ACC Basketball Rankings, March 1-March 8: What Happened, Wake Forest?

Just when I think the ACC has settled down, we get some crazy upset like North Carolina winning at Wake Forest and Boston College routing Virginia Tech. I should have known better.

With the last week of the regular season upon us, Duke and Maryland are in great shape and playing well. After that it is wide open in the middle of the ACC with teams trying to improve their ACC and NCAA tournament seedings.

Previous ACC Basketball All About Sports Blog Rankings:
Preseason
Dec 13-Dec 20 |Dec 21-Dec 28 |Dec 28 - Jan 4  |Jan 4 - Jan 11 |Jan 11 - Jan 18
Jan 18 - Jan 25 |Jan 25 - Feb 1 |Feb 1 - Feb 8 |Feb 8 - Feb 15 |Feb 15 - Feb 22
Feb 22 -Mar 1

1) Duke Blue Devils (25-4, 12-2) Last week - 1

With Kansas, Kentucky, and Purdue losing this week, the Blue Devils have moved into contention for a No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament. They went out of conference and beat a decent Tulsa team 70-52. Then they went to Virginia and took care of a short-handed Virginia team minus Sylven Landesburg. Now comes Wednesday the game that will decide the ACC regular season champion: a game at College Park with the Maryland Terrapins. Finally, Duke plays UNC in Cameron on Saturday.

2) Maryland Terrapins (21-7, 11-3) Last week - 2
You have to like the way Maryland is playing. They've won six games in a row. This past week they picked up a solid home win over Clemson, then won an epic 2 OT 104-100 game at Virginia Tech. Jon Scheyer is my league MVP right now, but Greivis Vasquez is running a close second. He had 41 in the Virginia Tech win. This week they have the ACC's game of year with Duke Wednesday at the Comcast Center, then play Saturday at Virginia.

3) Clemson Tigers (20-8, 8-6) Last week - 3
The Tigers played well on the road at Maryland but couldn't hold off the Terps. These days not many teams can, but Clemson picked up an absolutely crucial road win Sunday night at Florida State. Trevor Booker made some critical free throws and blocked a shot late. I think this win gets Clemson in the NCAAs, and now they are playing for anything between a 4 to 10 seed. They get Georgia Tech at LittleJohn on Tuesday, and then it's off to Wake Forest Sunday.

4) Florida State Seminoles (20-8, 8-6) Last week - 6
It was a mixed bag for Florida State this week. They went on the road and won easily at North Carolina, then came home only to lose to Clemson 53-50. This doesn't hurt their NCAA chances much. They are still solidly in, but the Noles could have moved into position for a first round ACC tournament bye. Now they are in a mad five team scramble for the ACC's third and fourth positions. They get a struggling Wake Forest team at home Wednesday, and then it's on to Miami for a game Saturday.

5) Virgina Tech Hokies(21-7, 8-6) Last week - 4
Virginia Tech has been fighting a soft non-conference schedule all year. This past week they could have locked up an at large bid. They didn't. In fact it went as bad as possible. The Hokies lost at Boston College by 20 in an ugly loss. Then they played well at home but couldn't overcome the red-hot Maryland Terrapins in a 104-100 2 OT loss. The Hokies play NC State on Wednesday, then head on the road to face Georgia Tech on Saturday. They better win at least one of those.

6) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-8, 8-6) Last week - 5
The Deacs are sweating a little now. They are on a three-game losing streak and just lost 77-68 at home to the ACC's last place team North Carolina. What I especially didn't like about Wake's play was how uninspired they looked. The Heels just appeared to play harder and with more urgency. With a road game at Florida State on March 3 and then a tough Clemson team at home on Sunday. Wake Forest needs to pick up their play. They are safely in the NCAAs today, but lose both and it starts to get dicey.

7) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (19-9, 7-7) Last week - 7

The Yellow Jackets did what they needed to do this week. They won at home 73-68 over Boston College. Iman Shumpert scored 24 and Derrick Favors had 14. Favors is in particular playing really well as of late. It's all in front of Georgia Tech now. Win at Clemson Tuesday or at home Saturday against Virginia Tech, and they should get in the big dance. Win both and they are a lock, but lose both and Tech might be on the wrong side of the bubble.

8) Boston College Eagles (14-14, 5-9) Last week - 8

Boston College came up with one of the more surprising results of the week when they beat Virginia Tech 80-60. They went to Georgia Tech and lost 73-68 in a game they were never really in despite the close score. Joe Trapani had 26 points in the loss to Georgia Tech. There are two winnable games left on the Eagles schedule. March 3 is a home game against Virginia. March 7 is a road game at NC State.

9) North Carolina State Wolfpack(16-13, 4-10) Last week - 11
The Wolfpack have put a little two game winning streak together. This week they won at Miami 71-66. Tracy Smith had 19 in the win and has quietly been one of the ACC's most consistent low post players all year. NC State goes to Virginia Tech on Wednesday then play Boston College in Raleigh on Sunday.

10) North Carolina Tar Heels (15-14, 4-10) Last week - 12
On Wednesday the Heels lost at home to Florida St. 77-67. UNC didn't even look like they belonged on the same floor as the Noles. I thought they had no chance to win at Wake Forest in the following game. They of course won 77-68, in a wonderfully played game by the Heels. If you didn't know better you'd have thought North Carolina was the team playing for an NCAA bid and not Wake Forest. This week North Carolina plays Miami at home on Tuesday, then heads to Duke on Saturday. No chance at the NCAAs, but the Heels can still show some pride.

11) Virginia Cavaliers (14-13, 5-9) Last week - 9
If you can't score you can't win, and Virginia is last in the ACC in scoring. They lost at Miami 74-62 and lost big 67-49 to Duke. When Sylven Landesberg became unavailable for Duke, that ended the Cavs chances of winning that game. This week the Cavs go to Boston College on Wednesday then get Maryland at home Saturday. Even going to the NIT is starting to slip away now.

12) Miami Hurricanes (18-10, 4-10) Last week - 10
Last week I said the Canes might have the slimmest of hopes of seeing the NCAA bubble, if they could finish the season on a strong run. Any chance of that ended with a 71-66 home loss to NC State. They did beat Virgina earlier in the week 74-62. The Canes now go on the road to face UNC on Wednesday. That game looks much tougher than it did a week ago. Then they host Florida State on Saturday. Miami hopes to avoid the ACC cellar and a last place seeding in the ACC tournament.