Two more Duke wins moved the Blue Devils' winning streak to five and the team to 9-3 in a stacked ACC:
1. No. 2 Virginia (23-1, 11-1 in the ACC): Playing without star swingman Justin Anderson due to his fractured finger, the Cavaliers faced two tough tests from Wake Forest and N.C. State, but survived to maintain control in the league standings. Against the Wolfpack Wednesday, Virginia got 15 points from Malcolm Brogdon and nine second-half points from big man Mike Tobey en route to a 51-47 road victory. Saturday against the Demon Deacons, Brogdon came up big again without his partner in crime, racking up 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals—including a late one on Codi Miller-McIntyre to increase his team's winning streak to four. Forward Anthony Gill had 19 points as Virginia prevailed 61-60.
2. No. 10 Notre Dame (22-4, 10-3): The Fighting Irish only faced once game this week thanks to a front-loaded ACC schedule and bounced back from their sloppy loss at Duke last Saturday with a 60-58 win at Clemson. Star guard Jerian Grant led the way, pouring in 22 points and making clutch plays to keep Notre Dame in the ACC regular season title race.
3. No. 4 Duke (22-3, 9-3): It's hard to believe the Blue Devils lost to Miami and N.C. State by double digits based on their recent play. Duke has won five straight games and although it faced adversity at Florida State and at Syracuse last week, the Blue Devils came up clutch when it mattered to notch a 73-70 win Monday against the Seminoles and a 80-72 win Saturday against the Orange. If it can continue the momentum with two games against rival and No. 12 North Carolina left on its schedule, Duke could also make a run at the ACC regular season title if Virginia slips up.
4. No. 9 Louisville (20-5, 8-4); The Cardinals were on the wrong end of one of the week's most surprising developments. After knocking off Pittsburgh at home Wednesday 69-56 thanks to a 22-2 second-half run and a 28-point, 12-rebound, five-block performance from forward Montrezl Harrell, Louisville was stunned Saturday at home by N.C. State. The Wolfpack got 21 points from Anthony "Cat" Barber and held the Cardinals to 32.8 percent shooting to pull off the 74-65 road upset at the KFC Yum! Center.
5. No. 12 North Carolina (18-7, 8-4): Coming off two consecutive losses to Virginia and Louisville, the Tar Heels switched up their starting lineup last Saturday against Boston College and knocked off the Eagles 79-68. But the shift's success was short-lived, as in its only game this week, North Carolina was routed 89-76 at Pittsburgh Saturday, The Panthers scored the game's first 10 points, maintained a double-digit lead throughout the game and shot 65 percent to hand the Tar Heels their third loss in four games to cap an emotional week full of tragedy in Chapel Hill. North Carolina will look to bounce back at Duke Wednesday at 9 p.m.
6. Syracuse (16-9, 7-5): As head coach Jim Boeheim said after his team fell to Duke Saturday night, the Orange are playing about as well as they can with limited depth, but their back-loaded ACC schedule is making it tough for Syracuse to earn wins. The Orange self-imposed a postseason ban and aren't fighting for their tournament lives like other ACC teams, but have now lost five of their last nine games after beating Boston College 70-56 Wednesday and falling to Duke Saturday night. Former Blue Devil forward Michael Gbinije is playing as well as anyone in the country, averaging 23.7 points per game on 67.5 percent shooting in his past three games, but he will need more help as Syracuse gets set to face Louisville, Virginia, Duke and Notre Dame in four of its next five games.
7. Clemson (15-10, 7-6): Despite ranking 289th in the country in scoring at just 62.6 points per game, the Tigers have been one of the biggest surprises in the ACC after a lackluster nonconference slate. Clemson slowed down Notre Dame's high-powered offense Wednesday, but ultimately was unable to keep Grant from making plays down the stretch as the Fighting Irish won a nail-biter 60-58. The Tigers bounced back Saturday against Virginia Tech, dominating 75-54 thanks to 21 points and five 3-pointers from guard Jordan Roper. Clemson faces road games at Georgia Tech and Duke this week.
8. Pittsburgh (17-9, 6-6): After losing three consecutive games earlier in the season to fall to 2-5 in the ACC, the Panthers have turned things around to get back into the NCAA tournament picture. Pittsburgh has won four of its last five games and bounced back from a 69-56 Wednesday loss at Louisville highlighted by Harrell's dominant performance Saturday against the Tar Heels. Sheldon Jeter scored 22 points and was one of six Panthers in double figures as Pittsburgh rolled to its first win against a ranked team this year. The Panthers will look to keep the momentum at Virginia and Syracuse this week with only six regular season games left to strengthen their resume.
9. N.C. State (15-11, 6-7): After another crushing loss Wednesday against Virginia by four points, the Wolfpack had lost six of their previous eight games since upsetting Duke Jan. 11. Five of the losses had been by five points or less. N.C. State bounced back, though, putting together one of its few complete performances of the season Saturday at Louisville. The Wolfpack committed just eight turnovers against the Cardinals' pressure thanks to Barber's strong game, his third in the past four with at least 20 points. N.C. State will take on Virginia Tech and North Carolina this week looking to get back to .500 in conference play.
10. Florida State (14-12, 6-7): The Seminoles continued hovering around .500 in league play, splitting two games again this week after a close loss to Duke Monday and a four-point win Saturday against Georgia Tech. Xavier Rathan-Mayes continued his standout freshman season with 20 points as the Seminoles held off the Yellow Jackets 57-53 in Atlanta. Florida State has now won five of its last eight games.
11. Miami (15-9, 5-6): Another team that has struggled since upsetting the Blue Devils early in league play, the Hurricanes dropped a close game 72-70 at Wake Forest for their fourth loss in the last five games and fifth in the last eight. Miami let Wake Forest can 12 triples in the game while the Hurricanes went just 7-of-26 from distance. Miami star Angel Rodriguez had all 15 of his points in the second half but missed a layup that would have tied the game as the Hurricanes continued their recent slide. Miami's Sunday tilt against Boston College was postponed due to inclement weather and will be made up Monday.
12. Wake Forest (12-14, 4-9): The Demon Deacons had one of their best weeks of the season, getting 21 points and six triples from forward Konstantinos Mitoglou to hold off Miami Wednesday before pushing the Cavaliers to the brink Saturday. Wake Forest's next two games are against Notre Dame and Virginia, but the Demon Deacons have showed they can play with the top teams in the league and will look to pull the shocking upset they have been eyeing for much of ACC play. Wake Forest has suffered single-digit losses to Duke, Louisville, Syracuse and now Virginia in which it had a good chance to win.
13. Virginia Tech (10-15, 2-10): The Hokies earned their second conference win Monday when Malik Muller hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to help Virginia Tech knock off Georgia Tech 65-63. Muller had 17 points as the Hokies erased a 10-point deficit the last 5:08 by missing only one field goal down the stretch. Virginia Tech never got going at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday, though, as the Tigers dominated the Hokies 75-54. Muller had 17 points again, but Virginia Tech shot just 36.7 percent.
14. Georgia Tech (11-14, 2-11): The Yellow Jackets' season of close calls continued, as Georgia Tech lost two games by a combined six points this week. Virginia Tech pulled off its 10-point comeback at the expense of the Yellow Jackets, who scored just five points in the last five minutes of the game to fall 65-63. Then Florida State became the latest team to hand Georgia Tech a gut-wrenching loss Saturday, as Yellow Jacket star Marcus Georges-Hunt missed a late one-and-one to help the Seminoles preserve a late lead. After the 57-53 loss, Georgia Tech has now lost 10 league games by seven points or less.
15. Boston College (9-14, 1-10): The Eagles fell 70-56 to Syracuse Wednesday after the Orange used a late 17-8 run sparked by big plays from Gbinije to earn the road win. The loss was Boston College's fifth straight. The Eagles were supposed to have a chance to bounce back Sunday against Miami, but winter storm Neptune had other ideas, postponing the contest until Monday.
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