ACC Basketball Power Rankings/Weekly Schedule 12/28/15

As I anxiously waited the start of the Sun Bowl where my Hurricanes were to take on Washington State and a mini blizzard, I caught 2/3 of the Louisville - Kentucky contest from Rupp.

I was slightly skeptical about the Cards, mostly due to a very weak OOC schedule, but came away impressed despite their narrow 75-73 loss.

Damion Lee is a big time player, and Chianu Onuaku is very Tonye Jekiri like.

I think they can survive until Mangok Mathiang returns from injury.   A healthier Anas Mahmoud will help.

And although Kentucky is no where near the juggernaut they were last year, I came away with a healthier respect for Louisville nonetheless.

They will still be an upper echelon ACC team this season.

The jury is still out on both FSU and Wake.

I absolutely love the size and talent of Leonard Hamilton's Squad.

Freshmen Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley are great in the open court.

And Xavier Rathan-Mayes has been much improved as a distributor, though I'd still like to see him call his own number a little more.

When Boris Bojanovsky gives them an inside presence, they are near impossible to defend.

Tuesday Night, the Noles head to Gainseville to take on a UF team that Miami beat by 10, but had trouble putting away.

It will be a good measuring stick for Florida State.

Wake Forest was oh so close to getting a signature win Vs Xavier last week, but they couldn't close the show.

Danny Manning's team gets a crack at decent if not marquee win this week, Vs LSU and All-World freshman Ben Simmons.

Simmons is a beast of a player, but his team has plenty of flaws.

The Deacons need this one if they want to have any OOC resume at all.  Codi Miller-McIntyre is back in the line-up and they need more production from him.

Other games worth watching include Northeastern (who beat UM) at NC State, and West Virginia at Va Tech.

And oh yeah,  by the weekend conference games start.

Enjoy ACC fans.

Here are my Power Rankings for the Week (pvs):

#1 (1) Virginia Cavaliers - London Perrantes huge 3 in OT saved the Hoos a loss Vs a talented California squad. This team just knows how to win.

#2 (2) Miami Hurricanes - The 'Canes handed LaSalle their worst loss in program history with a 95-49 spanking last Tuesday (LaSalle has been playing Hoops since 1931).  Granted this is not a great Explorers club this season, but at the same time Miami is pretty darn good.

#3 (3) North Carolina Tar Heels -  They have really come on strong since losing at Texas. Marcus Paige left last week's win Vs Appalachain State with an ankle injury. UNC needs him healthy.

#4 (4) Louisville Cardinals - It's not always fair to measure teams based on common opponents, especially considered when they played.  But who looked better Vs Kentucky?  The Cardinals on the road, or Duke at neutral site?

#5 (5) Duke Blue Devils -  They finally return to action tonight Vs Elon, no doubt still smarting over the OT loss to Utah last weekend.

#6 (6) Pittsburgh Panthers - They're 10-1 but they didn't exactly look like world beaters in a 79-73 win this week Vs Western Carolina.  I still love their front court led by Michael Young and Jamel Artis, but questions still remain about how good this team will be.

#7 (7) Florida State Seminoles -  Here's my big question about the Noles.  If you force them into a half court game, can they execute well enough to win Vs quality opponents? Florida presses, but that's deceptive. Expect a slug fest in Gainesville.

#8 (8) North Carolina State Wolfpack -  Cat Barber is playing out of his mind so far this season. NC State needs other players to step up in conference play.  Watch out for that sneaky good Northeastern squad though.

#9 (10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Demetrius Jackson is not too far behind Barber in terms of best PG in the conference. This weekend he and the Irish get a crack Vs UVA at home. Can they hang in and maybe pull the upset?

#10 (9) Wake Forest Deamon Deacs - After LSU (a game I think they should win) they travel to Louisville to face a very good Cards team. Big week for the Deacs.

#11 (11) Syracuse Orange - They get a shot to move up significantly Vs Miami at Coral Gables this weekend. UM has had some difficulties this year Vs Zone, so this could be a closer game than expected. Trevor Cooney needs a good game though.

#12 (12) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - Back to back wins Vs lesser opponents after a bad loss to Georgia helps. PG play is still the big concern for the Jackets.

#13 (13) Virginia Tech Hokies - They are sort of here by default, as a 17 point loss to St Joe's this week doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

#14 (14) Clemson Tigers - Georgia absolutely wiped the floor with them last week.  Only BC's ineptitude keeps them in this spot.

#15 (15) Boston College -  A win over Fordham got them to 500.  They get Duke this weekend.  A competitive game and continued struggles from Clemson could push them out of the basement.

ACC SCHEDULE DEC 28 - JAN 3

MON, DEC 28

6:00 PM

University of North Carolina, Greensboro

AT

North Carolina

MON, DEC 28

8:00 PM

ELON

Elon University

AT

Duke University

TUE, DEC 29

2:00 PM

Liberty University

AT

Notre Dame

TUE, DEC 29

7:00 PM

Wake Forest University

AT

LSU

TUE, DEC29

7:00 PM

Florida State University

AT

University of Florida

TUE, DEC29

7:00 PM

Princeton University

AT

University of Miami

TUE, DEC 29

7:00 PM

Northeastern University

AT

North Carolina State University

TUE, DEC 29

7:00 PM

Duquesne University

AT

Georgia Tech

WED, DEC 30

Noon

West Virginia University

AT

Va Tech

WED, DEC 30

2:00 PM

University of New Hampshire

AT

Boston College

WED, DEC 30

4:00 PM

Long Beach State

AT

Duke University

WED, DEC 30

6:00 PM

Oakland University

AT

University of Virginia

WED, DEC 30

7:00 PM

Clemson University

AT

University of North Carolina

WED, DEC 30

9:00 PM

Syracuse University

AT

University of Pittsburgh

SAT, JAN 2

Noon

Georgia Tech

AT

University of North Carolina

SAT, JAN 2

Noon

Florida State

AT

Clemson University

SAT, JAN 2

2:00 PM

North Carolina State

AT

Virginia Tech

SAT, JAN 2

2:30 PM

Syracuse University

AT

University of Miami

SAT, JAN 2

4:00 PM

University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

AT

University of Pittsburgh

SAT, JAN 2

4:30 PM

Duke

AT

Boston College

SAT, JAN 2

5:00 PM

University of Notre Dame

AT

University of Virginia

SUN, JAN 3

8:00 PM

Wake Forest

AT

Louisville