1. Syracuse (21-0, 8-0): In front of a record-breaking 35,446 fans at Carrier Dome, Syracuse beat No. 17 Duke 91-89 in overtime in the first ACC matchup between the two teams. The Blue Devils pushed the Orange to the brink, with sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon draining a 3-point buzzer beater to send the game to overtime.
2. Virginia (17-5, 8-1): Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to upset No. 18 Pittsburgh 48-45 on the road. The redshirt sophomore led the Cavaliers in scoring with 16 points.
3. Pittsburgh (18-4, 6-3): Pittsburgh dropped in the conference standings after losing back-to-back home games against No. 17 Duke and Virginia. The Panthers hope to bounce back from their loss to Virginia when they take on a struggling Miami squad on the road Wednesday.
4. Duke (17-5, 6-3): Although the Blue Devils couldn’t gut out the victory against Syracuse, the fight they put up against the second-ranked team in the country bodes well for the rest of the season. They hope to improve their conference record with a pair of wins against Wake Forest and Boston College this week, which both have losing records.
5. Clemson (14-6, 5-3): After blowout losses to North Carolina and Pittsburgh last week, the Tigers rebounded with a tough road victory in Tallahassee. Clemson junior K.J. McDaniels scored 26 points to lead the Tigers to a 53-49 win against Florida State.
6. Maryland (13-9, 5-4): Led by junior Dez Wells’ 19 points, Maryland cruised past Virginia Tech 80-60 in Blacksburg, Va. Four Terrapins tallied double-digit points in a balanced scoring effort. Earlier in the week Maryland just barely squeaked by Miami at home, winning 74-71.
7. North Carolina (14-7, 4-4): After a rocky start in ACC play, North Carolina has won its last three games against conference foes in convincing fashion. The Tar Heels most recently won on the road at Georgia Tech 78-65 and topped N.C. State 84-70 at home.
8. N.C. State (14-8, 4-5): After winning their first game of the week against Florida State, the Wolfpack moved to the bottom half of the conference standings after struggling against the Tar Heels Saturday. They have a full week of rest before traveling to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on Miami.
9. Wake Forest (14-8, 4-5): Wake Forest fell to Georgia Tech 79-60, marking its second consecutive home loss. The first loss came at the hands of No. 2 Syracuse in a 67-57 defeat. The Demon Deacons hope to pull out a marquee win against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday.
10. Florida State (13-8, 4-5): The Seminoles have fallen on hard times, losing their past three games and four out of their last five. Last week Florida State lost two nail-biters, falling to N.C. State 74-70 before dropping a game to Clemson 53-49. The Wolfpack have a tough road matchup against Maryland this week after hosting Virginia Tech.
11. Georgia Tech (12-10, 3-6): Marcus Georges-Hunt led Georgia Tech to victory against Wake Forest with 23 points Saturday, getting his team back on track after a loss to North Carolina earlier in the week. The Yellow Jackets hope to build off the momentum of their road win when they travel to Clemson Tuesday.
12. Notre Dame (12-10, 3-6): Notre Dame eked out a 73-70 win against Boston College in overtime Saturday to break a string of three straight defeats to Florida State, Wake Forest and Virginia. After just one day of rest, the Fighting Irish will take on Syracuse at Carrier Dame tonight.
13. Miami (11-10, 2-6): Miami dropped a close one to Maryland 74-71 to fall in the conference standings. However, the Hurricanes handily defeated Norfolk State 64-49 in a rare nonconference matchup this late in the season. Miami will return to ACC play this week against Pittsburgh and N.C. State.
14. Boston College (6-15, 2-6): Boston College’s struggles continued with a loss to Notre Dame in overtime Saturday, but the club did manage its second ACC win of the year earlier in the week by dismantling Virginia Tech 76-52. This week won’t be easy for the Eagles, who will travel to Charlottesville, Va. Wednesday to face Virginia before playing Duke at home this weekend.
15. Virginia Tech (8-13, 1-8): Virginia Tech hasn’t won a conference game since its 61-60 overtime win against Miami Dec. 8. This week the losing streak reached eight games with blowout losses to Boston College and Maryland. The Hokies hope to end their losing streak this week in road contests against Florida State and Pittsburgh.
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