ACC Basketball Rankings for Jan. 18-Jan. 25: North Carolina Tumbles Down

Good luck trying to predict what's going to happen week to week in the ACC this season.

Every team outside of Boston College is capable of finishing in the top four in the conference and getting an NCAA bid. Over the next few weeks, you'll start to gradually see some separation, but right now it's absolutely wide open. Teams ranked 3-10 are virtually interchangeable at this time. For ACC teams, winning at home is a must, and if you steal one on the road it's a bonus.

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1) Duke Blue Devils (15-2, 3-1) Last week: 1

In the wild and wacky ACC, the one constant is Duke at home. Two double-digit home wins this week—a 20 point win over Boston College and a 20 point win over Wake Forest.

The Devils are, at the moment, the class of the ACC, and that is with Kyle Singler in a big-time shooting slump. A tricky game at NC State is Wednesday, and then a big one at Clemson on Saturday. Remember, the Tigers ran Duke out of LittleJohn last year.

2) Clemson Tigers (15-3, 3-1) Last week: 5

The Tigers were impressive this past week. At home, they beat North Carolina by 19, and it was a beating. Then, they won at NC State 73-70. It doesn't matter if it was only a three-point win, because like I said, you'll take any road wins.

The one concern is the status of guard Demontez Stitt. He's doubtful for the Georgia Tech game Tuesday with a foot injury. The Blue Devils come to Clemson on Saturday and hopefully the Tiger's Stitt is 100 percent by then.

3) Florida State Seminoles (14-4, 2-2) Last week: 4

Is Florida State really the third-best team in the ACC? Sure, why not. Who else are you going put here? You can make an argument for six other teams being ranked No. 3 in the ACC. The Noles lost at home to NC State this week in an ugly effort in which they gave up 50 points in the second half, but they did come back and defeat Virginia Tech at home 63-58.

I think the Noles defense, which is still No. 1 in the ACC in scoring and FG percentage, will make them more consistent over the long haul than most other ACC teams. If the Noles are as good as I think they are, they won't lose to Georgia Tech at home on Sunday.

4) Virginia Cavaliers (11-4, 3-0) Last week: 10

I think it's about time to start giving the Cavaliers some respect. They've won seven games in a row, and this week beat Georgia Tech 82-75 and Miami 75-57. Sylven Landesburg is the star, but F Mike Scott has played well this year, giving the Cavs a better than expected front line. He's averaging 13 points and eight rebounds a game. Virginia plays at Wake Forest on the 23rd. Could it really start the ACC season 4-0?

5) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-4, 2-2) Last week: 7

Well, I thought if the Jackets could go 1-1 last week with road games at Virginia and UNC, they'd be in good shape going forward in the ACC. They went 1-1, but, like the week before, not the way I expected.

Losing at Virginia doesn't look that bad now, and winning at North Carolina is really good anytime. Iman Shumpert scored 30 at Carolina in his best game as a Yellow Jacket. Georgia Tech has to keep the momentum going. This week is Clemson on Tuesday and at Florida State on Sunday.

6) North Carolina Tar Heels (12-6, 1-2) Last week: 2

What in Dean Smith is going on at North Carolina? The last two weeks for Tar Heel basketball are the worst I can remember for UNC since Matt Doherty was there. Losing at Clemson isn't that bad, but the Tar Heels did turn it over more than 20 times.

Losing at home against Georgia Tech was inexcusable, though, and illustrates the issues at UNC. This team is 12th in the ACC scoring defense. UNC gets Wake Forest at home Wednesday in a game the Heels can't afford to lose.

7) Virgina Tech Hokies (13-3, 1-2) Last week: 6

The Hokies had a typical ACC week: win at home, lose on the road. They lost at Florida State, but beat Miami at home. The versatile Malcom Delaney is the top scorer in the ACC at 20 points a game.

Virginia Tech has a good chance to add to the win total this week. Monday they play NC Central and then Boston College Saturday. Both games are in Blacksburg.

8) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-4, 2-2) Last week: 8

The Deacs went 1-1 this past week with an OT win over Maryland and a 20-point loss at Duke. The Duke game was much closer than it looked, as the game was in doubt until about mid-way through the second half.

Wake Forest has to get better production from the outside. The Deacs last in the ACC in three pointers made per game. They will face a mad bunch of Tar Heels Wednesday, and then they play Virginia at home Saturday.

9) Maryland Terrapins (11-5, 2-1) Last week: 9

The Terps could have made a real statement this past week if they could have won against Wake Forest, but they lost in overtime 85-83. They did come up with a strong road win at Boston College, but overall Maryland is lacking a real eye-opening win.

This is a relatively soft part of the schedule this week with a home game against Longwood Tuesday and a home game Saturday against NC State.

10) Miami Hurricanes (15-3, 1-3) Last week: 3

Last week, Miami looked like a dark-horse contender in the ACC. Oh how a week changes everything. The Canes had two road games and two blowout losses. They were defeated by 15 at Virginia Tech and 18 at Virginia. The Canes have now lost all three of their road ACC games.

This week is Boston College at home in a must-win game for the Canes. There is plenty of time to recover from this rough week for Miami, but lose to BC and the hole might be too deep to climb out of for Frank Haith's team.

11) North Carolina State Wolfpack (12-6, 1-3) Last week: 11

The Wolfpack couldn't follow up a solid win at Florida State with a victory at home against Clemson. They lost to the Tigers 73-70 after making a spirited comeback after being down early by 21.

The Wolfpack have lost four of their six games by eight points or fewer. This is not a bad team, and I'd have them no worse than middle of the pack in just about any other conference in America. Jan. 20 is home game with Duke, and Jan. 23 is road game at Maryland.

12) Boston College Eagles (10-8, 1-3) Last week: 12

Boston College is the only ACC team that I've lost just about all faith in. The Eagles lost at home to Maryland and on the road at Duke this week. That's three-straight ACC losses by at least 16 points.

With two road games at Miami and Virginia Tech this week, the Eagles are in desperate need of winning at least one of these. Otherwise, they can probably close the book on their season.