ACC men’s basketball power rankings for December 23rd

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team is on their holiday break, but we have some gifts to deliver them and the rest of the ACC.

Don’t ask us to explain our ratings system- just be grateful that Fake Nunes Statistical Index staff has steady work in this economy.

Now let’s get to this week’s rankings...

1) Miami Hurricanes (12-1, 3-0)

Miami is back in the Top 25 and they knocked off Tony Bennett’s Wahoo Warblers this week. The Hurricanes are athletic and strong offensively and like last year they are a team you want to slow the pace against.

2) Virginia Cavaliers (8-2, 1-1)

Hard to penalize Virginia for a close road loss to our #1 team. There are some concerns about go-to scorers...well except when they play Syracuse because we know Kihei Clark will undoubtedly take over.

3) Duke Blue Devils (10-3, 1-1)

Speaking of road losses, Duke suffered one to Wake but without two starters. Depth has to be a little concern for this group.

4) Clemson Tigers (10-3, 2-0)

Do they deserve to be here? Well they didn’t lose to Boston College so why not.

5) North Carolina Tar Heels (9-4, 1-1)

Congratulations to Eric Church’s favorite squad for winning the prestigious Jumpman Invitational.

6) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1)

They got the win over Duke and that’s enough to rise up our rankings, as well as in the hearts of basketball fans everywhere.

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

7) Virginia Tech Hokies (11-2, 1-1)

Just when we hype up the Hokies they go and lose to BC. That’s not good for them or the league.

8) Pittsburgh Panthers (9-4, 2-0)

We tried to warn you last week...we should have warned you that Chris Spatola might start singing.

Something to keep an eye on is that Nelly Cummings is starting to get a little hot in herre. The Colgate transfer has at least 15 points and 5 assists in three of the last four games.

9) Syracuse Orange (8-5, 1-1)

It feels like the Orange are going to really regret the last minute from the other night.

10) NC State Wolfpack (11-3, 1-2)

Tough to tell if NC State is just good enough to play other teams close or if they’ll be able to finish higher up in the ACC. Beating Louisville doesn’t really tell us anything.

11) Florida State Seminoles (4-10, 2-1)

They split on the week but a win over Notre Dame is enough to keep them ahead of the Irish. It’s probably going to be awkward when they end up getting the 5 seed in the ACC Tournament.

Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports

12) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-5, 0-2)

First they take away the Jacket Toss, then they decide to not even give the Orange a decent win because they start losing to everyone. Big lump of coal in Mike Brey’s stocking.

13) Boston College Eagles (7-6, 0-1)

BC made sure Virginia Tech won’t stay ranked for long. It’s going to be a fun winter for Jim Phillips as he watches his at-large options drop games to the bottom of the league.

14) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-5, 0-2)

Speaking of which, can’t wait to see who Georgia Tech knocks off in January.

15) Louisville Cardinals (2-11, 0-3)

Ok, maybe not every ACC team will play spoiler.

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