What a difference a week makes. The Blue Devils leapfrogged Louisville in the standings after a 2-0 week coupled with an 0-2 stretch for the Cardinals, and gained some ground on third-place Virginia as well with Saturday's dramatic win against the Cavaliers. A win Wednesday at North Carolina could throw Duke right back into the thick of the ACC race as the teams come down the stretch.
1. North Carolina (21-4, 10-2 in the ACC): After back-to-back losses, the No. 5 Tar Heels righted the ship heading into Wednesday's tilt with No. 20 Duke, squeaking by at Boston College—which remains winless in ACC play—in a game in which head coach Roy Williams had to leave the sidelines due to a bout of vertigo. North Carolina played its best game in quite a while Sunday at home, running past Pittsburgh 85-64 thanks to five double-digit scorers.
2. Miami (20-4, 9-3): Nobody had a closer week than the No. 11 Hurricanes, who survived at home 65-63 against the Panthers Tuesday night on a late Angel Rodriguez tip-in. Miami then turned around Sunday for its in-state rivalry game and got it could handle from Florida State, nearly squandering an 11-point halftime lead before winning 67-65.
3. Virginia (21-5, 10-4): The No. 7 Cavaliers avenged their early-January loss to in-state rival Virginia Tech Wednesday, taking down the Hokies 67-49 in Charlottesville, Va. Head coach Tony Bennett's squad then came to Durham for a nail-biter of a game against Duke, taking the lead with 10 seconds left before falling on Grayson Allen's much-debated buzzer-beating bank shot. Facing a quick Saturday-Monday turnaround, Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 73-53 win against N.C. State after heading to the locker room tied at 31.
4. Notre Dame (18-7, 9-4): The No. 18 Fighting Irish continued to build off their win against the Tar Heels Feb. 6, doing what few conference teams have done this season—waltz into Bon Secours Wellness Arena and steal an 89-83 game from Clemson. Notre Dame wasn't done there, though, coming from behind to beat then-No. 13 Louisville Saturday in South Bend, Ind., led by point guard Demetrius Jackson's game-high 27 points. Notre Dame has a week to rest on its laurels before playing at Georgia Tech Saturday.
5. Duke (19-6, 8-4): The Blue Devils began last week with zero top-25 teams on their resume. They now have two, after taking down the Cardinals 72-65 Monday in Durham. Duke followed that up with an impressive home win against No. 7 Virginia on Allen's runner as time expired, though replays indicated that his foot hit the ground prior to releasing the game-winning shot. Freshman Brandon Ingram scored 18 straight points for the Blue Devils spanning halftime to keep Duke afloat.
6. Louisville (19-6, 8-4): Rick Pitino's squad dropped road games at Duke and at Notre Dame last week, one of the tougher road trips concocted by the ACC schedulers. Guard Damion Lee led four Cardinals in double-figures against the Fighting Irish, but it wasn't enough to contain Jackson and marksman Steve Vasturia, who added 20 points. Louisville is now 1-2 since announcing its self-imposed postseason ban, and announced Monday that reserve 7-footer Anas Mahmoud will miss the rest of the year with a sprained ankle.
7. Syracuse (18-8, 8-5): The Orange cruised to double-digit wins last week, beating Florida State 85-72 and defeating Boston College 75-61 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The backcourt duo of Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney combined for 39 points against the Seminoles, then poured in 29 more against the Eagles Sunday afternoon.
8. Clemson (15-10, 8-5): After dropping a second straight contest Monday against Notre Dame, the Tigers bounced back Saturday in Atlanta, defeating Georgia Tech 66-52. Jaron Blossomgame and Jordan Roper combined for 32 points in the win, and Clemson held the Yellow Jackets to 9.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
9. Pittsburgh (17-7, 6-6): The Panthers played two very different games last week, going down to the wire at Miami Tuesday before losing in the final seconds before getting blown out of Chapel Hill by the Tar Heels. Michael Young and James Robinson led the way with 15 points apiece in the loss, during which the Tar Heels shot 59.3 percent from the floor.
10. Florida State (16-9, 6-7): The Seminoles were left to stomach two more losses last week, including a two-point loss to the Hurricanes at home. Leonard Hamilton's squad shot 45.6 percent from the floor and made nine 3-pointers, but still ended up on the losing end because Miami went 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. Florida State shot just 4-of-9.
11. Virginia Tech (13-12, 5-7): The Hokies had the weekend off, leaving them to stew about their 18-point loss to Virginia Tuesday night. Guard Justin Robinson scored 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting, but fellow starters Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Seth Allen were held scoreless.
12. Georgia Tech (13-12, 3-9): Marcus Georges-Hunt lit up Wake Forest for 30 points and Maryland transfer Charles Mitchell went for 14 points and 15 rebounds to lift the Yellow Jackets to a five-point win Wednesday night. A few days later, Mitchell put up one of the week's most impressive stat lines, scoring 11 points and bullying Clemson for 19 rebounds in Saturday's loss.
13. N.C. State (13-13, 3-10): Point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber dropped a career-high 38 points on 10-of-20 shooting to push the Wolfpack past Wake Forest Saturday. N.C. State also got 20 points from freshman Maverick Rowan, but the sharpshooter had just three in Monday's loss at Virginia.
14. Wake Forest (10-15, 1-12): The struggles continue for Danny Manning's Demon Deacons, who dropped a tight 71-66 game at Georgia Tech Wednesday before getting into a track meet with N.C. State Saturday. When the other team has "Cat" Barber, track meets usually favor his side. Wake Forest meets Boston College in a battle of cellar-dwellers Sunday after a Tuesday night trip to Pittsburgh.
15. Boston College (7-18, 0-12): Jim Christian was on the verge of his first signature win as head coach of the Eagles—and his first ACC win in general—leading then-No. 9 North Carolina 56-49 with 7:02 to play. But the Tar Heels found a way to grind out the win and deny Christian and guard Eli Carter a marquee victory. Big man Dennis Clifford posted 16 points in the loss to the Orange, and Matt Milon scored 20 of his career-high 25 in the first half.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.