[dropcap]H[/dropcap]appy holidays from those of us here at The Pit to our readers!
Beginning this week, The Pit will begin looking at the ACC at-large and ranking the teams based on schedule, performance and highlights. With the exception of four teams that got conference play going early, the ACC schedule isn’t set to begin until after the New Year.
The ACC is considered one of the toughest and most dominant conferences in college basketball, and so far this season, that cannot be argued. Five teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 (#2 Duke, #4 Louisville, #5 Virginia, #16 Notre Dame and #20 North Carolina) while all but one currently have a record over .500.
1. Duke
Duke is the No. 2 ranked team in the country and rightfully so. After an early victory over then-No. 19 Michigan State, beating then-No. 2 Wisconsin earlier this month and winning by no fewer than 10 points in any contest this season, the Blue Devils are early favorite to take the conference. In their last game (Thursday, December 18), Duke soundly beat Connecticut, 66-56. While Jahlil Okafor leads the Blue Devils averaging 17.4 ppg, it was Tyrus Jones putting up 21 points that put them over the Huskies.
2. Louisville
Despite being ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25, Louisville hasn’t faced a stable of quality opponents. The Cardinals last game (Saturday, December 2o) was against Western Kentucky of Conference USA, in which they remained undefeated with a 76-67 win. Terry Rozier exploded in the game though, scoring 32 points, including an 11-of-13 mark from the free throw line. He averages 16.8 ppg.
3. Virginia
The fifth-ranked team in the country, Virginia soundly beat Harvard on Sunday (December 21), 76-27. Justin Anderson leads the Cavaliers, scoring just over 15 ppg with a 56-percent shooting percentage. However, the junior scored just 8 points in the match up. Mike Tobey and Michael Brogdon each tallied 15 points with the Virginia bench contributing 33 points.
4. Notre Dame
Notre Dame leads the nation in shooting, averaging 55.3-percent with the sixth-best scoring team in the nation, averaging 85.7 ppg. Jerian Grant leads the Irish in scoring with 18.2 ppg while Pat Connaughton leads in rebounds, averaging 8.2. The Irish have scored at least 70 points in every game so far this year while facing a better group of teams, including Michigan State, Purdue and UMass. Early in the season, the Irish lost to Providence, 74-74. On December 13, Notre Dame beat Florida State 83-63 to give them the top spot in ACC standings early.
5. Miami (FL)
The Hurricanes have taken down some heavy hitters early in the season, including Florida and Illinois. But Monday night, they lost their third game this season to Providence, a team that now has a 3-0 record against ACC opponents this year.
6. NC State
NC State has suffered three tough losses this year, including their most recent to West Virginia. Trevor Lacey led the Wolfpack with 24 points while Anthony Barber contributed with 16 of his own, but it wasn’t enough to fight back against the Mountaineers, who won 83-69. NC State has also lost to Purdue and Wofford this year.
7. Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech has faced a relatively weak non-conference schedule, with their most notable win coming Monday against Vanderbilt, 65-60. The Yellow Jackets will open ACC play Jan. 3 against the Fighting Irish.
8. North Carolina
The Tar Heels have faced one of the toughest non-conference schedules, which included a loss to the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. North Carolina’s last win came Saturday against No. 12 Ohio State, 82-74. Brice Johnson, who’s averaging just under 12 ppg, sunk 8-of-10 field goals and notched both shots from the line to lead the Tar Heels with 18 points over the Buckeyes.
9. Pitt
Pitt survived the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Saturday night after a tough overtime performance, winning 81-77. Four players totaled over 15 points: Michael Young (19), James Robinson (18), Cameron Wright (16) and Chris Jones (16). Young leads Pitt with 13.7 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per game. He had 7 rebounds against Oakland.
10. Boston College
Boston College fell to 6-4 on the year after suffering a 75-71 loss to USC Sunday. The Eagles are averaging just 67.5 points per game, with Olivier Hanlan averaging 16 ppg and Aaron Brown just behind with 15.5 ppg.
11. Clemson
Fourteen Oakland turnovers worked in favor of the Tigers as they also held off the Golden Grizzlies, 70-60, Monday night. Jaron Blossomgame exploded for 26 points, sinking 8-of-10 shots, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 7-of-8 from the line. Landry Nnoko contributed with 17 points of his own in the performance. Clemson’s most notable win this season was in overtime against then-No. 18 Arkansas.
12. Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech has only won loss to a major team in Penn State, with their other three losses coming from mid-major teams. Tech won Monday against the VMI Keydets, 87-74.
13. Syracuse
Syracuse has suffered losses against both ranked teams they have faced this year: Michigan and Villanova. The Orange did dominate Colgate Monday, however, 78-43.
14. Florida State
Florida State is already 0-1 in the ACC after suffering a loss earlier this month to Notre Dame. They’ve lost to Northeastern, Providence and UMass in the first half of the season as well. The Seminoles narrowly beat Stetson Monday, 63-59, and will face in-state rival Florida next week.
15. Wake Forest
After Monday’s 60-53 win over Bucknell, Wake Forest has a .500 record at 6-6. Like the Seminoles, they are also 0-1 in the ACC after an early loss to NC State. Wake Forest is 21st in the country in rebounding, averaging 40.8 per game, but only average 69.8 ppg. Codi-Miller McIntyre leads the team with 13.1 ppg.
