It’s been less than a week since college hoops tipped off, and already there’s been plenty of turmoil. By no means has the ACC been spared from it, as high-ranked teams have suffered shocking losses while lower-ranked ones have garnered impressive wins. College basketball has only been back for a week, and already there’s plenty of movement among the 15 ACC teams. Let’s dive in and check it out.
Tier 1
1) Virginia –
Despite suffering a shocking loss to San Francisco while at the Mohegan Sun’s Bubbleville, the Hoos stay put atop these power rankings. They looked like the best team in the country after the 89-54 shellacking of Towson, but were terrible in the following stunner. The truth is that every team goes through their ups and downs, and with the shortened preseason this year that is especially true. Virginia has a collection of great players, and they need some time to foster the chemistry that is needed for them to play to their potential on both sides of the ball. The Hoos still look like the best team in this conference.
2) North Carolina –
While Virginia did stay first, the tier separating them from North Carolina and Duke in our preseason rankings is now gone. It took Carolina some time to get going in their opener against College of Charleston, but once they did the Heels were rolling. Caleb Love looks to be a better, smarter point guard than Cole Anthony was. He led the team with 17 points in the opener, and fellow freshmen RJ Davis and Day’Ron Sharp went for 11 and 13, respectively. This Tar Heel team looks to be deeper than previously expected, and the defense was a pleasant surprise as well in a good first game.
3) Duke –
Duke started one freshman and four returners in their first game, which is a ratio that is normally flipped. With so many returners in the starting lineup, one might expect a higher degree of maturity. Alas, the Blue Devils managed to turn the ball over a shameful 22 times on their way to a closer-than-expected 10 point win. They actually lost the second half by seven, squandering a 17-point halftime lead and allowing Coppin State to get within six at one point. Duke only goes about seven deep this season, and while those seven are all very talented, they, like Virginia, clearly need some time to gel.
Tier 2
4) Florida State –
The Noles were scheduled to open the season by taking on Gardner-Webb, but that game fell through after members of the Bulldogs contracted Covid-19. Florida State will have to wait until December 2 and North Florida to take the court, but in the meantime FSU fans should be getting excited about their team. MJ Walker will return, and the addition of Scottie Barnes means that Florida State will once again be near the top of the conference.
5) Louisville –
Louisville’s gotten in three quick games to start the season, and they’ve resulted in three wins. Crushing victories over Evansville and Prairie View A&M fell on either side of a close 71-70 win over Seton Hall, which needed some clutch free throws by J.J. Traynor to go Louisville’s way. Carlik Jones has been the standout for Chris Mack, averaging 18 points, 9.5 boards, and 6.5 assists. There hasn’t been anything awe-inspiring out of the Cardinals yet, but they look like a consistent, confident team.
Tier 3
6) Miami –
Miami opened their season with North Florida, and cruised to a comfortable 18-point win. The good news coming out of that game was that it’s clear that everybody on this team that plays can score; the bad news that there’s only seven guys that are going to get significant minutes. Miami has strong guard play in Chris Lykes, Isaiah Wong, and Kameron McGusty, but the jury is still out on their forwards. The Hurricanes face Purdue in a little over a week, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do against a power-conference team.
7) Clemson ▲2
Foul trouble plagued Aamir Simms throughout Clemson’s opening game against Mississippi State, limiting him to 8 minutes. That made the win that followed even more impressive, showing that the Tigers might not have to be dependent on Simms to carry the scoring load. With his return in the Purdue game, Simms went for 24 points, 4 assists, 3 boards, and 2 steals and was a big factor in a 28-point increase between games. The biggest takeaway from their opening two games is that Simms won’t be alone, and really that Clemson goes about eight deep and are a lot better than expected.
8) Virginia Tech ▲3
Well, consider me impressed. The Hokies played a phenomenal game against Villanova at Bubbleville, and despite choking it into overtime managed to dominate the extra period and grab a huge win. This jump may be a bit premature given that Mike Young’s team beat the third-ranked team early on a year ago before sucking the rest of the way. But they’ve been impressive against a couple of good teams, and Keve Aluma has been really good for the Hokies. We’ll see, but Virginia Tech is off to a great start.
9) NC State ▲1
It’s unwise to set too much store by early-season games against weak opposition, yet it’s undeniable that NC State has looked good thus far. The Wolfpack dropped 95 and 86 points in their first two games of the season, but that’s not the impressive part. What has been surprising from Kevin Keatts’s team is that it’s come from a number of different players, and especially that they’ve played pretty solid defense. It’s hard to trust in NC State after their inconsistent last few seasons, but the first couple of games indicate a more balanced team.
10) Boston College ▲4
The highest jumper from the preseason rankings, Boston College has been shockingly good over their first two games. While it does seem that Villanova is not as good as expected, they’re still a top-15 caliber team and keeping it close with them is no mean feat. The following win over Rhode Island, a solid A-10 team, was similarly positive, and the fact that they did it without Jay Heath makes it even more so. Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s too early to make definitive judgements. With that said, BC is clearly a whole lot better than predicted.
11) Syracuse ▼3
Syracuse avoided an embarrassing loss to unheralded Bryant to open the season. While they came out on top by a point, that does nothing to alleviate the fears that were raised. The 85 points that they amounted is a good sign that the Cuse may be able to fill the void that Elijah Hughes left, with Dolezaj and Boeheim looking especially good. But allowing 84 points to any team, much less a middle-of-the-pack NEC one, is never a good sign. It’s true that the Bears had time to plan for the trademark 2-3 zone, and it was the first game for the Orange, so maybe this game will prove to be the outlier.
Tier 4
12) Georgia Tech ▼5
It’s tough to put into words how very disappointing Georgia Tech’s start to the season has been. On the one hand, Moses Wright has been incredible and Devoe and Alvarado have been very good. On the other, it’s become glaringly apparent that Josh Pastner’s team cannot defend. Obviously, the 123 points allowed to Georgia State was a result of the four overtimes. However, the teams were knotted at 77 after regulation, and Mercer walked into Atlanta and scored 83 a few days later. Ultimately, it seems that the Yellow Jackets can’t defend well enough to win games.
13) Notre Dame –
Don’t be fooled by the 10 points that separated Notre Dame and Michigan State; the game was never that close. Still, the Spartans are a quality opponent, making the 70-point outing a positive. As expected, the Fighting Irish are going to live and die by the shot of Prentiss Hubb, who shot it an astounding 22 times in the opener. He had some help from his fellow guards, and Nate Laszewski was decent from the forward spot. The team is very thin though, and there’s not much hope for the Irish this season.
14) Wake Forest ▲1
Congratulations, Wake Forest! You are no longer last! Let the celebration begin for Steve Forbes and his Demon Deacons. Wake has been far from inspiring, but unlike five other ACC teams, they’ve avoided losing. In fact, they have the largest margin of victory for an ACC team this season, smashing Delaware State by 60 points. That game was followed by a close one against Longwood, but it’s all well and good because the Deacs are undefeated through two games, an accomplishment that they could not claim a year ago.
15) Pittsburgh ▼3
Pitt opened the season with a 10-point loss to Saint Francis (PA), and it was never really close. The Red Flash looked like the power-conference school, not the woeful Panthers, who followed the loss up with a single-digit win over Drexel. Justin Champagnie and Xavier Johnson have been good as expected, and Au’diese Toney has been a surprise. Despite those three playing very well, Pitt has looked lost on the defensive end, and the signs point towards a rough season.
Image – UVA Athletics