All ACC Sports Teams News

Last week was a mostly inactive one for the ACC. While the weekend brought some fireworks, bolstered by the blockbuster UNC-Gonzaga showdown, teams dealt with exams and the end of the semester. As more winter holidays approach, and conference play looms in 2019, let’s take a look at this week’s ACC Basketball Power Rankings and see where each team checks in.

No. 1 Virginia

No Kihei Clark is a bummer; he’s been very good this season. But this Virginia squad still has so much talent to lean on with Clark on the mend. UVA has assisted on 60.2 percent of its field goals this season, a top-25 number nationally. The Cavaliers — led by De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome — also rank second in the nation in transition offensive efficiency this season, per Synergy: 1.42 points per possession (78.8 eFG%).

Jerome is pretty darn good in the half court, too; his ability to set up defenders and run around screens is exceptional.

Ty Jerome pin down progression reads out of Virginia's Blocker-Mover offense: pic.twitter.com/36iiXzMAzw

— Jordan Sperber (@hoopvision68) December 14, 2018

No. 2 Duke

Duke is one of two teams — along with Kansas — to rank inside the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, per KenPom. The Blue Devils have an effective shooting rate of 56 percent, good for 24th in the nation, despite shooting just 33.2 percent on three-pointers (36.3 percent three-point attempt rate). Led by Zion Williamson, Duke has dominated at the rim: 59.2 percent, 1.21 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports. After 10 days off, Duke hosts Princeton on Tuesday.

No. 3 North Carolina

This was the type of performance we’ve waited to see all season from UNC: a 103-90 victory over Gonzaga. Despite 23 turnovers (27.4 percent turnover rate), North Carolina still scored 1.23 points per possession, according to KenPom. It certainly helps to go 20-of-25 from the free throw line (80 FT%) and 13-of-25 from beyond the arc (52 3P%), while also grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.

UNC has played six games at 80 possessions or better. That matches the past two seasons combined.

— Brian Barbour (@briancbarbour) December 16, 2018

Also: Coby White is very good.

No. 4 Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech picked up another quality win over the weekend. The Hokies defeated Washington (No. 55 in KenPom) up in Atlantic City. Once again, Nickeil Alexander-Walker — a rising NBA prospect — ran the show: 24 points (2-of-4 3PA), three assists and two steals.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker of @HokiesMBB is one of the fastest-rising NBA Draft prospects in the nation — @bgeis_bird on the improved pick-and-roll game of Alexander-Walker, who has grown as a shooter and playmaker (plus, steals!) https://t.co/p6XVbpFFPC pic.twitter.com/dsKHNVK6gI

— ACCSports.com (@ACCSports) December 7, 2018

No. 5 Florida State

Good news for the Seminoles: After missing the first nine games, Phil Cofer looks ready to return to the floor for Florida State. This is an excellent basketball team, which ranks 28th in adjusted offensive efficiency. One thing to keep an eye on: turnovers. Florida State ranks 319th in Division I basketball with a turnover rate of 22.4 percent.

No. 6 NC State

With the win over Penn State on Saturday, NC State now has two victories over top-70 KenPom teams. After the under-12 media timeout in the second half, NC State and Penn State were tied at 58. DJ Funderburk, who dealt with foul trouble, returned to the floor for the Pack, and NC State took off — scoring 31 points in the final 11 minutes of gameplay.

The real test will come this Wednesday, though: Auburn.

No. 7 Syracuse

So, yeah, that loss to Old Dominion was not great, but, Syracuse, at least you’re in good company, right?

VT football and Syracuse hoops #ODU pic.twitter.com/QxqG2CQ5Wt

— SportsChannel8 (@SportsChannel8) December 15, 2018

The loss to ODU was the fourth time this season that Syracuse has scored under one points per possession. Three of those four performances have resulted in losses. Can the Orange rebound, figuratively, against Buffalo?

No. 8 Louisville

Louisville keeps doing its thing. The Cardinals have won eight games; two of the team’s three defeats have come by a combined two points. Louisville ranks fourth nationally in free throw attempt rate (50.7 percent) and No. 18 in free throw percentage (76.8 FT%). For the season, 27 percent of Louisville’s points have come from the charity stripe.

No. 9 Clemson

With Marcquise Reed still out while recovering from a knee sprain, Clemson got back in the win column over the weekend — a 74-66 victory over Radford. Three different Tigers went for 15+ points in the win — led by lefty Shelton Mitchell who scored a season-high 20 points (13 FGA).

Clemson's Marcquise Reed (knee) will not play today against Radford, per Brad Brownell.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 15, 2018

No. 10 Notre Dame

The ACC continues to do mean things to Purdue. Notre Dame’s 88-80 Hoosier State win over the Boilermakers marked the fifth defeat for Purdue this season. Three of those five losses have come against ACC squads: Virginia Tech, Florida State and Notre Dame. John Mooney — 21 points against Purdue — is putting together an excellent junior season: 12.5 points per game (21.1 points per 40 minutes) on 63.9 percent true shooting.

In his first game as captain, John Mooney might have just secured a big victory. Hits a 3 at the end of the shot clock to put ND up 10 with 2:00 to go.

— Pete Byrne WSBT (@PeteByrneSports) December 15, 2018

The loss of Rex Pflueger is a bummer, and definitely robs the Irish of a key 3-and-D wing.

No. 11 Miami

This season has started out in strange fashion for Miami. Without productive center Dewan Hernandez, Miami sits at 5-4. The team has played in two weeks and is in the midst of a four-game losing slide. Miami has some really good pieces on this roster; it’s better than its record would imply. Over the next two weeks, the Hurricanes have three games against teams that rank outside of the KenPom top 200. Can this team get its complete roster, and get things in gear, before the start of conference play?

No. 12 Boston College

Another week, another Wynston Tabbs shoutout. The freshman guard does a little bit of everything; in the win over Fairfield, which came without Jordan Chatman and Steffon Mitchell, he went for 20 points (12 FGA), six assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block.

Freshman 👉 Freshman for 3️⃣

Wynston Tabbs & Chris Herren Jr. combine for 42 points in the @BCMBB win#WeAreBC (@sb_wynston @CHJ_24) pic.twitter.com/OT2pFApy0q

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) December 16, 2018

Tabbs is averaging nearly 16 points per game on over 60 percent true shooting, which is excellent. He’s shooting above 37 percent from deep, and has assisted on 20 percent of his teammates’ field goals while on the floor this season.

No. 13 Pittsburgh

Freshman guard Xavier Johnson continues to excel for Pittsburgh, but in the win over Maryland Eastern Shore this weekend, Jared Wilson-Frame added another solid performance to his new role as a solid bench scorer this year. With a new program setup this season, Wilson-Frame has seen his usage rate drop from 29.3 percent to 20.4 percent. However, his efficiency has jumped: 61.2 percent true shooting. Over two-thirds of his field goal attempts have come from beyond the arc, and he’s splashed over 41 percent of those looks.

No. 14 Wake Forest

Wake Forest was inactive last week, too. However, the Demon Deacons got this week started off right — a signature win over Davidson, which included a strong game from Jaylen Hoard.

No. 15 Georgia Tech

This team was idle all last week, so nothing has changed, really. Can Tech continue to ride its defense — top 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency — into more victories this season? This week’s loss to Gardner-Webb was certainly a step in the wrong direction.

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