There’s a new number one, not in the ACC but in college basketball at large, and that ranking belongs to the Duke Blue Devils. After a wild #1 vs #3 matchup where Duke led for the entire second half the Blue Devils are the new #1 in the land but they’re not the only ACC team who was in action this past week! We’ve got a lot to cover here as we enter the last week of February so let’s get into it.
1. Duke Blue Devils 25-2 (14-1)
Last week: Won 101-64 vs Syracuse, Won 68-63 vs Michigan
Duke cemented themselves as the new number one team in America with an emphatic week that featured the demolition of Syracuse at home before the titular matchup with former #1 Michigan. Michigan led in the early stages and both teams traded blows until a 12-2 Duke run that spanned from the end of the 1st half to the opening minutes of the 2nd gave the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish. It would remain a very tight lead for Duke but every time Michigan got close, such as cutting it to a 57-56 lead with under four minutes remaining the Blue Devils would immediately respond with a bucket. Michigan needed one stop to get a chance to tie at the end but Patrick Ngongba got his own miss and Isaiah Evans knocked down his free throws to put Duke up by 5 with 14 seconds left. Cameron Boozer had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks on 6-10 shooting and was one of four Duke players in double figures. Duke’s defense was once again suffocating as Michigan shot 6-25 from 3 and Elliot Cadeau the former Tar Heel was held to 1-8 from the field. Where the game was truly won was on the boards as Duke owned a 41-28 advantage which showed itself in the final minutes. Now Duke will look to defend its ranking in a week that starts with a road trip to an injury riddled and listless Notre Dame team that serves as a footnote to the heavyweight ACC bout taking place in Durham on Saturday. A showdown with 2nd place Virginia led by Ryan Odom and a classic UVA defense paired with an uncharacteristically good UVA offense paves the way for one of the best games of the season.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th @ Notre Dame 7pm ESPN, February 28th vs Virginia 12pm ESPN
Tournament outlook: #2 NET, Don’t lose to Notre Dame
Bracket Matrix: 121/121 , Average seed: 1.00
2. Virginia Cavaliers 24-3 (12-2)
Last week: Won 94-68 @ Georgia Tech, Won 86-83 vs Miami
UVA won their seventh and eighth consecutive games this past week to set themselves up for a potentially season-defining week upcoming. In their first game the Cavaliers put GT to the sword in a blowout win on the road where they had a lead as big as 67-29 in the second half of an ACC road game. And on Saturday in Charlottesville the Cavaliers overcame an early double digit deficit against Miami and a late 12-2 run by the Hurricanes to eke out a 3 point win against the ACC’s third place team. Jacari White led the Hoos in scoring off the bench with 17 while 6 total UVA players had double figures. Now UVA goes from one year one program turn around to another as N.C. State comes to town on Tuesday before traveling to Durham to try and stake their claim for the ACC regular season crown. Against the Wolfpack the UVA defense is going to have its work cut out for it going against one of the most prolific offensive teams in the league led by preseason player of the year Darrion Williams and potential All-ACC point guard Quadir Copeland. UVA is going to have to crash the boards hard to get extra possessions against this team. Then on Saturday you get one of the best star on star matchups in the ACC as Thijs De Ridder vs Cameron Boozer will headline a massive game that could all but decide the ACC regular season championship. A UVA team that can actually shoot is already interesting enough but seeing how that might travel to Cameron Indoor is enthralling.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th vs NCSU 7pm ACCN, February 28th @ Duke 12pm ESPN
Tournament outlook: #15 NET, One final effort
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 4.07
3. Miami Hurricanes 21-6 (10-4)
Last week: Won 67-66 vs VT, Lost 86-83 @ Virginia
Miami kept themselves afloat in the hunt for the double BYE in the ACC tournament going 1-1 across two very tightly contested games. Virginia Tech was in a desperate hunt for a big time win for their NCAAT hopes and they played like it shooting 40% from 3 and leading by 3 with just over a minute remaining before Tre Donaldson tied the game with the longball and giving Miami the lead going 1-2 from the line with 12 seconds remaining. Donaldson finished with 32 points which accounted for nearly half of Miami’s total on the night. Then in Charlottesville Miami led 24-13 out of the gate before the game became a heavily fought tightwire match that saw both teams shoot over 50% from the field and a late Miami rally came up just short. The Hurricanes get a chance to avenge an earlier loss as they take on one of the ACC’s hottest teams in Florida State on the road before a home game vs Boston College rounds out their week. The Hurricanes should be solidly in the tournament now barring a complete and total disaster and now the road game at FSU is a Quad 1 win opportunity!
Upcoming schedule: February 24th @ FSU 9pm ACCN, February 28th vs BC 2pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #35 NET, Don’t lose this week
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 8.43
4. North Carolina State Wolfpack 19-8 (10-4)
Last week: Won 82-58 vs UNC
The Wolfpack just had one game this past week and boy did they make it count, dropping the banhammer on a Wilson and Veesaarless UNC squad in a blowout win at the Lenovo Center. That win put the Wolfpack in a great position to earn themselves a double bye in the ACC tournament as they now sit a game ahead of UNC and are one up in the loss column with the tiebreaker over Clemson. Without a weekend game the Pack get a week off between big games as on Tuesday they’ll travel to face the 2nd place Virginia Cavaliers. This would easily be State’s biggest win and would likely bump them up to the 6 seed line but that is easier said than done. The offensive firepower of N.C. State is their biggest selling point here as if they have a hot day from 3 it is hard for any team to keep up. State is going to have to clamp down on the boards as they struggle giving up offensive rebounds and second chance points and Virginia is excellent at that. Then State wraps up their week with a road trip to South Bend to take on an injured and reeling Notre Dame team that should pose little to no threat.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th @ UVA 7pm ACCN, February 28th @ ND 12pm The CW
Tournament outlook: #26 NET, Don’t lose this week dude
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 7.44
5. Clemson Tigers 20-8 (10-5)
Last week: Lost 85-77 @ Wake Forest, Lost 70-65 vs Florida State
The hits just keep coming huh? Clemson’s losing streak hits four as the Tigers put in another 0-2 this time against teams they really should have beaten. Juke Harris hit the Tigers for 20 and Clemson trailed by that many points in the first half in another poor showing from the 3 point line and charity stripe. The game vs FSU was much more competitive and featured nearly 30 lead changes but Clemson went cold at the wrong time, scoring 0 points after taking a 65-63 lead, and another game slipped away. This is Clemson’s first four game skid since 2022 and while the Tigers are still in position to make the dance they’re going to have to do a lot of soul searching if they’re going to be anything more than the most popular 10 over 7 upset pick in America. The good news is Clemson has a week to perform an exorcism of their choosing before hosting Louisville in a game that has taken on a huge meaning now. Can Clemson finally stop the skid? Once you hit 5 losses stuff starts to get really hazy.
Upcoming schedule:February 28th vs Louisville 2pm ESPN2
Tournament outlook: #38 NET, So you do remember the ball goes in the hoop right
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 7.60
6. North Carolina Tar Heels 21-6 (9-5)
Last week: Lost 82-58 @ N.C. State, Won 77-64 @ Syracuse
UNC was without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar and got absolutely smoked by rival N.C. State in Raleigh before getting Veesaar back for the Saturday date at Syracuse. The Estonian put up a team-leading 19 points to go along with 3 blocks as the Tar Heels won easily in New York. Syracuse shot 3-17 from 3 and had just 6 assists as the UNC defense was all over them. With Veesaar now back the Tar Heels stand a much better chance on a Big Monday showdown with Louisville, although there is still the issue of guarding the Cards. 53.1% of Louisville’s shot attempts on the season have come from beyond the arc which is a five-alarm fire when combined with the powder keg that is UNC’s perimeter defense. Mikel Brown Jr. is one of the top guards in America and UNC just does not have someone to match up with that right now. The good news for UNC is they will not leave the state of North Carolina until the NCAAT and on Saturday they host a desperate VT team that does not have a soul who can guard Henri Veesaar or Zayden High down low.
Upcoming schedule: February 23rd vs Louisville 7pm ESPN, February 28th vs VT 8:30pm ESPN2
Tournament outlook: #27 NET,
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 5.92
7. Louisville Cardinals 20-7 (9-5)
Last week: Lost 95-85 @ SMU, Won 87-70 vs Georgia Tech
Louisville dropped a tough one in Dallas last week where despite Mikel Brown Jr. ‘s 7 3s and 29 total points the Cardinals couldn’t keep up with the blistering SMU offense that shot 63% from 2 and 9-19 from deep. The Cardinals bounced back with a steady home win against Georgia Tech where they never trailed. Now a huge road trip awaits Pat Kelsey’s team as they look to climb the ACC standings and fight for a double BYE as Louisville travels to Chapel Hill before a Saturday showdown with a reeling Clemson team. The issues with UNC’s perimeter defense has been well documented and while UNC has the decided advantage in size and post play if Brown Jr. and Co. are feeling it from deep this could get explosive. Against Clemson Louisville has the disadvantage of playing a team coming off a week break but this Clemson team in their current form is a really favorable matchup for Louisville with poor defensive attentiveness and a scoring-adverse offense right now.
Upcoming schedule: February 23rd @ UNC 7pm ESPN, February 28th @ Clemson 2pm ESPN2
Tournament outlook: #13 NET, A 2-0 week could really change where they stand
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 5.63
8. SMU Mustangs 19-8 (8-6)
Last week: Won 95-85 vs Louisville, Won 94-70 vs Boston College
SMU had a 2-0 week that has put them in a phenomenal position for an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2017. A 10 point win over Louisville which saw Boopie Miller and Jaron Pierre combine for 48 points while Corey Washington poured in another 18 in an elite offensive performance at home. Then on Saturday the Mustangs avoided disaster by dispatching Boston College with minimal effort. SMU takes the thrilling ACC West Coast road trip this week with two Quad 1 opportunities that are absolutely massive. The teams themselves aren’t anything special, especially Stanford as of late, but a 2-0 week would put SMU at 6-6 against Q1 teams which would tie them for the second most such wins in the ACC. SMU should win both these games simply because they have two supernova capable players while Cal and Stanford both have just one. The game against Cal is likely to be a do or die game for the Golden Bears so SMU will have to bring the juice.
Upcoming schedule: February 25th @ Cal 10pm ACCN, February 28th @ Stanford 6pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #36 NET, Can potentially lock yourself in on Tuesday
Bracket Matrix: 121/121, Average seed: 8.98
9. California Golden Bears 19-8 (7-7)
Last week: Won 72-66 vs Stanford
Cal completed a season sweep of Stanford as they held the Cardinal to just 8-28 from 3 and under 40% from 2. Chris Bell, Dai Dai Ames, and John Camden combined for 55 of Cal’s 72 points in the win. Their tournament hopes aren’t completely dead but it all starts on Wednesday vs fellow ACC tournament hopeful SMU. The Bears are going to have to do what they’ve done to Ebuka Okorie and apply it to both Boopie Miller and Jaron Pierre but honestly does that sound very feasible to you guys? I am skeptical. The good news for Cal is that on Saturday they have a golden chance to get to 20 wins against Pitt! This has still been a successful season for the Golden Bears.
Upcoming schedule: February 25th vs SMU 10pm ACCN, February 28th vs Pitt 4pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #59 NET, BEARly hanging on,,,
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
10. Florida State Seminoles 14-13 (7-7)
Last week: Won 80-72 vs Boston College, Won 70-65 @ Clemson
Dr. State and Mr. Seminole continued their rampage through the middle class of the ACC and even scored a road upset victory as the ‘Noles are above .500 for the first time since December. Since January 20th FSU is 7-2 with the two losses being by 3 points to both SMU and UVA as Luke Loucks continues another impressive year one coaching display in the ACC. FSU returns home to host Miami looking to complete the season sweep of their hated rivals from South Beach and then go on the road to GT and it is honestly starting to look like the Seminoles are going to end the regular season above .500 which would have been unfathomable when they were the last remaining ACC team to not win a conference game.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th vs Miami 9pm ACCN, February 28th @ GT 12pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #74 NET, Hey look you became a Q1 road win
Bracket Matrix: 0/121,
11. Virginia Tech Hokies 18-10 (7-8)
Last week: Lost 67-66 @ Miami, Won 82-63 vs Wake Forest
Virginia Tech let another chance at a marquee win slip by with a last second loss in Coral Gables to Miami as VT couldn’t keep the Hurricanes off the offensive glass and Tre Donaldson torched them for 32 points. The good news for VT is they didn’t compound that with a bad loss to Wake Forest as VT held Juke Harris to 16 points on 17 shots and 6-30 from 3 as a team. Neoklis Avdalas had his best game in ACC play putting up 17 points and 7 assists. The Hokies get a week off to prepare for their last best chance at a big win as they take on a Caleb Wilsonless UNC team on Saturday. It is getting to the point where the Hokies might have to win both this game and the UVA one to end the season to get in the dance, but we’ll see.
Upcoming schedule: February 28th @ UNC 8:30pm ESPN2
Tournament outlook: #50 NET, Gotta have this one man
Bracket Matrix: 5/121, Average seed: 11.00
12. Syracuse Orange 15-13 (6-9)
Last week: Lost 101-64 @ Duke, Lost 77-64 vs UNC
Well the Syracuse redemption arc lasted about as long as Syracuse football’s time atop the ACC this year. The 5th worst loss in Orange hoops history on Monday against Duke followed up by a game against UNC where they never threatened just has to be the nail in the coffin for Autry right? When Syracuse was added to the ACC Big Monday games against Duke and ABC home tips against UNC were supposed to be appointment viewing, clash of the titans level stuff and now it is…this. The Orange get the week off before a road trip to Wake Forest. Donnie Freeman vs Juke Harris is at least a palatable matchup! I suppose.
Upcoming schedule: February 28th @ Wake Forest 5:45pm The CW
Tournament outlook: #76 NET, I mean that got really out of hand
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
13. Stanford Cardinal 16-11 (5-9)
Last week: Lost 72-66 @ Cal
The Stanford humiliation ritual continued with a road loss to Cal where the Cardinal shot 8-28 from 3 and 18-29 from the free throw line in a 6 point loss. Stanford is now 2-7 since the upset victory against UNC and the wins are against Georgia Tech and BC. Ebuka Okorie continued his phenomenal freshman campaign with the first double double of his career putting up 17 points and 13 rebounds. Stanford gets a two game set at home where they should nab a victory over Pitt before they try and drag SMU into the NIT with them on Saturday. Ebuka Okorie is going to everything he can to keep Stanford in that game against a less than stellar SMU defense but I don’t see a world where Stanford is able to contain Pierre and Miller.
Upcoming schedule: February 25th vs Pitt 8pm ACCN, February 28th vs SMU 6pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #72 NET, Yeah it’s still over
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 14-13 (5-9)
Last week: Won 85-77 vs Clemson, Lost 82-63 @ Virginia Tech
Wake Forest’s winning ways continued at home against Clemson where the Demon Deacons nabbed a nice home win where they really controlled the game for the vast majority of it. Clemson got it as close as a few possessions in the second half but Wake would always respond with buckets in kind from Harris or Myles Colvin who had 4 threes. The winning stopped in Blacksburg however, as Virginia Tech strangled the Deacs into a 6-30 day from beyond the arc and Juke Harris ended with more field goal attempts than points. Wake will look to bounce back with a lighter week against BC and Syracuse who they could potentially leap in the ACC standings with a win.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th @ BC 7pm ESPNU, February 28th vs Syracuse 5:45pm The CW
Tournament outlook: #65 NET, Can Steve Forbes finish hot enough to keep his job?
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
15. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12-15 (3-11)
Last week: Lost 73-68 @ Pitt
Without Markus Burton and Jalen Haralson Notre Dame’s path to winning games rests solely on the shoulders of Cole Certa and Braeden Shrewsberry, two of the ACC’s premiere 3 point shooters, getting good looks and knocking them down from beyond the arc. The Irish rode that to a win against GT but on Saturday we saw what can happen if those two don’t have it. The Irish got some fantastic looks all day but just none would fall and Notre Dame shot 9-38 from downtown and 7-14 from the FT line in a 5 point loss to Pitt. It is a loss that puts ND’s ACC Tournament hopes squarely in jeopardy and that is even before a brutal week of games. Notre Dame plays host to newly minted #1 Duke and the number beside their name is just about the only thing that might give the Irish some hope in this one as Notre Dame will look to record their 14th win over a #1 ranked squad at home, but unless Jerian Grant, Demetrius Jackson, Kelly Tripucka, Adrian Dantley, and Jack Cooley walk through those doors I still just can’t buy it. Then on Saturday the Irish will likely get buried under the immense weight of NCSU’s 3 point barrage.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th vs Duke 7pm ESPN, February 28th vs NCSU 12pm The CW
Tournament outlook: #89 NET, Well hey guys at least there’s Lacrosse now
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
16. Pittsburgh Panthers 10-17 (3-11)
Last week: Won 73-68 vs Notre Dame
Pitt snapped a 5 game losing streak on the back of an 11-24 day from beyond the arc while the Irish missed a trillion open 3s. Now their reward for that is playing on the west coast against two teams way better than Notre Dame. If the Panthers spring an upset on the road that could go a long way towards getting themselves into the ACC tournament.
Upcoming schedule: February 25th @ Stanford 8pm ACCN, February 28th @ Cal 4pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #122 NET, If every team shoots 9-38 from 3 you’re golden
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
17. Boston College Eagles 9-18 (2-12)
Last week: Lost 80-72 @ Florida State, Lost 94-70 @ SMU
Boston College continued their losing ways with an 0-2 week on the road against a FSU team that has seemingly already lapped the Eagles in the rebuilding process in one season and then being dismantled by SMU’s firepower. It has now been a calendar month since the Eagles last won a game and honestly they get probably their second best chance at one on Tuesday when they host Wake Forest. If you are a truly sick individual I’m sure you could derive some enjoyment from Juke Harris vs Donald Hand Jr. but under no circumstances should anyone watch what Miami will do to the Eagles on Saturday.
Upcoming schedule: February 24th vs Wake Forest 7pm ESPNU, February 28th @ Miami 2pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #165 NET, Will they win a game the rest of the season
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
18. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 11-17 (2-13)
Last week: Lost 94-68 vs UVA, Lost 87-70 @ Louisville
It is one thing to get blown out by a very good team, that’s something that happens a lot in college basketball! But then there is going down by nearly 40 at home and having under 30 points into the second half. Georgia Tech basketball seems all but done for at this point and I’m not really sure if Damon Stoudamire is going to survive this season. Beating FSU at home on Saturday would be a start but I can’t say I think that will happen.
Upcoming schedule: February 28th vs FSU 12pm ACCN
Tournament outlook: #171 NET, Woof
Bracket Matrix: 0/121
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