ACC Power Rankings: Heels Conquer Cameron

1. North Carolina Tar Heels (22-2)
Tyler Hansbrough makes it a clean sweep at Cameron Indoor in his career. Not too many other ACC players can say that. Now the Heels are all alone at the top and I’m already looking forward to Duke/Carolina part two.

2. Clemson Tigers (20-3)
Clemson leap frogs Duke with UNC’s big win and also with the Tigers taking it to the Blue Devils on February 4th. It looked like Clemson might go away when it endured its first loss of the season to Wake Forest, but the Tigers are hanging right in there, tied for second in the ACC in the loss column.

3. Duke Blue Devils (20-4)
All 3 of Duke’s ACC losses have been to teams ranked in the top 10 and Wake’s recent struggles keep the Blue Devils from slipping any further. Duke is going to have to show that it can conquer the elite teams in the league and to do that it is going to have to find ways to win when it isn’t hitting a lot of three pointers. A big win in Chapel Hill would let everyone know that Duke is for real.

4. Florida State Seminoles (19-5)
FSU cracked the rankings this week with 3 straight wins in conference play, including a big one over Clemson. It took a last second runner from three-point land for the Tar Heels to beat Florida State. The Noles are hitting their stride and have the look of a dangerous team come ACC Tourney time.

5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-4)
Wake has gotten up for all the big games with wins over North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, and Boston College twice. But your power ranking are going to suffer if you lose 3 out of 4 in games that you are favored. It looks like the Demon Deacs are capable of beating anyone and also capable of losing to just about anyone in the league.

6. Boston College Golden Eagles (18-8)
Boston College had its 5 game winning streak snapped with losses to Wake Forest and Clemson. Those quality defeats keep the Eagles from sliding any further but things get no easier with Duke coming to town Sunday and looking to rebound.

7. Virginia Tech Hokies (16-7)
The Hokies have won 7 of 9 and it easily could have been 9 in a row as they had Clemson way down and then lost to Boston College by a point. The Hokies will have to win on the road to keep rolling as they play 3 of their next 4 away from home.

8. Miami Hurricanes (15-8)
The Canes are playing some very good ball behind their star Jack McClinton who can stroke it from deep with the best in the nation. A big blowout win over Wake Forest and then a loss to Duke in OT shows you the kind of talent Miami has to work with. The Canes get UNC at home Sunday.

9. NC State Wolf Pack (13-9)
The Wolf Pack have won 3 of 5 with big wins over Miami and Wake Forest. The Pack gets last place Georgia Tech next.

10. Maryland Terrapins (15-8)
The Terps have won 2 of 3, but I’m still thinking about how badly they were blown out by Duke. A lack of interior size hurts the Terps.

11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-13)
A big win over Wake Forest on January 31 keeps the Jackets out of the gutter here, as well as 3 straight close games with FSU, Maryland, and VA Tech.

12. Virginia Cavaliers (7-13)
The Cavs have lost 8 in a row and it gets no easier with Clemson next, which beat them by 31 in the last meeting a season ago.

Do your ACC basketball betting with the help of Jimmy Boyd’s basketball picks this season. Jimmy puts in the hard work to make sure you beat NCAA basketball odds on a consistent basis.

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