After beating Florida State 80-66 Thursday, the Blue Devils stumbled in their final road game of the season against Pittsburgh. With two regular season games remaining, Duke sits tied for fifth in the conference standings.
1. North Carolina (24-6, 13-4 in the ACC): After defeating N.C. State 80-68 early last week, the Tar Heels fell on the road to Virginia 79-74. North Carolina could not find an answer for Cavaliers forward Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 26 points and shot 56 percent from the field. Despite the loss, the Tar Heels still control their own destiny as they head into their final week of ACC play. North Carolina held on for a hard-fought 75-70 win against Syracuse Monday and can clinch the ACC regular-season title with a victory against Duke Saturday.
2. Miami (23-5, 12-4):The Hurricanes had one of their stronger weeks of the season as they finished their home campaign with a 64-61 win against Virginia and a 73-65 victory against then-No. 11 Louisville. The Hurricanes will close out ACC play with road matchups against Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, and will be without reserve guard Ja'Quan Newton, who was suspended for a violation of team rules.
3. Virginia (22-6, 11-5): The Cavaliers had an up-and-down week as they came away with a split against the top two teams in the conference. After falling to Miami, the Cavaliers rebounded with a signature win against North Carolina in front of a raucous home crowd. Virginia relied on a 16-5 second-half run to break open a tie game against the Tar Heels.
4. Louisville (22-7, 11-5): After self-imposing a tournament ban, Louisville can only play for an ACC regular season title. Although the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh on the road 67-60, their loss to the Hurricanes significantly hurt their chances of winning the conference crown. The Cardinals will have to defeat Georgia Tech and No. 4 Virginia and hope that Miami and North Carolina both fall in the final week of the regular season.
5. Duke (21-8, 10-6): The Blue Devils dominated Florida State thanks to 34 points from the duo of Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram. But in its next game, Duke came out flat against Pittsburgh en route to a 76-62 loss that wasn't even as close as the final score indicated. At one point in the second half, the Panthers led by 23 point as Pittsburgh outrebounded Duke 39-20.
6. Notre Dame (19-9, 10-6): After defeating Wake Forest 69-58, the Fighting Irish got caught looking ahead in a 77-56 loss to Florida State. Notre Dame could not escape from an early hole against the Seminoles and shot just 36 percent from the floor. Head coach Mike Brey’s squad will try to improve its NCAA tournament resume against No. 7 Miami Wednesday and N.C. State Saturday.
7. Pittsburgh (20-8, 9-7): Four days after losing to Louisville, the Panthers bounced back with their first win against a ranked-opponent this season, defeating Duke by 14 points. Forward Jamel Artis led the way against the Blue Devils with 17 points and five rebounds. With the win, Pittsburgh can worry less about making the tournament and more about securing a strong seed in the ACC tournament.
8. Clemson (16-12, 9-7): After a strong start to their ACC campaign, the Tigers have struggled down the stretch. Clemson lost to N.C. State 77-74 and then dropped a 75-73 nail-bitter to Georgia Tech—a pair of losses to conference bottom-dwellers that could prevent the Tigers from making the NCAA tournament.
9. Syracuse (19-11, 9-8): The Orange made the most out of their one game last week, defeating N.C. State 75-66. Senior guard Michael Gbinije scored a career-high 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting and head coach Jim Boeheim's zone-defense succeeded against the explosive Anthony "Cat" Barber. Syracuse missed an opportunity to come away with a key victory with a five-point loss to North Carolina and will travel to Florida State to cap off the regular season.
10. Virginia Tech (16-13, 8-8): The Hokies are currently riding a three-game winning streak after a 71-56 win against Boston College and an 81-74 victory against Wake Forest this past week. With wins in the final week of conference play at home against Pittsburgh and Miami, Virginia Tech could catapult to the top half of the ACC standings.
11. Georgia Tech (17-12, 7-9): Georgia Tech has played some of its best basketball of the season down the stretch. With a 75-73 win against Clemson and a 76-71 victory against Boston College, the Yellow Jackets are now on a four-game winning streak. Marcus Georges-Hust has played especially played well, scoring a combined 48 points in his last two outings.
12. Florida State (17-12, 7-10): Youth and poor defense have plagued head coach Leonard Hamilton’s squad over the second half of the season. The Seminoles ended a five-game losing streak with their upset victory against then-No. 23 Notre Dame Saturday. Dwayne Bacon scored 21 points, and Florida State knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers in the victory.
13. N.C. State (14-15, 4-12): The Wolfpack struggled last week, losing to North Carolina and Syracuse. Although Barber scored 32 points against the Tar Heels, N.C. State had no answer for North Carolina’s Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson who combined for 39 points and 17 rebounds.
14. Wake Forest (11-18, 2-15): The Demon Deacons recently ended an 11-game losing streak with a win against Boston College. But since then, Wake Forest’s downward spiral has only continue with Danny Manning’s squad falling to Notre Dame 69-58 before losing to Virginia Tech 81-74.
15. Boston College (7-22, 0-16): Boston College's offensive struggles continued in their losses against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. While guard Eli Carter tallied a combined 44 points over his last two games, he has not received much help from his supporting cast. The Eagles will try to end their season strong against N.C. State and Clemson.
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