ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Duke and Everyone Else

Unless your school’s name begins with a "D," ends with an "E" and has a "U" and "K" in between, then it has been a rough start to the season. Overall, the ACC is just 57-27. Take away Duke’s 7-0 record and this league hasn’t even won two out of every three games.

How bad is the ACC? Against top 50 teams (according to Ken Pom), Duke is 3-0. The rest of the league is just 2-20. Ouch.

No. 1 DUKE

Are Nolan Smith and Kyrie Irving the best backcourt in college? Let’s go to the numbers. Both are averaging over 16 per game (tied for fourth in the ACC). They’re second and third in the conference in shooting percentage, behind only Jordan Williams, who shoots no further than three feet from the basket. Smith and Irving are also tied for first in the ACC in assists at 5.6 each. It’s hard to argue with those numbers.

No. 2 MARYLAND

The Terrapins allowed Penn State to take 21 more shots Wednesday night, but Maryland made nine more baskets. You can look at it and say, great defense. It takes some effort to hold a team to 20 percent from the field, including 3-for-27 from three. Of course the Nittany Lions got 21 more shots because they grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and forced 17 Maryland turnovers.

No. 3 FLORIDA STATE

The Seminoles’ five wins have come against teams ranked 250th, 311th, 284th, 237th and 262nd. Yet, when given a chance to take down teams that could put up a challenge, the Seminoles lost.

Florida State has dropped two straight (both against top 25 teams) and have failed to score 60 in either. The defense has never been a problem for Hamilton’s team. Lead by Chris Singleton, arguably the best defender in college basketball, the 'Noles are third in the nation in defensive efficiency. However, they’re only 126th in offensive efficiency and that number comes after facing those five awful teams.

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