ACC basketball rankings: Duke and Virginia hold down top two spots

Open and honest admission, last week we skipped over rankings because I was lazy and decided not to do it. That’s the astonishing level of commitment that we’ve come to expect around these parts, but fear not as ACC basketball rankings are back after a two-week hiatus.

Duke is still really good as is Virginia as the former has the best offense in the country while the latter has the best (or second best) defense. Those two have solidified their spot atop the rankings while the rest of the pack lags behind.

1. Duke (9-1)

No change at the top as Duke continues to dunk past its opponents. The Blue Devils have dominated on the hardwood and the media landscape by blowing out every team on its schedule that wasn’t in Maui. RJ Barrett sweeps as both Player and Rookie of the Week in the ACC.

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2. Virginia (9-0)

All Tony Bennett ever does is win (in the regular season). The Hoos have held over half of its opponents to under 50 points this season with that pack-line defense that you’re tired of hearing about. Virginia has a pair of wins against ranked Big Ten opponents in Maryland and Wisconsin and looks to be in cruise control in conference play.

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3. North Carolina (7-2)

Right now in the conference standings it’s Duke, Virginia and the rest of the pack. UNC suffered losses to Texas and Michigan and looked out of sorts while doing it. Roy Williams has a tough two game stretch coming up against a Gonzaga team who beat Mike Hopkins and Washington at the buzzer but followed that up with a loss to Tennessee. The Heels then square up against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic — those two college basketball blue bloods have produced some of the most epic games in recent memory.

4. Florida State (8-1)

FSU has recently picked up a pair of solid wins against a struggling-against-ranked-opponents Purdue squad and against UConn. The Seminoles are expected to return Phil Cofer from injury soon.

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5. Virginia Tech (8-1)

Va Tech holds down the five spot for now but faces off against Hop and Washington this weekend. Buzz Williams and co. blew out Washington at Madison Square Garden last year by dissecting the 2-3.

6. Syracuse (7-2)

Back in the hearts of the AP Top 25 poll, Syracuse picked up a win over Georgetown on Saturday which solidified its spot at No. 6. Tyus Battle leads the entire ACC in career points and upped to his 20-point game career total to match his jersey number.

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7. NC State (8-1)

Don’t look now but NC State is slowly climbing up the rankings with its only loss on the road to Wisconsin and a key win over Vandy last week. Kevin Keatts has his guys balling on the court and he stays balling off of it — the Wolfpack head coach might have the best shoe game in the conference staying dripped out in some Gucci gear.

8. Clemson (6-3)

Clemson has only lost to a pair of teams in Nebraska and Mississippi State. Marcquise Reed is one of the best scorers in the conference, he’ll need some more help to get the Tigers just over the hump but the other team in orange will have to wait until conference play to secure signature wins.

9. Louisville (6-3)

Louisville has surprised in year one under Chris Mack and took down Seton Hall — who just beat Kentucky at MSG — in Newark. Jordan Nwora still hasn’t seen a shot he doesn’t like and Ryan McMahon might be the most fun gunner to watch in all of college basketball. The Cards came up just short on the road to Romeo Langford and Indiana last weekend.

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10. Boston College (6-2)

BC is coming off a close loss to Providence in what was an absolute shootout. The walking bucket Ky Bowman is giving out over 19 points per game.

11. Pitt (7-3)

Pitt is actually very Caple-ble of competing this year. The same couldn’t be said a year ago.

12. Notre Dame (6-3)

Notre Dame is coming off a pair of brutal losses, including a game-winning three by UCLA in the final moments when the Irish were tied. Mike Brey’s team will look to bounce back against a Purdue team that has struggled against ranked opponents and not struggled against non-ranked opponents.

13. Georgia Tech (5-3)

Tech hasn’t done too much good other than beat bad teams, but it hasn’t done too much bad by losing to good teams. Three respectable losses to Tennessee, Northwestern and St. John’s keep it out last and second to last place.

14. Miami (5-4)

Miami has dropped four straight games to a pair of Ivy League schools and a pair of New Jersey schools. The only thing keeping the Hurricanes out of last place is the team below it that can’t seem to get out of its own way. Chris Lykes is balling for a bad team, though.

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15. Wake Forest (5-3)

Alternatively, Wake stands for wake the [redacted] up. A loss to Houston Baptist put the Deacs in the conference basement. A loss on the road at Richmond keeps it there even with a win over Charlotte last week.