ACC Basketball Rankings, Dec. 21-28: Duke Blue Devils on Top

Duke continues to be the ACC's most consistent team, as they hammered a decent Gonzaga squad last week. North Carolina is playing a brutal early season schedule, that should pay dividends later in the year, but right now the Heels are taking some lumps. Let's see how the rest of the ACC looks.

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Dec 13-Dec 20

No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (9-1, 0-0) Last week: No. 1

I've been really impressed by the Dukies start. As I said earlier, they recently hammered a decent Gonzaga squad. Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith are playing as well as any backcourt in the ACC.

No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3, 0-0) Last week: No. 2

On Saturday, the Heels lost to the No. 2 ranked Texas Longhorns 103-90. You can't beat them up for that. However, there are issues in the backcourt. I'm not really sold on Marcus Ginyard or Larry Drew at the guard positions. They are an ACC Contender, but not a Final Four caliber team.

No. 3 Clemson Tigers (10-2, 0-0) Last week: No. 3

It's never a bad thing whenever you go 3-0 in a week. Furman, East Carolina, and College of Charleston aren't exactly murderer's row, but the Tigers rolled in all three, as they should.

No. 4 Florida State Seminoles (10-2, 1-0) Last week: No. 5

The Seminoles might be the best defensive team in the ACC. They lead the ACC in defensive field goal percentage, and in their recent game with Georgia Tech, FSU stifled High School All-American Derrick Favors and All-ACC player Gani Lawal. They are a wall inside.

No. 5 Virgina Tech Hokies (9-1, 0-0) Last week: No. 6

The Hokies cruise in their only game of the week, 73-50 against Charleston Southern.

No. 6 Miami Hurricanes (12-1, 0-1) Last week: No. 7

The Hurricanes just keep moving along, and now stand at 12-1. Is this team for real? Defensively, they lead the ACC in points allowed, but we still don't really know the answer.

No. 7 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-2, 1-0) Last week: No. 10

The Demon Deacons passed their first ACC test with a solid 67-59 home win over NC State. They lead the ACC in rebounding.

No. 8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-2, 0-1) Last week: No. 4

Just how good is Georgia Tech? We got our first answer with a listless home loss to Florida State. The Tech guards didn't look ACC ready, which is a bad sign. If Paul Hewitt can't get this talented team to the NCAA Tournament, he might want to keep his resume handy. There's time, but the last few years have been ugly in Atlanta.

No. 9 Maryland Terrapins (6-3, 0-0) Last week: No. 9

The Terps did not play this past week.

No. 10 Boston College Eagles (7-4, 1-0) Last week: No. 11

Boston College beat the Bryant Bulldogs 72-46 this week. Who are the Bryant Bulldogs?

No. 11 North Carolina State Wolfpack (8-2, 0-1) Last week: No. 8

Not many teams will go to Wake Forest and win, but the Wolfpack were never really in the game anyway. The Wolfpack maintain their grip as the worst scoring team in the ACC. That's the same as we wrote last week.

No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers (5-4, 0-0)

Virginia took out New Jersey Tech this week 68-37. Not exactly an RPI building win, but the Cavs will take what they can get. Sylven Landesberg is averaging almost 17 points a game. He's definitely a bright spot on this team.