ACC Men’s Basketball power rankings and new year’s resolutions

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team is ready to move onto 2023 after a disappointing 2022- a year in which the Orange had a record of 18-17. After beating Boston College, where does Syracuse land in our ACC Power Rankings?

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 (13-1, 4-0)

Miami has a chance to put themselves into the Top 10 before they head to Duke later this month, so their resolution should be not to overlook the bottom of the ACC if they want to land a protected seed in March.

2) Virginia Cavaliers (10-2, 2-1)

Raise your hand if you thought Virginia-Pitt was going to be a compelling game....now put them down liars. Tony Bennett’s resolution is to find that voodoo that worked in their NCAA title run and release it on this team.

3) Duke Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1)

Duke’s loaded with a number of highly recruited players but Northwestern transfer Ryan Young might be the most effective player right now. If the Blue Devils are going to make a deep run they’ll need Dereck Lively to become a more impactful player.

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

4) Clemson Tigers (11-3, 3-0)

I have no idea if Clemson is actually good or not. Just going to point out to a lot of Syracuse fans that finishing in the top 5 or 6 of this weak ACC is not going to automatically get you in the NCAA Tournament. As for the Tigers, we wish that 2023 brings them a couple of home NIT games so Dabo can get the camera time he missed by not making the CFP.

5) Pittsburgh Panthers (10-4, 3-0)

Jeff Capel might have figured out the formula- which was basically getting transfers to replace his mediocre recruits. However we wish he figured out some common sense and left Dior Johnson on the sidelines, but he can’t ever expect a college coach/admin to do the right thing.

6) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-4, 2-1)

This team is going to be up and down because they don’t take care of the ball and lack a rim protector. They can get it going on offense well enough to overcome those issues but Steve Forbes’ health would benefit from better ball-handling in 2023.

7) North Carolina Tar Heels (9-5, 1-2)

The worst defense in the ACC. Yes, even worse than Louisville. Hubert Davis’ wish had to be for someone on his team to find the desire to play defense.

8) Virginia Tech Hokies (11-3, 1-2)

Losing to Wake is better than losing to BC but the Hokies can’t keep dropping road games. Their wish for 2023 is recapture last season’s ACCT play and channel it into the regular season.

9) Syracuse Orange (9-5, 2-1)

The time is now for Syracuse’s young players to find consistency. January is the make or break month for this team and we hope that Jim Boeheim remembers that his two best players are Jesse Edwards and Judah Mintz and designs his offense accordingly.

10) NC State Wolfpack (11-4, 1-3)

Another year of NC State being reduced to a spoiler role. We hope Kevin Keatts adds to his impressive footwear collection because he’s probably not long for the ACC at this rate.

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

Speaking of spoilers, Baba Miller is set to return from the ridiculous NCAA suspension so Leonard Hamilton’s 2023 might get better quickly. It will be curious to see how the freshman from Spain impacts the ‘Noles.

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

12) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-6, 0-3)

Is it wrong if we ask for their resolution to be sending JJ Starling home next season?

13) Boston College Eagles (7-7, 1-2)

Now that their visit to Syracuse has concluded, we hope BC gets a road win in 2023.

14) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-6, 0-3)

We don’t wish Georgia Tech any wins until November 2023. Just want to make it clear before the Orange head to Atlanta.

15) Louisville Cardinals (2-12, 0-3)

What do you wish for the team that needs everything? We can start by granting them one game at the ACC Tournament. A trip to Greensboro is too good for this squad but it’s not the fault of the players.

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What did we get wrong this week?