An undefeated conference leader falls and the standings continue to shift as another exciting week of ACC battles are behind us. The Blue Zone takes a look at the week for the teams in the ACC:
1. North Carolina (19-4, 8-2 in the ACC): The Tar Heels suffered back-to-back upsets to break their undefeated conference record and threaten their top spot in the conference. Forward Isaiah Hicks went 2-of-8 from the field in the team’s first loss of the week Monday night to No. 19 Louisville, and teammates Justin Jackson and Brice Johnson combined for just 7-of-23 shooting in South Bend as Notre Dame edged out the 80-76 upset Saturday. The team has the chance to rebound in this week’s matchups against Boston College and Pittsburgh before the first meeting with Tobacco Road rival Duke Feb. 17.
2. Virginia (19-4, 8-3): Malcolm Brogdon led the Cavaliers to two easy wins against Boston College and Pittsburgh, scoring almost half of his team’s total points in both affairs. Virginia got off to a slow start in a 61-47 win Wednesday, but a strong defensive effort held Eagles’ guard Eli Carter—averaging 17.3 before the game—to just seven points.
The team ranked fifth nationally in points allowed proceeded in appropriate style, giving up just 50 to a Panthers squad averaging 79 points per game. Virginia hopes to avenge its first ACC loss in its rematch against in-state rival Virginia Tech this week before traveling to Durham for a highly-touted matchup against Duke Saturday.
3. Louisville (19-4, 8-3): The Cardinals reached the top of the ACC standings temporarily this weekend after a 71-65 upset at home against North Carolina earlier in the week. Center Chinanu Onuaku’s 10 rebounds and 12 points earned him his eighth double-double of the season, and forward Damion Lee added 24 points to the effort to keep things close until the final few seconds.
Louisville finished the week with bad news and good news as a self-imposed postseason ban motivated the team to crush Boston College 79-47 a day later. The Cardinals struggled to get their going in the first half against Duke Monday and fell 72-65 in their first game as an ACC opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
4. Miami (18-4, 7-3): The Hurricanes defeated Notre Dame 79-70 and Georgia Tech 75-68 to remain just a game behind the top spot in the conference. Freshman Anthony Lawrence Jr made an unexpected contribution against the Fighting Irish as he scored a career-best 18-points on 83 percent shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc.
5. Notre Dame (17-7, 8-4): The Fighting Irish had a slow start to the week, falling to Miami amidst foul trouble and a poor rebounding effort. Two early fouls kept big man Zach Auguste on the bench for all but six minutes of the first half, which allowed a substantial Miami run and meant his 12 second-half points weren’t enough to close the gap. Notre Dame rebounded in full force to take down second-ranked North Carolina 80-76, making up a 15-point deficit to hand the Tar Heels their second straight loss of the season. The Fighting Irish scoring effort was led by Bonzie Colson and Demetrius Jackson, who both had 19 points.
6. Duke (18-6, 7-4): For the first time since early January, the Blue Devils have won three games in a row. Sophomore Grayson Allen led the way with 27 points in Duke’s victory against Georgia Tech, helped along by Derryck Thornton’s 15 points and three assists and a double-double from Brandon Ingram—his fifth of the season—with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Duke returned home to edge out an all-too-close win against N.C. State to break a two-game losing streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Allen combined with Luke Kennard for 54 points shooting better than 50 percent from the floor in the 88-80 win.
The Blue Devils then picked up their first win against a ranked opponent this season when they topped Louisville behind a solid effort on both ends of the floor. Things don't get easier for the Blue Devils as they welcome No. 7 Virginia to Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday.
7. Pittsburgh (17-5, 6-4): The Panthers dropped their only game of the week, a 64-50 loss to Virginia to give the team its fourth loss in seven games. Forward Jamel Artis managed 17 points in the loss, but the Cavaliers’ lockdown defense prevented any offensive runs for Pittsburgh. The Panthers have a tough week ahead with matchups against Miami Tuesday and North Carolina Saturday.
8. Clemson (14-10, 7-5): The Tigers traded games this week, beating Wake Forest before losing to Virginia Tech, a team that remains below .500 and hadn’t won a game since Jan. 16. Clemson scored just 57 points in the loss, shooting near 35 percent from the floor and making just seven of 25 3-point attempts. Things did not get much better for the Tigers Monday when they fell to Notre Dame 89-83 for their fourth loss in six games.
9. Florida State (16-7, 6-5): The Seminoles enjoyed another perfect week off victories against N.C. State and a 20-point win against Wake Forest. Freshman Dwayne Bacon—recently titled ACC player of the week—drained 20 points in the win against the Wolfpack. Florida State has now won four straight and finished the week above .500 in ACC play for the first time this season.
10. Syracuse (16-8, 6-5): The Orange’s only game of the week was an overtime win against Virginia Tech. Michael Gbinije led the effort with 17 points, most notably tying the game with a long triple with just less than 30 seconds in regulation. Syracuse had three players finish in double figures and will hope to maintain a productive offense as it heads to face Florida State and Boston College this week in an effort to stay ahead of the bottom tier in the conference standings.
11. Virginia Tech (13-11, 5-6): The Hokies rebounded from their loss to the Orange Tuesday with a narrow win against Clemson, snapping a five-game losing streak. Forward Zach LeDay made five free throws across the final 30 seconds to give his team the three-point advantage it needed for the 60-57 win. LeDay finished with 19, his best effort since Jan. 27 against Louisville. The Hokies’ only focus for the week will be replicating an early season win against in-state rival Virginia when they face off for the second time Tuesday.
12. Georgia Tech (12-11, 2-8): The Yellow Jackets dropped both of their games this week, losing to Duke 80-71 despite a 58 percent first-half shooting effort and following up the performance with a 75-68 loss to Miami. Georgia Tech has lost three straight with, but could move up the conference standings this week with winnable contests against Wake Forest and Clemson.
13. N.C. State (12-12, 2-9): The Wolfpack could not avenge earlier losses to either of its opponents this week, falling to both Florida State and Duke despite Anthony Barber scoring a combined 57 points across the two contests. Although the junior guard averages 23.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, his team only has two wins in conference through 11 games.
14. Wake Forest (10-13, 1-10): The only North Carolina team doing worse than the Wolfpack are the one-win Demon Deacons, who lost their eighth straight contest to close out the week in a 20-point beatdown against Florida State. Earlier in the week, Wake Forest fell to Clemson despite leading 28-20 at halftime. Foul trouble limited big men Devin Thomas and Konstantinos Mitoglou in Tuesday’s loss, a problem the two players must correct if they hope to beat Georgia Tech or N.C. State in this week’s round of competition.
15. Boston College (7-16, 0-10): The Eagles are still winless in ACC play after falling to No. 9 Virginia and No. 19 Louisville. The Boston College offense only managed 47 points in both games and must now revisit North Carolina, a team that defeated the winless Eagles by 27 in their first meeting just three games ago. But there may be light at the end of the tunnel as the Tar Heels will be Boston College's last-ranked opponent heading into the final stretch of the conference season.
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