Remember when North Carolina was thisclose to being dead and buried? This week’s ACC Power Poll has the Tar Heels as the consensus #2.
That’s what happens when you respond to a three-game mid-season losing streak by running off five straight wins, most recently winning by 17 at Louisville on Saturday night.
UNC (21-7, 10-5 ACC) finishes with a tough three-game stretch – at Syracuse, home against Miami, then at Duke on the final day of the regular season.
This week’s #3 team, Duke (22-5, 10-4 ACC), still has four games left, three at home (Louisville, Syracuse and UNC) and one on the road, at Virginia Tech.
Presumably, the Duke-UNC finale could be for the #2 seed in the 2018 ACC Tournament, which means … not all that much. The winning team gets to wear the home team uniforms on Friday night, basically.
Still in the mix: Clemson (20-6, 9-5 ACC), this week’s #4. The Tigers have the most favorable schedule – at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Florida State at home, at Syracuse to finish. The focus there should be on wrapping up a double-bye.
NCAA Tournament Watch
NCAA Locks: Virginia (RPI 1), Duke (RPI 4), UNC (RPI 5), Clemson (RPI 9)
Good, But Work to Do: Syracuse (RPI 37), Miami (RPI 38), Florida State (RPI 41)
Can’t Afford a Hiccup: Louisville (RPI 49), Virginia Tech (RPI 54)
Teetering: North Carolina State (RPI 60)
Scott German
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Clemson
- Louisville
- Virginia Tech
- North Carolina State
- Florida State
- Miami
- Syracuse
- Boston College
- Notre Dame
- Georgia Tech
- Wake Forest
- Pitt
Notes
UNC moves up after starting to resemble the defending national champions.
Clemson trending downwards as they begin to feel the loss of its second-leading scorer.
Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Pitt will all be looking for a new head coach in less than a month.
Chris Graham
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Clemson
- Virginia Tech
- Louisville
- North Carolina State
- Florida State
- Syracuse
- Miami
- Boston College
- Notre Dame
- Georgia Tech
- Wake Forest
- Pitt