ACC MID-TERM POWER RANKINGS

By Trey Harmon


Can you believe it? We’re almost at the half-way point of the ACC regular season. Check out where MRM is ranking teams at the mid-term.

#1 MIAMI
I spoke to Miami’s Reggie Johnson at ACC Media Day and he sounded more excited than anyone about the new season. Now we see why. The Hurricanes are sitting pretty at 7-0 in the ACC. They’re strong on both ends of the court but defense is what’s separating them from the pack. The Hurricanes rank first in field goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense. Now that their inside man Reggie Johnson is back the Hurricanes are in great position to win the ACC. However they still have six road games to play including at NC State and at Duke.

#2 DUKE
With sharp shooting forward Ryan Kelly in the line-up the Blue Devils are my favorite to win the ACC. But even with Kelly out with a foot injury the Blue Devils are in good shape. Mason Plumlee is a Player of the Year candidate, but Quinn Cook is providing the floor leadership Duke lacked last season. Cook is second in assists at 7.4 and first in assist/turnover ratio. Duke’s only two losses have been on the road but they have a tough stretch coming up with games at Florida State, NC State, at Boston College, and UNC.

#3 NC STATE

At the moment the Wolfpack is about where we expected them to be. They’re only a half-game out of third place. The biggest concern now is the leg injury point guard Lorenzo Brown suffered against Virginia. On one hand losing to Virginia on the road isn’t bad, but that loss came at a bad time. State has Miami coming on Saturday then they go on the road to Duke and Clemson. That’s a bad stretch to have to play without your league leader in assists. I’ll take Brown’s injury into consideration when ranking State, but the next week is crucial.

#4 VIRGINIA

None of the pre-season rankings saw this coming. The Cavaliers are tied for second in the ACC and riding a four-game winning streak. The Cavs lead the league in scoring defense holding ACC opponents below 60 points. It’s hard to take the bait though as those wins have come against the ACC’s worst and a “Lorenzo Brownless” NC State. It’s even harder to trust a team that only scores 58 points a game. But IF Virginia is for real, their schedule gives them a great chance to win the ACC. The Cavs only have to play Miami and Duke once and don’t play NC State again.

#5 UNC

This season it seems like the Heels are either getting blown out by 20 or winning by 20. Despite their struggles UNC is right in the hunt to finish top three the ACC. For that to happen UNC will have to play better defense. The Heels are seventh in scoring defense and allowing 68ppg. February could make or break the Heels’ season. They have almost no room for error with back-to-back road games at Miami, at Duke, followed by a home game against Virginia.

#6 MARYLAND
The Terps suffered a setback losing to Florida St and dropping to the 3-5, but they can cover a lot of ground in February if they bring their “A” game. They have very winnable games against Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and at home against Virginia. Maryland is in need of a big win if they want raise eyebrows for the NCAA Tournament. Their non-conference schedule was pretty light except for playing Kentucky.

#7 FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles picked up a huge buzzer beating win against Maryland to keep them in the ACC race. Florida State can cause havoc in the ACC if they can beat Duke on Saturday, then steal the next two at Georgia Tech and Wake. While winning the ACC looks to be a stretch, the “Noles” are pretty much playing for their NCAA Tournament lives. They have not beaten a Top 25 team this season, so a win against Duke, NC State or Miami is a must.

#8 CLEMSON
Clemson has yet to win an ACC road game, but those games have been tough at Duke, FSU, and NC State. They are not in a bad position sitting at 4-4 and can take a big leap forward over the next three games against Boston College, Virginia Tech, and NC State. The Tigers have an experienced front line with Devin Booker and Milton Jennings. The good: Clemson ranks third in scoring defense. The bad: Clemson ranks next to last in scoring offense.

#9 WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest is another team that has not won a road game. It doesn’t get any easier from here with games at Maryland and at UNC. But you can see Wake’s improvement and that win over NC State was huge for the program. The Deacons will return every starter except C.J. Harris and with a good recruiting class Wake could be back in the mix of the Tobacco Road rivalries.

#10 BOSTON COLLEGE
BC is last in the ACC at 1-6 but don’t let the record fool you. They have good pieces in place to shake up the ACC next season. Sophomore Ryan Anderson is second in ACC scoring at 17ppg, and freshman point guard Olivier Hanlan is fourth in scoring at 16ppg. The Eagles are young and if Anderson doesn’t jump to the NBA they’ll be a force next season. Unfortunately the Eagles’ February schedule is brutal with games at Miami, Duke twice, at FSU, and at NC State…just to name a few.

#11 VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies started out red hot winning their first seven games but have only won two of their last nine games. Those wins include a double overtime victory against Georgia Tech and a one point win over Wake Forest. You would think a team with the ACC’s leading scorer (Erik Green 25.5ppg) would have more wins, but the Hokies are dead last in scoring defense, last in team assists, and have the highest turnover margin.

#12 GEORGIA TECH
The struggles continue at Tech. They’ve had a pretty tough ACC schedule having to play four of seven games on the road, against the ACC’s best. Coach Brian Gregory has a good power forward in Robert Carter to build around. The Yellow Jackets lose a lot of games but at least they have the best looking basketball court in the ACC to play on.

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