ACC Hoops Power Poll – January 9, 2014

Good evening, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men’s Basketball Fans!!!

Conference season is just beginning – but if the early season is any indication, be prepared for a wild, bumpy ride.  That said, you can tell that the ACC made itself deeper by the additions of Syracuse and Pittsburgh – those two teams are at the top of our poll this week.

Without further ado, here we go:

1. Syracuse – The best team in the ACC – and it’s really not close.  The size and length of the Orangemen, along with that killer zone defense, will give every ACC team fits this season.  We are believer shere that Jim Boeheim’s group is one of a handful of teams that can win the national title.

2. Duke – The Devils lost to Kansas and Arizona – no shame in either loss – those two teams (along with Syracuse above) have a really good shot to be in the Final Four.  Losing to Notre Dame at home?  Aye – that was unexpected, but Mike Brey knows Coach K.

3. Notre Dame – The Irish had a very bad loss to North Dakota State University (NDSU).  Or was it?  The NDSU Bison are #25 in the RPI.  While Notre Dame never should have lost to NDSU, that loss could actually help prep up The Irish’s RPI the rest of the season.  And the Irish recovered very nicely vs. Duke.

4. Pittsburgh – The surprise team in the ACC.  Raise your hands if you thought Jamie Dixon’s team would be 13-1 at this point in the season.

5. Virginia – Virginia is never going to have a high potent offense while Tony Bennett is in Charlottesville.  The Hoos style of play will dictate many low possession games – and if Virginia gets down by a few points, they are gonna take a few Ls.  We’ve said this before, but you have to adjust to Virginia – because they control the tempo and win many games because of that factor.

6. North Carolina – If you can figure out the Tar Heels, please contact us at All Sports Discussion.  The Tar Heels found a way to lose to Belmont, UAB, and Miami, and then defeat Louisville and Michigan State.  And heck, they might defeat Syracuse on Saturday (we might even pick that Tar Heels win).  In fact, I think this is last season’s NC State team – they are that Jekyll and Hyde.

7. North Carolina State – The Wolfies defeated Notre Dame, but lost to Pittsburgh (and there’s no shame in losing to the Panthers).  That’s a pretty good week.

8. Florida State – We have Florida State at the eighth spot in this poll (loss to UVA and win over Clemson), but the Seminoles are too well-coached by Leonard Hamilton not to have a chance at postseason.

9. Maryland – We don’t know much about the Terps here.  They beat two of the lower teams in our poll in Boston College and Georgia Tech, but got hammered by Pitt.  We will know more about the Terps later in the season.

10. Miami – The Hurricanes gave Syracuse all they could handle at the Carrier Dome and defeated UNC on the road, which shows how good a coach Jim Larranaga is.  By the end of the season, don’t be surprised if the Hurricanes pull a couple more stunners in conference play.  Miami has improved in every ACC game they have played – and could end up being our 2nd ACC surprise team.

11. Wake Forest – Raise your hands if you thought the Demon Deacons had any chance of defeating North Carolina (Probably no one).  But then raise your hands if you thought Wake would still be *%&^*$ on the road (everyone)… Wake has one won road game in the last four years – and going on five.

12. Clemson – There’s one thing that will keep Clemson in every game – and that’s the Tigers defense.  Brad Brownell knows he isn’t going to get the top recruits – so he has to slow the tempo down – and win every game possession by possession (this is what Seth Greenberg used to do at Virginia Tech).  It’s worked for the Tigers who are undefeated in ACC play.  That said, we’ll find out more about Clemson whey they play some tougher teams in the conference season.

13. Virginia Tech – The Hokies stay at the top of the ACC was short-lived – and we expect the game with Boston College to be one of several “cellar-dweller” contests this year.  Lose to BC and the Hokies move to the bottom of our Power Poll – and probably won’t find their way out of the cellar too much this season (losing to UNC G-Spot and USC-Upstate really isn’t going to help either).

14. Georgia Tech – The Jackets have had a lot of close losses this year to teams from the Big 6 conferences (losses to Vanderbilt, Dayton, Mississippi, and St. John’s hurt), but did have a nice win vs. Illinois – and will likely be battling Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Boston College for last place most of this year.

15. Boston College – The single most disappointing team in the ACC.  Many had the Eagles as a team to challenge for an NCAA bid this year – that’s not going to happen – might not even make postseason play.

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

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