1. Duke (29-4, 15-3 ACC)
Yes, Duke lost to eventual ACC Tournament-winner Notre Dame, but based on their entire body of work the Blue Devils boast wins no other team in the conference can match. They held our top spot for most of the season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to boot. Therefore, the Blue Devils are our overall most powerful team in the ACC heading into the Big Dance.
2. Notre Dame (30-5, 14-4 ACC)
Notre Dame is an extremely difficult team to place in the rankings. On one hand, the Irish won the ACC Tournament and dominated Duke for the second time this season. But the high-scoring, senior-led Irish have depth and defensive issues and a less well-rounded offense than the Devils heading into the Tournament and enter as a 3-seed with a date against 14-seed Northeastern.
3. Virginia (29-3, 16-2 ACC)
Virginia looked dominant for most of the season only to have the wheels fall off a little bit at the end. Still they didn’t lose to a team outside the Top-18 in RPI and they can be forgiven because they were playing without junior Justin Anderson, their best player. They earned a 2-seed with a date against No. 15 seeded Belmont.
4. UNC-Chapel Hill (24-12, 11-7 ACC)
For a while, it looked like the Tar Heels were going to win the ACC Tournament this past weekend. Then Notre Dame got hot, went on a 15-0 run and ran the Tar Heels out of the building. The Tar Heels earn a 4-seed facing 13-seed Harvard, and if you can’t find a joke in that matchup then maybe you belong at UNC.
5. Louisville (24-9, 12-6 ACC)
With so much talent, Louisville was expected to be better than it has in 2015. Still, the Cardinals earn a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play 13-seed UC-Irvine in the first round.
6. NC State (20-14, 10-8 ACC)
The Wolfpack will go dancing for the fourth-straight year under Mark Gottfried. NC State earned an 8-seed and will play 9-seed LSU in the second round. Good news for NC State fans? The 1-seed in the East Region is not Kentucky. The only time the Pack could play Kentucky is in the National Championship and at that point, bring on the Cats!
7. Miami (21-12, 10-8 ACC)
The Hurricanes were one of the teams on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. Their win over Duke could only carry them so far. They earned a 2-seed in the NIT and have an incredibly intriguing matchup in the first round against 7-seed NC Central.
8. Pittsburgh (19-14, 8-10 ACC)
Pittsburgh’s another team that just did not do enough to make the NCAA Tournament, missing too many golden opportunities while accruing too many bad losses. They are a 4-seed in the NIT and host 5-seed George Washington tonight.
9. Clemson (16-15, 8-10 ACC)
The Tigers miss out on the postseason after a lackluster year. Clemson’s defense was solid, but the offense usually couldn’t get out of its own way.
10. Florida State (17-16, 8-10 ACC)
The Seminoles also will be sitting at home watching all of the postseason action. The ‘Noles have a really exciting player in guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes who will only improve with experience.
11. Boston College (13-19, 4-14 ACC)
The Eagles were at the bottom of our rankings for almost every week of the season…so why are they suddenly No. 11? Well for starters the Eagles won four of their last five, including a win against NC State and one win each against every team below them on the rankings. Another reason is guard Olivier Hanlan, who earned All-ACC First-Team honors.
12. Wake Forest (13-19, 5-13 ACC)
Another lackluster sports performance for Wake Forest. If only every sport could perform like their women’s field hockey team (they went 14-7 last year, which for Wake Forest sports is like a national championship). In other news, if you don’t know who the Greek Deac is yet, you are sorely missing out.
13. Georgia Tech (12-19, 3-15 ACC)
The Yellow Jackets had a couple nice wins in Georgia and Miami (Florida) but not much else this season. Unlike the team below them, Georgia Tech doesn’t look like a team that will be getting better anytime soon.
14. Virginia Tech (11-22, 2-16 ACC)
Yes they had an awful season, but hear me out here: The Virginia Tech Hokies will be in the NCAA Tournament by the time I graduate (I am a sophomore). Buzz Williams brought toughness and grit to this rag tag bunch of guards. Once he gets some ACC-level talent in Blacksburg, the Hokies are going to dance.
(OMITTED)- Syracuse
The Orange’s self-imposed ban applies to our power rankings as well.
