In a stunning denial of the status quo there are no Carolina (that being North, of course) ACC teams in the latest AP Top 25. Enjoy it while it lasts may be the wisest advice from our conference elders because there’s plenty of games left to play. There are no conference teams either advancing or returning to claim one of the top 5 spots, either.
What’s missing from the often subjective observations of coverage of college basketball is the fact that there are more than three ACC teams (rankings) that are (at this juncture) getting the nod for post-season play. There’s plenty of talk about how many aren’t going to make it while overlooking the fact that the NET Rankings and Brackets (some, not all) are indicating just the opposite. It’s a bad case of denial.
A Look Back At ACC Football Plus Thoughts On Basketball With Locked On ACC
We won’t try to gloss over the rumble and stumble nature of ACC men’s basketball thus far. It is a pleasure to watch a broader range of competitiveness across the conference. Call it a return to the good old days when everyone beat each other up every other day in effect drawing you back to action night after night.
Denial
A great deal of that action was delivered courtesy of the Carolina schools who dominated the league for ever and a day. They’re not far from the action even though they aren’t in the Top 25, at present. As a refresher, remember the surge that the Tar Heels had as we hit the mid-point of conference action last year.
Without a doubt, most of the play going on now seems like merely a tune-up before one or more teams deliver a turn-around just in time for March Madness.
AP Top 25 – ACC
| AP MEN | TEAM |
| #1 | HOUSTON |
| #2 | KANSAS |
| #3 | PURDUE |
| #4 | ALABAMA |
| #5 | UCLA |
| #10 | VIRGINIA |
| #17 | MIAMI |
| #19 | CLEMSON |
| RV | |
| #26 | NC STATE |
| #33 | DUKE |
| #43 | NORTH CAROLINA |
There’s no denial that Clemson continues to take teams by surprise and following their upset win over Duke they climb into a solid first place in the ACC. With that win, over the then No. 24 ranked Blue Devils, Clemson takes a big leap out of the Receiving Votes category to No. 19 in the latest poll. The Tigers are among three teams currently ranked with Miami at No. 17 and Virginia moving up to No. 10.
ACC Standings – Top 5
- Clemson
- Miami
- Virginia
- Wake Forest
- Pitt
NCAA NET Rankings
| NET | TEAM |
| #15 | VIRGINIA |
| #25 | DUKE |
| #29 | NC STATE |
| #33 | NORTH CAROLINA |
| #39 | MIAMI |
| #49 | CLEMSON |
| #55 | VIRGINIA TECH |
| #58 | PITT |
Though it’s certainly early in the ‘game’ to be cashing in chips it’s stunning how many conference teams find themselves down in the weeds of the NET rankings. Two, Virginia Tech and Pitt are perched precariously at the precipice of denial and they’ll need to start having some key wins to find a post-season spot.
What does Jason Carmello at Big Underdog have to say about the ACC in his latest bracket projections?
Big Underdog Projected Seeds – ACC
- #4 Virginia
- #6 Duke
- #7 NC State
- #8 Clemson
- #8 Pitt
- #9 North Carolina
Carmello has Wake Forest in his First Four Out and Virginia Tech in his Next Four Out.
The last regular season games are on Saturday, March 4 with the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament beginning on Tuesday, March 7 and wrapping up on March 11.
