ACC men’s basketball power rankings: We’ve got a new #2

The next month is going to be interesting in the ACC. Is this league actually going to work against Duke’s chances for a top NCAA seed? Can the Syracuse Orange actually play themselves into a double-bye in Brooklyn? Let’s get to this week’s power rankings....

1) Duke Blue Devils- (19-3, 9-2 Last week: 1st)

Went into Chapel Hill and ended UNC’s dreams of a regular-season ACC title. Duke’s on another level from the rest of the league lately.

2) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-7, 9-3 Last week: 3rd)

Rebounded from a brutal offensive showing against Duke to take their next two games. Don’t look now but the Irish are Syracuse’s best remaining road win on the schedule.

3) Wake Forest Demon Deacons- (19-5, 9-4 Last week: 5th)

Big game next weekend when they host Miami as these teams push to end up opposite Duke in Brooklyn. You might not think that matters much but the difference in making the NCAA Tournament for some of these schools might be avoiding Duke as long as possible.

4) North Carolina Tar Heels: (16-7, 8-4 Last week: 4th)

Laid a big egg at home against Duke. Will be interesting to see how they respond this week.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

5) Miami Hurricanes: (16-7, 8-4 Last week: 2nd)

Losing two in a row takes you out of any discussion for the top spot and if Miami isn’t careful they are going to play themselves into hosting a NIT game.

6) Virginia Cavaliers (14-9, 8-5 Last week: 7th)

Tony Bennett’s crew took care of business last week and have a road game at Duke tonight to start making their case for that

7) Syracuse Orange (12-11, 6-6 Last week: 8th)

A three-game winning streak for the Orange should stretch to four as they head to Virginia Tech. Can they find enough wins to avoid playing on Wednesday in Brooklyn?

8) Florida State Seminoles (13-9, 6-6 Last week: 6th)

If Miami needs to look at anyone to see what can happen, it’s the Seminoles who are collapsing at a really bad time. Another two-loss week drops them and we’d put them lower but no one else is at .500 in the league right now.

9) Virginia Tech Hokies (13-10, 5-7 Last week: 12th)

Three wins in a row for the Hokies who the computers still love. It’s odd to think they might control their own NCAA destiny with their record, but it’s that kind of year.

Ryan Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

10) Clemson Tigers (12-10, 4-7 Last week: 10th)

Split their games last week and now they host UNC and Duke this week. We could see the Tigers make a big swing next week.

11) Boston College Eagles: (9-12, 4-7 Last week: 11th)

BC plays Syracuse, then Duke in Conte Forum which means they don’t have to travel far for this week’s road games.

12) Louisville Cardinals (11-12, 5-8 Last week: 9th)

Without Malik Williams this team is going to sink like one of the bricks they tossed up in the Carrier Dome over the weekend. I’ve never seen so many shots off the side of the backboard and I coached 4-5 year old basketball for two seasons.

13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: (10-14, 3-8 Last week: 15th)

Knocked off Clemson over the weekend so they might be the school who hurts the ACC’s at-large chances the most the final month. At this time next season Josh Pastner’s sideburns won’t fit inside his face shield.

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

14) NC State Wolfpack (10-14, 3-10 Last week: 13th)

NC State is in last place in the league but we can’t rank them below a team that doesn’t have double-digit wins on the season.

15) Pittsburgh Panthers (8-15, 3-9 Last week: 13th)

Not sure how Syracuse has lost three of their last four against this program. Curse of Carl Krauser?

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Where did we go wrong this week? Which teams do you think are going to find themselves in the mix for the 4th seed in the ACC Tournament?