Flagg/Hepburn carrying the ACC ticket into 2025
There’s no transition of power in the ACC this week, but where do we put the Syracuse Orange this week? Let’s not delay and get to this week’s rankings:
1: Duke Blue Devils (16-2, 8-0)
Maine hasn’t produced someone this highly regarded since Jessica Fletcher was solving every crime in Cabot Cove.
2. Louisville Cardinals (14-5, 7-1)
The Cardinals roll on and 12 other ACC AD’s are tired of being asked by their boosters to just do what Louisville did this off-season.
3. Clemson Tigers (15-4, 7-1)
Very balanced on both offense and defense. This Tigers squad could make another March run.
4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-4, 6-1)
They keep on winning but this is a group that can’t afford losses to the bottom of the league so once again Steve Forbes is walking that tightrope down the stretch.
5. UNC Tar Heels (12-7, 5-2)
Speaking of teams who can’t afford too many ACC losses, UNC has the metrics (and talent), but it looks they’ll be on the bubble this year.
6. SMU Mustangs (14-4, 5-2)
At the rate, SMU athletics is going, they’ll be skipping past Florida State on the SEC expansion list.
7. Stanford Cardinal (12-6, 4-3)
No travel complaints from Stanford. Maybe it’s because they are smart enough to know that no ACC teams reside in NYC….someone should tell Mick that he’s in the Big 10, not Big East and doesn’t have to play anyone in NYC.
Mick Cronin on UCLA’s travel, and if other teams coming out west balances it out:
“Oh, a Big 10 team has to come to LA, where it’s 70 degrees, once. You’re asking me to feel sorry because Iowa had to come to LA for a few days? We’ve seen the Statue of Liberty twice in 3 weeks!” pic.twitter.com/NQgmenQvVY
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 18, 2025
8. Pitt Panthers (12-6, 3-4)
On a four-game losing skid right now, could Syracuse catch them before they rebound?
9. Florida State Seminoles (13-5, 4-3)
Still hanging around as Noles fans turn their attention to the start of the college baseball season.
10. Syracuse Orange (9-9, 3-4)
Can the Orange build off of the comeback win? At this point it just feels like the teams from here down are good enough to beat each other and not much more.
11. NC State Wolfpack (9-9, 2-5)
They really needed that UNC win. Can they muster another March miracle?
12. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-10, 3-4)
Showing a bit more life over the last two weeks.
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-10, 2-5)
The only bench contribution they got in the Dome was Micah Shrewsberry gifting the Orange some late-game free throws after his tantrum.
Caption this pic.twitter.com/hbV0vv6zfx
— NunesMagician.com (@NunesMagician) January 19, 2025
14. California Golden Bears (9-9, 2-5)
Can Andrej Stojakovic make a run at the scoring title? Cal fans would love it if he can keep a Stanford guy from taking the crown.
15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-11, 2-6)
Not exactly a strong ACC start for this group.
16. Boston College Eagles (9-9, 1-6)
Got Syracuse and Cooper Flagg to visit Conte so at least there were a lot of tickets sold. You have to figure there’s a coaching change coming here.
17. Virginia Cavaliers (8-10, 1-6)
We’re starting to understand why Tony Bennett’s sudden retirement happened when it did.
18. Miami Hurricanes (4-14, 0-7)
You have to believe Miami wishes they’d invested in Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar…that’s the volatile nature of UCoin (not to be confused with UConn)
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What did we get wrong this week?