ACC Basketball Rankings Jan. 11-18: Miami Makes Biggest Move

You know ACC basketball is in full swing when conference play starts. Duke goes down at Georgia Tech. Miami and Wake Forest play to the final seconds with Miami prevailing. It's going to be a fun season in the ACC. It's as balanced top to bottom as I've seen in recent memory.

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1) Duke Blue Devils (13-2, 1-1) Last week — 1

I'm not going to penalize Duke too much for a four-point loss on the road to a top 25 team in Georgia Tech. That's the way it goes in the ACC sometimes. If there was anything that did concern me about the game for Duke, it's that in recent years if the three doesn't fall, the Blue Devils have trouble scoring. They shot 21 percent from three-point range and were nearly 20 points below their yearly scoring average. They did beat Iowa State by 21 points in Chicago. Their next two games are at home against Boston College on Wednesday and Wake Forest, Sunday.

2) North Carolina Tar Heels (12-4, 1-0) Last week — 2

The Heels had a surprising loss to College of Charleston earlier in the week 82-79. Marcus Ginyard didn't play, but that's still not a game they should be losing. They rebounded with a nice home win over Virginia Tech 78-64. Larry Drew II had 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting against the Hokies. If the Heels can get that kind of production from Drew, plus if Ginyard gradually gets his legs back, this team is still one of the ACC's best. A road game at Clemson and a home game against Georgia Tech are up this week.

3) Miami Hurricanes (15-1, 1-1) Last week — 6

I'm ready to buy into the Hurricanes now. Are they a top 10 team? No, I don't think so, but they can definitely get to the NCAA tournament. This week they defeated a solid Wake Forest team 67-66 in Miami. Dwayne Collins had 23 points in the win. The Canes lead the ACC with nearly nine three-pointers made a game. If Miami can win both their road games this week at Virginia and at Virginia Tech, I'll say they can be a legitimate threat to contend for the ACC title. We'll just see if that happen. In any case I think the Canes are pretty darn good.

4) Florida State Seminoles (13-3, 1-1) Last week — 3

Florida State already has one really good ACC road win—the victory a few weeks ago at Georgia Tech. They couldn't get another one at Maryland against an inspired Terrapins squad. They lost 77-68 on Sunday. Nothing for 'Nole fans to panic about. Florida State still lead the ACC in scoring defense. They get two home games with NC State and Virginia Tech this week. Win both and FSU will be 3-1 to start the ACC year. That would be an impressive beginning to the season if they can pull it off.

5) Clemson Tigers (13-3, 1-1) Last week — 4

Clemson only had one game this week, and they looked good in it. They defeated Boston College in a game they comfortably led most of the way. Trevor Booker had 19 points and Demontez Stitt had 15. This week will go a long way to proving if the Tigers are contenders or pretenders. They have a huge game at home against North Carolina then Saturday on the road at North Carolina State.

6) Virgina Tech Hokies (12-2, 0-1) Last week — 5

The Hokies actually played relatively well in their only game of the week at North Carolina. They led the Heels 38-34 at the half, before falling 78-64. Malcolm Delaney had 26 points in the loss. Miami comes to Virginia Tech on Wednesday before the Hokies head to Florida State on Saturday. The Hokies can't afford an 0-3 start, so this week is critical for them.

7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-3, 1-1) Last week — 8

Georgia Tech lost at short-handed Georgia 73-66, but turn around and got one of their biggest wins in years, beating the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils 71-67. If Tech was going to go 1-1 during the week, this is much better than beating UGA and losing to Duke. Note for Paul Hewitt: Run every offensive possession through Gani Lawal. Lawal willed the Jackets to victory over Duke. If the Jackets can go no worse than 1-1 this week with road games at Virginia and North Carolina, they'll be in solid shape for the rest of the ACC stretch run. They don't need to fall to 1-3 in the ACC.

8) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-3, 1-1) Last week — 7

If the Demon Deacons could have come up with a win down in Miami, I would have put them in my top 5, but they fell just short, 67-66. Hey it's the ACC this season. Winning on the road will get you bonus points. Al-Farouq Aminu only had nine points against the Canes on 3-of-12 shooting. They have a critical home game with Maryland Tuesday before playing at Duke on Sunday.

9) Maryland Terrapins (10-4, 1-0) Last week — 9

The Terps came up with a solid home victory over Florida State, 77-68 Sunday. Greivis Vasquez had a strong game, scoring 22 points with five assists. Maryland has a couple of tricky road games coming up, Tuesday at Wake Forest and then Saturday at Boston College.

10) Virginia Cavaliers (9-4, 1-0) Last week — 11

Lost in some of the ACC's higher profile games was an eye-opening 70-62 Virginia win at North Carolina State. The Cavs best player Sylven Landesberg had 23 in the win. Do you realize if the Cavaliers can win both their home games this week they'll be 3-0 in the ACC? Georgia Tech is Wednesday and Miami is Saturday.

11) North Carolina State Wolfpack (11-5, 0-2) Last week — 10

The Wolfpack are one hard luck team. They took care of Holy Cross 87-70, but lost a game at home that's going to be difficult to recover from, a 70-62 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers. The Wolfpack led by 10 in the 2nd half and still found a way to lose. NC State is getting killed on the boards. They are 11th in the ACC in offensive rebounding and 12th in defensive rebounding. This week is a game at Florida State and then Clemson at home. If NC State falls to 0-4 in the ACC it could become a really long season for the Pack.

12) Boston College Eagles (10-6, 1-1) Last week — 12

The week went about as expected for Boston College. They got an easy win over New Jersey Tech 89-32 but were no match for Clemson, losing by 16 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Eagles don't shoot the three-pointer well. They are last in the ACC in three-point percentage, and that will lead to teams just daring them to shoot the outside shot. BC plays at Duke this week then Saturday against Maryland at home. I don't see BC winning at Duke, but they better beat the Terps.