The greatest month for college basketball is here. The calendar has officially turned to March and it's time for things to get crazy. They already have in the ACC, which is struggling to get teams on the right side of the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.
As we enter the final week, three teams have separated themselves from the other 15 teams and some schools will see their season end after their games on Saturday as the bottom three teams will miss the ACC Tournament in Charlotte next week. Miami and Boston College are two of those teams and likely NC State will join them. With that said, it's time for the next to last regular season power rankings.
ACC Men's Basketball Power Rankings: March 3
The Hurricanes are having the season a lot of Virginia Tech fans thought the Hokies were going to have after a rough non-conference slate.
The Eagles dropped both games out in California last week to end their ACC tournament hopes. This is not a surprise that BC is not going to Charlotte.
The Wolfpack missing the ACC Tournament after last March's magicla run would be something else. They need a lot of help this week and two wins to have a chance.
The Orange beat NC State at home, then went to Blacksburg and were well on their way to a road win before blowing a double-digit second half lead before losing in overtime.
Things have gone south quickly for the Irish late in the season and now you have to wonder how hot Micah Shrewsberry's seat is going to get.
The Golden Bears avoided disaster of missing the ACC Tournament in their first season in the conference with a win over Boston College.
Things have really bottomed out for the Panthers late in the season, who hung tough at Louisville Saturday, but it wasn't enough to guarantee a finish of below .500 in conference play.
The Cavaliers picked up an impressive win at Wake Forest and were 20 minutes away from knocking off Clemson at home, but the Tigers rallied in the second half. The win in Winston-Salem was good enough to move them up.
Like the Panthers, the Seminoles are struggling coming down the stretch of the regular season and were routed at Duke on Saturday night.
The Hokies took Louisville down to the end, losing by five after turning the ball over after having a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Then they pulled off a big second-half comeback to beat Syracuse in overtime. Who would have thought that Mike Young was going to win eight ACC games with this group?
It's worth repeating, the Yellow Jackets are a team that nobody wants to see in Charlotte as they are more than capable of pulling off an NC State-like run this month. Again, they're capable of doing it.
The Cardinals have secured one bye at the ACC Tournament and are a long shot for a double bye, but they need a ton of results to go their way, as well as to win their last two games.
The Tar Heels are still in contention for a double-bye in the ACC Tournament, and they visit Blacksburg on Tuesday night before hosting Duke on Saturday night.
Wake Forest suffered a devastating loss to Virginia, but rebounded to beat Notre Dame. The Demon Deacons have a lot of work to do for both a double-bye in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament bubble.
How precious is the double-bye in Charlotte? Right now the Mustangs would benefit greatly from it after splitting their two games in California last week.
The Cardinals continue to roll along, beating the Hokies on the road and surviving Pittsburgh at home. They have two home games to close the season and should finish 18-2 in the ACC, which would be a remarkable turnaround in Year 1 of Pat Kelsey.
Like Louisville, the Tigers continue to roll along heading into the ACC Tournament. It would be shocking of Clemson doesn't have a deep NCAA Tournament run this month.
Not much to say here. Duke just keeps rolling along and they get a desperate Wake Forest team in Durham Monday night before a trip to UNC.