Rank the ACC

[GE Nole]

Weird year for the ACC. Clearly down from the last 3-4 years, but still with several teams capable of a second or third weekend run in March.

1/4 of the way through conference season, how do you see the teams stacking up?

1. Duke
2. FSU
3. Louisville

After this it gets a bit hairy. I’ll say:
4. UVA
5. VT
6. ND
7. Pitt
8. GT
9. Cuse

Umm, dang this is tough.
10. NCSU
11. Clemson
12. UNC
13. BC
14. Miami
15. Wake

 

[jhmossy]

I agree with your top 3. I think there's a big drop off between the top 3 and whoever is 4. Kenpom would agree with me as the top 3 are in KP top 15 and UVA at 4 is 43.

Duke's schedule is so soft that they could honestly go 20-0 in the ACC this year. They play FSU and Louisville once and both of those games are in Cameron.

After the top 3, I would not be surprised with how 4-15 finish. There is not a single lock for the NCAA in the 4-15 range.

 

[UL_1986]

Agree w that.

 

[uncfan in ky]

Weird year for the ACC. Clearly down from the last 3-4 years, but still with several teams capable of a second or third weekend run in March.

1/4 of the way through conference season, how do you see the teams stacking up?

1. Duke
2. FSU
3. Louisville

After this it gets a bit hairy. I’ll say:
4. UVA
5. VT
6. ND
7. Pitt
8. GT
9. Cuse

Umm, dang this is tough.
10. NCSU
11. Clemson
12. UNC
13. BC
14. Miami
15. Wake

BC, Miami & Wake must REALLY suck.

 

[BasketBallJunkie-UK]

ok, it's rank....

 

[jhmossy]

ok, it's rank....

Honestly, that's probably the most clever thing I've ever heard from a Kentucky fan.

 

[Denim Vest]

VT at least has a good win on their resume. Not sure any of the other 4-14 do. They’re the 4th best in the NET by a pretty wide margin.

Crazy how bad it is after the top 3 though. Guess at least 1 more ACC team probably make the tourney but that might be it.

 

[supergreennole]

I could see Syracuse going on a run over their next 5 games and garnering some discussion. They didn’t do much in the non conference schedule though but their record might appear to be good for a bubble team

 

[GE Nole]

VT at least has a good win on their resume. Not sure any of the other 4-14 do. They’re the 4th best in the NET by a pretty wide margin.

Crazy how bad it is after the top 3 though. Guess at least 1 more ACC team probably make the tourney but that might be it.

The thing is, 68 teams have to come from somewhere. SEC isn’t deep. PAC 12 feels like 3, maybe 4 teams?

So I still think the ACC ends up with 5. But yeah, none seem like a lock after the top 3.

 

[GE Nole]

I agree with your top 3. I think there's a big drop off between the top 3 and whoever is 4. Kenpom would agree with me as the top 3 are in KP top 15 and UVA at 4 is 43.

Duke's schedule is so soft that they could honestly go 20-0 in the ACC this year. They play FSU and Louisville once and both of those games are in Cameron.

After the top 3, I would not be surprised with how 4-15 finish. There is not a single lock for the NCAA in the 4-15 range.

I feel like Duke ends up 19-1 and their 1 is to some random team like ND or BC.

 

[supergreennole]

I feel like Duke ends up 19-1 and their 1 is to some random team like ND or BC.

Duke is clearly the most talented team but a bad night from 3 and a good night from the opponent and they could drop a game. But this is definitely setting up for them to run the table based on where they are playing teams the rest of the way

 

[HRTheCard]

I would put UNC at the very bottom.

 

[coryfly]

Until UNC wins a game with the team now (with the players out) they have to be at the bottom.

 

[FaithPlusOne]

The thing is, 68 teams have to come from somewhere. SEC isn’t deep. PAC 12 feels like 3, maybe 4 teams?

So I still think the ACC ends up with 5. But yeah, none seem like a lock after the top 3.

I’m hoping that this is the year the selection committee decides on more at-large mid major programs. I think bubble is going to be really, really soft this year.

 

[WojoRising]

The ACC is just terrible this season. Shocking drop-off from previous years. That said, I still think Duke, Florida State and Louisville could realistically make a final four. Virginia has the potential to join that group, but I’m less confident in that than before.

1. Duke
2. FSU
3. Louisville
4. Virginia
5. Virginia Tech

Beyond that, I see a traffic-jam of ND, State, ‘Cuse, Pitt, etc.

 

[RR30]

Duke


Florida State



UL


Literally everyone else sucks


North Carolina

 

[topps coach]

Been an ACC fan since 1963 and can never remember a year where the league looked so bad,but it is similar to college basketball throughout the nation.I cannot see any team where you feel confident that they are final four bound

 

[dukedevilz]

The thing is, 68 teams have to come from somewhere. SEC isn’t deep. PAC 12 feels like 3, maybe 4 teams?

So I still think the ACC ends up with 5. But yeah, none seem like a lock after the top 3.

*Cough* Mid-majors. I think 5-7 teams in the ACC would finish at .500 or below in the Atlantic 10 or WCC.

That being said, here's how I'd rank our conference:

1. Duke
2. Florida State
3. Louisville
4. NC State
5. Virginia Tech
6. Virginia
7. Notre Dame
8. Georgia Tech
9. Pittsburgh
10. Miami
11. Syracuse
12. Clemson
13. UNC
14. Boston College
15. Wake Forest

VT at least has a good win on their resume. Not sure any of the other 4-14 do.

Not a good year for the ACC, no denying that. But several of the other teams have at least one decent OOC win.

NC State- Wisconsin
Clemson- TCU
North Carolina- Oregon
Wake Forest- Xavier
Miami- Illinois (road)
Virginia Tech- Michigan State

 

[GE Nole]

I’m hoping that this is the year the selection committee decides on more at-large mid major programs. I think bubble is going to be really, really soft this year.

What mid majors are tearing it up? Gonzaga isn’t even a mid-major. St. Mary’s, but they often make it anyway.

 

[GE Nole]

*Cough* Mid-majors. I think 5-7 teams in the ACC would finish at .500 or below in the Atlantic 10 or WCC.

That being said, here's how I'd rank our conference:

1. Duke
2. Florida State
3. Louisville
4. NC State
5. Virginia Tech
6. Virginia
7. Notre Dame
8. Georgia Tech
9. Pittsburgh
10. Miami
11. Syracuse
12. Clemson
13. UNC
14. Boston College
15. Wake Forest



Not a good year for the ACC, no denying that. But several of the other teams have at least one decent OOC win.

NC State- Wisconsin
Clemson- TCU
North Carolina- Oregon
Wake Forest- Xavier
Miami- Illinois (road)
Virginia Tech- Michigan State

I’ll ask you the same. I’m all for mid majors. But which ones have done a whole lot to put themselves in contention? And don’t say Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, or AAC teams.

 

[EVERHARTA]

I’ll ask you the same. I’m all for mid majors. But which ones have done a whole lot to put themselves in contention? And don’t say Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, or AAC teams.

Technically those are mid-majors. Although I think the AAC is a power conference in basketball.

 

[Noahtogo24]

Ha! Notre Dame is actually in the top half of the ACC this season??

 

[tw3301]

I’ll ask you the same. I’m all for mid majors. But which ones have done a whole lot to put themselves in contention? And don’t say Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, or AAC teams.

They should honestly cut the tournament field to 16 teams this year... And that might be too much.

 

[GE Nole]

Technically those are mid-majors. Although I think the AAC is a power conference in basketball.

The AAC is like quasi high-major, but I think closer to high Major than mid major. They play in big arenas with large budgets.

And the reason I said to exclude Gonzaga (truly, they are a high major), St Mary’s and San Diego State is because they would most likely make it anyway. So it’s irrelevant how the ACC or SEC is doing.

(FYI, dukedevils and I have been going back and forth on this for a bit).

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

I'd put FSU on top.

Hard to believe how bad this league is with so many good coaches.

 

[HRTheCard]

I'd put FSU on top.

Hard to believe how bad this league is with so many good coaches.

Hard to believe how bad this league is......but which one is actually good this year? That would be my response. Does any conference really set themselves apart?

 

[tw3301]

Hard to believe how bad this league is......but which one is actually good this year? That would be my response. Does any conference really set themselves apart?

No, they're all a big shit sandwich outside of the top 2/3 teams.

 

[Quavarius]

I agree with your top 3. I think there's a big drop off between the top 3 and whoever is 4. Kenpom would agree with me as the top 3 are in KP top 15 and UVA at 4 is 43.

Duke's schedule is so soft that they could honestly go 20-0 in the ACC this year. They play FSU and Louisville once and both of those games are in Cameron.

After the top 3, I would not be surprised with how 4-15 finish. There is not a single lock for the NCAA in the 4-15 range.

No complaints here, especially since we played both on the road last season.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Hard to believe how bad this league is......but which one is actually good this year? That would be my response. Does any conference really set themselves apart?

The B10 is really strong. tOSU @ 1-4, a couple other ranked teams 2-3... there is no walk anywhere really.

B12 looks okay to me. I have not seen TCU, but BU, KU, WVU, and Tech are all good. I have not seen OU either.

I will admit I haven't seen a lot of games this year.

 

[dukedevilz]

I’ll ask you the same. I’m all for mid majors. But which ones have done a whole lot to put themselves in contention? And don’t say Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, San Diego State, or AAC teams.

Some of these teams won't need an at-large... but,

BYU (With Yoeli Childs, I think they're borderline top 25)
Northern Iowa
Liberty
New Mexico
Utah State (if Merrill and Queta can return to form)
East Tennessee State
Furman or UNCG (not both)
Harvard
Yale

 

[GE Nole]

Some of these teams won't need an at-large... but,

BYU (With Yoeli Childs, I think they're borderline top 25)
Northern Iowa
Liberty
New Mexico
Utah State (if Merrill and Queta can return to form)
East Tennessee State
Furman or UNCG (not both)
Harvard
Yale

BYU, like Gonzaga, isn’t really a mid-major. Massive arena and resources. They are in WCC just to have a home and be independent in football. But I agree they are good.

The rest, sure. (Though Utah State has been a big disappointment). But like you said, half will earn an at large bid. Folks are acting like the mid majors (true ones) should earn 10-15 at large bids because the ACC and SEC suck. But the at large mid majors ain’t exactly lighting it up

 

[dukedevilz]

BYU, like Gonzaga, isn’t really a mid-major. Massive arena and resources. They are in WCC just to have a home and be independent in football. But I agree they are good.

The rest, sure. (Though Utah State has been a big disappointment). But like you said, half will earn an at large bid. Folks are acting like the mid majors (true ones) should earn 10-15 at large bids because the ACC and SEC suck. But the at large mid majors ain’t exactly lighting it up

Forgot about Dayton and VCU. One of those two will need an at-large. Richmond and Duquense are on the cusp. They're both outside of the bubble at this point.

And I'm not suggesting mid-majors need 10-15 at-large bids. But, there have been seasons in the past where the Power 6 + AAC receive 34-35 of the 36 at-large bids. It's just a little much. I'm thinking more like 5-7 bids for mid-majors. Ohio State going 8-12 in the B1G last year getting a bid over several deserving mid-majors is a travesty. How can you compete for a national championship when you only win 40% of your league games?? That's the stuff that irks me. And, of course, Saint Mary's missing out on the tourney in 2016 and 2018.

Wouldn't be surprised if SMC misses out on the tourney again. They have wins over Wisconsin, Utah Sate, and Arizona State (40-point win). But, they also have losses to Winthrop (1 point), Pacific (4 overtimes), and Pacific (1 point loss). Even though those losses were razor thin, the committee is going to dock them a mile and half. The loss against Pacific was one of the worst no-calls you'll ever see. Could have called goal-tending twice on the same play. One defender touched the net, going for a block, when a game-winning shot was attempted in OT. The other defender blocked the shot off the backboard.

Northern Iowa has impressed me with the limited time that I've seen them. Beat Colorado in Boulder. Should have beaten WVU in Cancun. WVU got the lead with a basket and the foul in the final minute, when it looked like the guy actually went over the back. I think Northern Iowa is borderline top 25 team, too. And they absolutely deserve an at-large bid if they don't win the MVC Tournament... It's not something to lose sleep over, just not a fan of seeing schools that go 9-9 or 8-10 in league play receive a bid. That's really scraping at the bottom of the barrel, if you ask me.

 

[GE Nole]

Forgot about Dayton and VCU. One of those two will need an at-large. Richmond and Duquense are on the cusp. They're both outside of the bubble at this point.

And I'm not suggesting mid-majors need 10-15 at-large bids. But, there have been seasons in the past where the Power 6 + AAC receive 34-35 of the 36 at-large bids. It's just a little much. I'm thinking more like 5-7 bids for mid-majors. Ohio State going 8-12 in the B1G last year getting a bid over several deserving mid-majors is a travesty. How can you compete for a national championship when you only win 40% of your league games?? That's the stuff that irks me. And, of course, Saint Mary's missing out on the tourney in 2016 and 2018.

Wouldn't be surprised if SMC misses out on the tourney again. They have wins over Wisconsin, Utah Sate, and Arizona State (40-point win). But, they also have losses to Winthrop (1 point), Pacific (4 overtimes), and Pacific (1 point loss). Even though those losses were razor thin, the committee is going to dock them a mile and half. The loss against Pacific was one of the worst no-calls you'll ever see. Could have called goal-tending twice on the same play. One defender touched the net, going for a block, when a game-winning shot was attempted in OT. The other defender blocked the shot off the backboard.

Northern Iowa has impressed me with the limited time that I've seen them. Beat Colorado in Boulder. Should have beaten WVU in Cancun. WVU got the lead with a basket and the foul in the final minute, when it looked like the guy actually went over the back. I think Northern Iowa is borderline top 25 team, too. And they absolutely deserve an at-large bid if they don't win the MVC Tournament... It's not something to lose sleep over, just not a fan of seeing schools that go 9-9 or 8-10 in league play receive a bid. That's really scraping at the bottom of the barrel, if you ask me.

I agree with most of what you wrote. We’ve agreed about St. Mary’s before.

I think the biggest place we don’t see eye to eye on is the .500 in league play. Going .500 in a league like the ACC has been the last few years, or maybe the Big 12 or Big 10 a couple years ago, is a tough accomplishment (though the unbalanced schedules do need to be examined on a case by case basis).

There were some teams getting in with 7-11 or 8-12 records I don’t agree with. But I can tell you that a lot of mid-majors wouldn’t go 9-9 or 10-10 either.

 

[pisgah101]

Duke


Florida State



UL


Literally everyone else sucks


North Carolina

this is mine

 

[pisgah101]

Been an ACC fan since 1963 and can never remember a year where the league looked so bad,but it is similar to college basketball throughout the nation.I cannot see any team where you feel confident that they are final four bound

i do

 

[pisgah101]

I'd put FSU on top.

Hard to believe how bad this league is with so many good coaches.

and you’d be wrong

 

[dukedevilz]

I agree with most of what you wrote. We’ve agreed about St. Mary’s before.

I think the biggest place we don’t see eye to eye on is the .500 in league play. Going .500 in a league like the ACC has been the last few years, or maybe the Big 12 or Big 10 a couple years ago, is a tough accomplishment (though the unbalanced schedules do need to be examined on a case by case basis).

There were some teams getting in with 7-11 or 8-12 records I don’t agree with. But I can tell you that a lot of mid-majors wouldn’t go 9-9 or 10-10 either.

You're probably right that a lot of mid-majors wouldn't go .500 in a really good conference. I'd just prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to a team that went 18-2 in league play over a .500 team. Okay, I guess I have a specific example in mind. Davidson went to the Elite 8 in 2008. They did lose a few valuable pieces after the season. But they were still pretty good in 2009. Went 18-2 in the Southern Conference in 2009 and had OOC wins against West Virginia and NC State. That's the kind of team that I would prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to, instead of another .500 team.

... And just saw Carlton Bragg was dismissed from New Mexico's team. That's going to significantly hurt their chances at receiving an at-large bid.

 

[Denim Vest]

*Cough* Mid-majors. I think 5-7 teams in the ACC would finish at .500 or below in the Atlantic 10 or WCC.

That being said, here's how I'd rank our conference:

1. Duke
2. Florida State
3. Louisville
4. NC State
5. Virginia Tech
6. Virginia
7. Notre Dame
8. Georgia Tech
9. Pittsburgh
10. Miami
11. Syracuse
12. Clemson
13. UNC
14. Boston College
15. Wake Forest



Not a good year for the ACC, no denying that. But several of the other teams have at least one decent OOC win.

NC State- Wisconsin
Clemson- TCU
North Carolina- Oregon
Wake Forest- Xavier
Miami- Illinois (road)
Virginia Tech- Michigan State

Word yeah was too lazy to look it up lol.

I don’t see how UNC gets into the tourney picture from here and UVA looks so terrible but I guess they could still get to 20 wins and sneak in.

This site has UVA, UNC, NC St, Miami, VT as still having an outside shot at the tourney. I’d give NC St and VT the best chance I guess.

https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-tournament/bracketology/by-conference/

 

[dukedevilz]

Word yeah was too lazy to look it up lol.

I don’t see how UNC gets into the tourney picture from here and UVA looks so terrible but I guess they could still get to 20 wins and sneak in.

This site has UVA, UNC, NC St, Miami, VT as still having an outside shot at the tourney. I’d give NC St and VT the best chance I guess.

https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-tournament/bracketology/by-conference/

Yeah, those odds are funky. No way should UNC have a 30% chance at an at-large bid. I would agree with NC State and Va Tech at having the best shot. I have NC State, VT, and UVA at 4-5-6 in my rankings. After that, it's kind of a 9-way tie for last.

 

[Noahtogo24]

5. THE ACC MIGHT BE A THREE-BID LEAGUE
We have reached the point where the bottom has fallen out of this year’s ACC.

Duke looks awesome. Florida State and Louisville are legit. But beyond that there are so many question marks surrounding every other team in the conference.

Like, for example, who is the fourth-best team in the conference? Virginia cannot score and is coming off of back-to-back losses to Boston College and Syracuse, the latter of which came at home. North Carolina is a train wreck and Roy Williams is asking to be fired. Georgia Tech has looked pretty good, but they aren’t eligible for the postseason. Virginia Tech beat Michigan State. N.C. State beat Wisconsin. Have we reached a point where those two teams are the two teams that can keep the league from getting just three teams into the NCAA tournament?

In our latest bracket projection, five ACC teams were in the field, but that came because UVA’s home loss to Syracuse. N.C. State is a No. 10 seed.