule gods on their side which is keeping their metrics afloat, but this team has lost 4 of 5 and is in danger of really spiraling but they do get a reprieve with just one game this week.

Upcoming schedule: January 17th @ Florida St. 6pm ESPN2/U

Tournament outlook: #62 NET, Need to get back to winning some games here

15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 10-7 (1-3)

Last week: Lost 82-72 vs Syracuse, Lost 91-81 vs Miami

Damon Stoudamire’s team went just 9-4 against one of the worst OOC schedules in the world which did not portend good fate for league play but hey! They’ve won a game! Better than Boston College! GT is always going to be a team that hangs around and annoys teams in conference play just like they did to Duke to open up conference play because of their style of play with a heavy emphasis on defense but for the third straight year under Stoudamire the wins and consistency just aren’t there which doesn’t sound good when you consider how much more talented they’ve become in that stretch. The losses to Syracuse and Miami were virtually the same games with the Yellow Jackets going down big early before fighting back to a more respectable score with very little threat of actually winning. They have a home and road split this week to see if they can pick up their second win of the ACC year.

Upcoming schedule: January 14th vs Pittsburgh 7pm ACCN, January 17th @ N.C. State 12pm The CW

Tournament outlook: #144 NET, Well if you win every game on the rest of your schedule

16. Pittsburgh Panthers 7-9 (0-3)

Last week: Lost 83-72 vs Syracuse

Pitt is presently 31 spots below their preseason ranking on KenPom and even that doesn’t feel like an adequate description of just how much of a disaster this season has been, losing to Quinnipiac and Hofstra will do that, for Jeff Capel and the Panthers. The game against Syracuse was a pretty big dud with Pitt turning the ball over on nearly 20% of their possessions in front of a lifeless home crowd in a game vs Syracuse that was never in question. The bright spots for Pitt have been Cameron Corhen and Omari Witherspoon who you feel at some point will both get hot enough to give Pitt their first win in ACC play and it might just happen this Wednesday!

Upcoming schedule: January 14th @ Georgia Tech 7pm ACCN, January 17th vs Louisville 8pm ESPN

Tournament outlook: #112 NET, Yeah man I think we’re just about done here

17. Florida State Seminoles 7-9 (0-3)

Last week: Lost vs N.C. State 113-69

Luke Loucks and Florida State looked like a decent surprise to start this year starting 5-1 with a close loss to the defending national champions in Gainesville but have gone just 2-8 since allowing 90 or more points in six of those contests. Florida St. plays at a breakneck pace with the 12th quickest tempo in all of D1 with an offense that can shoot it decently well but a defense that cedes it right back and then some. The loss to the Wolfpack at home on Saturday was a humiliating effort and the ‘Noles will find themselves favored in just one conference game the rest of the way according to KenPom.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th @ Syracuse 9pm ACCN, January 17th vs Wake Forest 6pm ESPN2/U

Tournament outlook: #131 NET, They are more likely to allow 131 points in a game this year

18. Boston College 7-9 (0-3)

Last week: Lost 79-71 vs N.C. State, Lost 75-62 @ Louisville

Boston College shoots under 30% from 3, under 50% from 2, and under 70% from the FT line this year. Boston College has losses to Florida Atlantic, Central Connecticut State, Davidson, Tulane, and UMASS this year. Any bubble team that loses to Boston College is liable to be court martialed. Despite all these stats they actually led in the 2nd half vs Louisville before bowing out as the 2nd half waned on. It genuinely seems like a matter of if not when Boston College wins an ACC game this year.

Upcoming schedule: January 13th @ Clemson 7pm ACCN, January 17th vs Syracuse 2pm ACCN

Tournament outlook: #176 NET, No