As we hit the midway point of the ACC men's basketball season, things are heating up. That was the case over the weekend where we saw some close games, some stunning upsets, and two rivalry games that had two different results.
After the dust settled, one thing remained clear and obvious, Duke is the top team in the conference, and taking them down, whether at home or on the road, is going to take a near-perfect game. The Blue Devils will get a tough road challenge this week when they travel to play Clemson, who is the last team standing in their way of securing the top spot for the ACC Tournament next month.
What does the rest of the conference look like? Well, the results of the last seven days caused some major shakeups in the latest power rankings. Let's dive in.
ACC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Feb. 3
After dropping their first 10 ACC games, the Hurricanes finally broke into the win column by rallying to beat Notre Dame on Saturday night. That's a huge sigh of relief coming from South Florida.
The Eagles were down and out against Florida State on Saturday afternoon at home, but they pulled out a miracle with a 3-pointer off a turnover for a one-point win. Earl Grant and his team desperately needed it.
Things continue to go from bad to worse for the Wolfpack who are on a six-game losing streak. In their first four loss in the streak, they lost by two points to North Carolina, three points to Virginia Tech, three points to California, and six points to SMU with three of those losses coming at home.
It's still weird seeing the Cavaliers down this low, but they split their week last week, beating Miami on the road and then losing by a point at home to Virginia Tech. Next up? Monday night at Pittsburgh.
One step forward, two steps back for the Irish. Actually, that could be said for a lot of ACC teams this season, but losing at Miami after owning an 11-point halftime lead is going to hurt. They stick around in the Sunshine State and get FSU on Tuesday night.
After losing at Stanford, Red Autry and his team bounced back in Saturday night with a nice road win at California. It was an identical trip that Virginia Tech had earlier this month.
What a brutal week for Leonard Hamilton and his team. After losing two games the week before at Stanford and Cal, the Seminoles fell behind by 20 points at halftime to Virginia Tech and couldn't complete a second half comeback, then lost at BC.
The Yellow Jackets pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend when they took down Louisville at home on Saturday afternoon. Damon Stoudemire and his team are going to be difficult to play against in the second half of the season, just ask Louisville.
The Golden Bears fell behind early at home against Syracuse Saturday and couldn't complete the comeback, similar to what happened against Virginia Tech earlier this season.
The biggest riser this week is the Hokies after a pair of road wins at Florida State, which was coach Mike Young's 400th career victory, and a one-point win at Virginia. Who thought that Virginia Tech would be inside the top 10 of the standings at the midway point of the conference season after the way the season started? I don't think anybody.
The Panthers dropped a two-point decision at Wake Forest on Saturday and Jeff Capel and his team are still looking for a big résumé win for the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels were routed by Duke in their first of two matches this season and their NCAA Tournament hopes seem to be fading by the week. It's not something that UNC fans are used to.
The Cardinal beat Syracuse at home, but fell at SMU on Saturday before beginning a two-game homestand this week with Wake Forest and North Carolina State visiting.
The Demon Deacons survived Pittsburgh at home after getting routed at Louisville. Now they face a huge two-game trip to Stanford and California this week that could determine their NCAA Tournament hopes.
The Mustangs had wins over Cal and Stanford this last week and now come to Blacksburg for the first time as a member of the ACC on Wednesday night.
All good things must come to an end at some point and that was the case with the Cardinals winning streak, but not many people had Georgia Tech snapping it. Again, conference games on the road are brutal, no matter the records.
The Tigers picked up a road win at NC State on Saturday and now get two home games this week against Georgia Tech and Duke. Could a change at the top be happening next week?
Not much to say here. The Blue Devils took care of North Carolina and now will face their toughest road test at Clemson on Saturday after a trip to Syracuse on Wednesday night.