The ACC's last remaining unbeaten team lost this week, and Duke leads a crowd of one-loss teams a few weeks before the start of conference play.
No. 5 Duke (10-1)
Duke fans finally got a taste of the team head coach Mike Krzyzewski envisioned when he brought in the top recruiting class in the country this week. Although Marques Bolden saw limited time against No. 21 Florida, Jayson Tatum showed the country what he could do on a national stage, dropping 22 points and grabbing eight boards to help the Blue Devils to an 84-74 victory on a night when Grayson Allen had a hard time scoring. Against UNLV Saturday in Las Vegas, though, Allen scored a career-high 34 points en route to a 94-45 win.
That is what makes this team so dangerous—almost anyone can step up on any given night and lead the team. Allen has done it, Tatum has done it, Luke Kennard has done it, Frank Jackson has done it and so have a few more. And the team will only get better as Bolden and Tatum get more comfortable and Harry Giles makes his debut.
No. 7 North Carolina (10-1)
A week after a tough road loss at Indiana, North Carolina had to survive two games without starting point guard Joel Berry, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle. Following an 83-74 home win against Davidson, the Tar Heels had a major scare Sunday night as they narrowly escaped against Tennessee with a two-point victory. Freshman Tony Bradley sealed the game with a block in the closing seconds, and the Tar Heels rallied from a 15-point deficit to win 73-71. They will have to shake off the scare quickly with a showdown against No. 6 Kentucky looming in Las Vegas Saturday.
No. 11 Louisville (9-1)
Louisville has done an impressive job of responding to an early-season meltdown against then-No. 20 Baylor, winning its next four in a row. This week, the Cardinals beat Southern Illinois by 23 and had six players score in double figures en route to a 102-71 thrashing of Texas Southern. Louisiville faces a very difficult schedule ahead, though, as it will face Kentucky, No. 14 Virginia and No. 9 Indiana in three straight games to end the month.
No. 14 Virginia (8-1)
Following its first loss of the season last weekend against then-No. 25 West Virginia, Virginia bounced back nicely with a 76-53 victory against East Carolina Tuesday. The Cavaliers, as usual, are finding success with their strong defense. They have yet to allow an opponent to score 70 points in a game this year, and they have even held opponents to fewer than 50 points on four separate occasions already.
No. 23 Notre Dame (9-1)
The Fighting Irish finally fell Saturday to top-ranked Villanova, giving up 37 points to senior guard Josh Hart in the 74-66 loss. After Notre Dame took a five-point lead into the halftime locker room, the defending national champions locked down on defense, only allowing the Fighting Irish to score 25 points after the break. If it keeps up the high level of play, Notre Dame could surprise some teams in conference play and make another deep run in the ACC tournament.
Florida State (10-1)
After dropping from the rankings following a loss to Temple early in the season, Florida State has bounced back with six consecutive wins. Its last might have been its most impressive, as the Seminoles beat their in-state rival Florida 83-78 Sunday evening. Sophomore Dwayne Bacon has continued to score with ease and notched a game-high 24 points against the Gators as he leads his team into conference play.
Virginia Tech (8-1)
After an easy 75-59 win against Maryland Eastern-Shore, the Hokies held off Ole Miss 80-75 Sunday for its third win against a Power-5 team of the year. Virginia Tech should be able to extend its five-game winning streak with a pair of easy games to start winter break, but that could come to a screeching halt when the Blue Devils come to town on New Year’s Eve to open ACC play.
Syracuse (6-3)
Syracuse is now 2-3 in its last five games, but it bounced back from a close 52-50 loss to Connecticut last Monday with a 99-77 win against Boston University Saturday. Despite nearly scoring 100 points for what would have been the second time this season, the Orange have had their issues on offense, scoring 60 points or fewer in all three of their losses. Syracuse will have to find its rhythm soon or continue its slide down the standings.
Miami (7-2)
After a short two-game skid in which the Hurricanes lost to then-No. 21 Iowa State and Florida, Miami has cruised through a significantly easier stretch of its schedule. It has now won three games in a row, including an 82-46 drubbing of South Carolina State Tuesday, but head coach Jim Larrañaga’s team still has a lot to prove in conference play if it wants to crack the top 25.
NC State (7-2)
Despite its 7-2 record, N.C. State has played like one of the weaker teams in the conference. The departure of point guard Cat Barber has left the Wolfpack in need of offense, and they have been plagued by inconsistent play. N.C. State has already had some close calls this year with wins against Georgia Southern, Loyola-Chicago and Boston University by fewer than five points, and its 12-point margin of victory against Tennessee State Saturday is deceiving. The game went to overtime deadlocked at 50—it just took until the 41st minute for the Wolfpack to heat up.
Pittsburgh (8-2)
Following its second loss of the season at the hands of Duquesne, Pittsburgh responded this week with a pair of close home wins against Buffalo and Penn State. The Panthers’ schedule will only get tougher after a modest out-of-conference schedule has helped the team to a solid record so far. It will certainly have to keep up its impressive 3-point shooting performance to have any success in ACC play, as the Panthers have drained 7.2 triples per game so far.
Wake Forest (8-2)
Wake Forest made quick work of Charlotte, winning by 17 points, but UNC Greensboro proved to be a much bigger threat. Sophomore Bryant Crawford nailed a game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left to lift the Demon Deacons to a narrow 78-75 victory after they blew a double-digit first half lead. Wake Forest won't be able to afford as many mistakes when it takes on No. 13 Xavier Saturday night.
Clemson (6-2)
Guard Dante Grantham paced the Tigers with 19 points and red-hot three point shooting Saturday, hitting 4-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc to decimate Mercer 90-47. Clemson now heads into its next matchup Monday looking for its fifth straight win against South Carolina State.
Georgia Tech (5-3)
The Yellow Jackets snapped a two-game skid with a narrow 76-73 upset victory Wednesday against VCU in overtime. Georgia Tech saw an eight-point halftime lead evaporate as VCU stormed back, but was able to recover in the extra period. Junior Tadric Jackson scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Boston College (4-5)
Boston College dipped below .500 this week with losses to both Harvard and Hartford. Jason Dunne knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing seconds Friday to lift the 3-8 Hawks to a 65-63 win for their first victory against an ACC team in program history. The Eagles did not reach 70 points in either game this week and remain winless on the season when failing to hit that mark.
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