With only two full weeks left in the regular season, three teams have separated themselves from the rest of the pack and one is in complete control of the ACC regular season title race:
1. No 2. Virginia (25-1, 13-1): The Cavaliers have had some issues scoring without swingman Justin Anderson, but relied on their defense to capture two more home wins and move one step closer to the ACC regular season title. Monday against Pittsburgh, guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 18 points to engineer a late Virginia run and the Cavaliers prevailed 61-49, then Sunday against Florida State, after Brogdon and backcourt mate London Perrantes collided and left the game, senior Darion Atkins was the one who made the big plays late in a 51-41 victory. Since its Jan. 31 loss Duke, Virginia has won six straight games.
2. No. 9 Notre Dame (24-4, 12-3): The Fighting Irish had a straightforward week thanks to the play of Jerian Grant, easily dispatching Wake Forest and Boston College by double figures. Grant had 24 points and 10 assists Tuesday against the Demon Deacons in Notre Dame's 88-75 win, then posted another double-double with 10 points and 11 assists in Saturday's 87-70 victory at Boston College. The Fighting Irish have gotten back in the groove since their 30-point loss at Duke Feb. 7, and had six players in double figures Saturday en route to their third straight win.
3. No. 4 Duke (24-3, 11-3): The Blue Devils extended their winning streak to seven with victories against North Carolina and Clemson. Against the Tar Heels, Duke held a double-digit advantage throughout much of the first half. But North Carolina fought back and eventually took a ten-point lead with less than four minutes to play. Freshman center Jahlill Okafor was less mobile after he sprained his ankle late in the first half, but Duke relied on Tyus Jones’s penetration to ultimately engineer a late comeback and win the game 92-90 in overtime.
Okafor sat out his first game of the season against Clemson Saturday, but the Blue Devils kept rolling without their dominant post player. Duke went on a 10-0 run in the second half to extend its lead to 20 and put the Tigers away with 9:51 left to play. Quinn Cook continued his strong play with a 27-point, four-assist and four-rebound performance in the Blue Devils' 78-56 win—their seventh straight.
4. No. 17 Louisville (21-6, 9-5): Louisville’s loss to Syracuse Wednesday marked the Cardinals’ third loss in four games after Orange big man Rakeem Christmas exploded for 29 points and eight rebounds. The Cardinals’ backcourt also suffered with senior guard Chris Jones suspended for the road contest. Louisville bounced back with a come-from-behind victory against Miami Sunday led by a Montrezl Harrell double-double and Jones' 17 points in his first game back, but got more bad news Sunday. The program announced that it was dismissing Jones from the team, with head coach Rick Pitino's saying no more than "he's finished," leaving the Cardinals in a difficult situation the rest of the season without their point guard.
Louisville will attempt to move on from the emotional roller-coaster at Georgia Tech Monday.
5. No. 15 North Carolina (19-8, 9-5): North Carolina bounced back from its heart-breaking loss to Duke as it steam-rolled Georgia Tech 89-60 Saturday. The Tar Heels ran the four-corner offense during their first offensive possession in honor of the late Dean Smith, then went on to shoot a season-high 62 percent. Six Tar Heels scored in double figures. North Carolina will look to continue its recent strong play against NC State Tuesday.
6. Syracuse (17-10, 8-6): The Orange’s season of ups and down continued this week. Following its first win against a ranked team this season against Louisville, Syracuse fell to Pittsburgh 65-61 Saturday. The Panthers limited former Blue Devil Michael Gbinije to 12 points on three-of-eight shooting and contained every Orange player other than Christmas to build an 11-point lead twice in the second half. However, Syracuse got 20 points from its two primary bench players and a 20-point, 12-rebound effort from Christmas and gradually chipped away at the lead to come within one point of the Panthers with a minute left in regulation before an illegal screen ended its comeback hopes.
7. Pittsburgh (18-10, 7-7): After struggling to score at Virginia Monday, Chris Jones, Jamel Artis and Michael Young combined to score 49 of the Panthers' 65 points against Syracuse Saturday in what was a huge win for head coach Jamie Dixon's squad. Pittsburgh will look to strengthen its resume for an NCAA tournament bid with a strong finish to the regular season with four winnable games against Miami, Boston College, Wake Forest and Florida State left.
8. Miami (17-10, 7-7): After a dominant 76-52 win against Virginia Tech Wednesday, the Hurricanes' NCAA tournament hopes suffered another blow with their 55-53 loss to Louisville. Miami led for much of the game, but was unable to close out the win after getting stagnant late. Star guard Angel Rodriguez's struggles continued, as the 5-foot-11 Kansas State transfer went just 1-of-12 from the field and missed a late 3-pointer. The Hurricanes face two more key contests against Florida State and North Carolina this week with their postseason fate also hanging in the balance.
9. N.C. State (17-11, 7-7): The Wolfpack returned from a six-day break to defeat Virginia Tech 69-53 in their only game this week. N.C. State has now won two consecutive conference games for the first time since the beginning of January. The Wolfpack fed off the momentum of their last upset against Louisville as the squad jumped out to a quick 25-10 lead against the Hokies. Following a Virginia Tech run to end the first half, N.C. State relied on hot shooting to extend its lead to double-digits with 10 minutes left to play and cruise to victory.
10. Clemson (15-12, 7-8): The Tigers’ consecutive double-digit losses to Georgia Tech and Duke mark Clemson’s fourth two-game losing streak of the season. Before struggling to find a rhythm at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday, the Tigers' offensive woes began in Atlanta facing the Yellow Jackets Monday, as Clemson shot just 36 percent in the 63-52 loss before putting up just 56 against Duke's defense. The Tigers are one of the better defensive teams in the country, but just don't have the offensive firepower that could turn them into a tournament team.
11. Florida State (15-13, 7-8): Before its loss to Virginia, Florida State defeated Boston College 69-60 Wednesday. The Seminoles relied on an 8-of-12 effort from long range to overcome a five-point halftime deficit and a 32-point performance from Olivier Hanlan. Devon Bookert led the way for Florida State, with 18 points on six-of-seven shooting, but the Seminoles were unable to make the plays late at Virginia Sunday and suffered their eighth conference loss as a result.
12. Wake Forest (12-15, 4-10): In its only contest of the week, Wake Forest fell 88-75 at Notre Dame and had no answer for Grant. Demon Deacon forward Devin Thomas had 26 points and 11 rebounds, but Wake Forest was unable to get the stops on the road to pull off the road upset.
13. Georgia Tech (12-15, 3-12): Prior to their loss to North Carolina Saturday, the Yellow Jackets halted their two-game slide with a 63-52 win against Clemson. The victory also ended a 10-game series-losing streak to the Tigers. With 12 minutes remaining, the Yellow Jackets and Tigers were tied at 32, before Georgia Tech exploded to open up an 18-point lead in eight minutes. next eight minutes the Yellow Jackets went on a run to build an 18-point lead.
14. Virginia Tech (10-17, 2-12): Virginia Tech’s struggles continued against Miami and N.C. State with two double-digit losses. The Hokies are currently on a three-game losing streak, rank 225th in points scored per game and have failed to eclipse 60 points in each of the three contests.
15. Boston College (9-17, 1-13): The Eagles’ losses to Notre Dame and Florida State extended their losing streak to eight games. Against the Fighting Irish, Aaron Brown and Oliver Hanlan contributed 22 and 19 points, respectively, but Boston College was unable to slow down Notre Dame's high-powered offense. The Fighting Irish relied on a 20-6 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half to break the game open, handing the Eagles their 13th loss in league play.
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