Atlanta Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Power Poll – February 5, 2013

Good day, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men’s Basketball Fans!!!  We’re pretty much at the midpoint of the ACC conference season for all of the teams and it’s time again for our weekly power poll.   A special shout out to @ztevans and @TalkinACCSports who were used as sounding boards for this poll.

A disclaimer this week – no one seems to want to hold onto the third spot.  We’re upset with the way NC State is playing.  While the Wolfies loss to Miami is forgivable (because the Canes likely have the best team in the ACC), the setback to the Hoos is one that reminds us of a Sidney Lowe coached team.  Likewise, we think UNC needs to start playing better defense (but they did have a special accomplishment on defense this past Saturday – and maybe that’s the start of better things there).  And Virginia?  Dude, you can’t lose to Georgia Tech on the road.  We also have challenges ranking teams 9-12 – to some extent, we think that we can pull teams out of a hat.

FWIW, we loved seeing an ACC game on CBS that did not include North Carolina or Duke – that was big for us here at the site.  When Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Louisville are all in the conference, we’ll see games like this more often.  We look forward to Duke and UNC this week!!

Without further ado, here’s our poll:

1. Miami – The Hurricanes are undefeated at 5-0 in ACC road play – think about that for minute.  The Canes won at Virginia Tech (where they did not play their best game and still found a way to get that W) and won on the road at NC State.  No one has had a better week nationally.
2. Duke – The Devils didn’t forget those losses they took last year to FSU.  We need say no more here.
3. NC State – The Wolfies lost to Virginia (and they never should have lost to the Hoos) and Miami.  We wanted to drop NC State in the biggest way – you could see our struggle above.  But we’ve kept them at #3 for this week.
4. North Carolina – The Tar Heels, Dexter Strickland, and a cast of defenders did what few teams have done this year – they held Erick Green to under 20 points.
5. Virginia – The Hoos picked up a big win over NC State at home, but they pick up a massively puzzling loss at Georgia Tech.  If you combine the loss to the Jackets (!!!!!) and the headshaker to to Old Dominion (!!!!!), the Hoos could be looking at themselves in the mirror in March if they miss the NCAA tournament.
6. Florida State – The Noles got it handed to them from Duke – but turned it around in a big come-from-behind win vs. Maryland on a game winning bucket from Michael Snaer.
7. Maryland – Terps youth lost them that game at Florida State, but they made up for it with a big win over Wake Forest.
8. Clemson – The Tigers defeated an undermanned team at home, but got worked by BC’s patient offense and guards.
9. Boston College – BC is a heckuva lot better than their ACC record shows (four of their six ACC losses are by single digits – this is the symptom of a young team – a team that will win more of those games next year).  If you had to look to a team who could spring an upset or two in the ACC tournament, look at the Eagles.  We are big fans of coach Steve Donahue.
10. Georgia Tech –  Kudos to the Jackets who picked up a big win over the Hoos.  If the Jackets had Erick Green, we’d move them much higher in this poll.  Why do we say that?  Erick Green would give the Jackets a guy who could take over and score in crunch time.  We think the Jackets need a guy like that.
11. Wake Forest – A 26 point blowout at Maryland?  The Demon Deacons deserve better than Jeff Bzdelik.   Make no mistake about it – basketball is the #1 sport at Wake Forest – and there is no lack of fan support for Demon Deacons hoops.  There comes a point in time when Wake Forest Athletic Director, Ron Wellman, has to make a head coaching change.  That time is at the end of this season.
12. Virginia Tech – We move the Hokies to the cellar this week (and we hated to do this because we love Erick Green).  The Hokies gave Miami all they could handle for 30 minutes in the Cassell.  Further, considering their depth, the Hokies played much better than we expected at the Dean Dome vs. UNC and probably should have won that game.  I’ll be a homer here for a minute – no way Erick Green does not attempt a free throw in a game – yet, that’s what happened at the Dean Dome.  However, getting points in the paint on a regular basis continues to be a struggle – and probably will be for the rest of the season.  The Hokies have limited depth – and might have hit a wall.

Thanks for check out the post – and have a good week ahead!!

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