ACC men’s basketball power rankings: Who’s #2 as we start 2022?

We’ve got someone new in that spot behind Duke

After this weekend’s loss against the Virginia Cavaliers we hope Syracuse Orange fans haven’t thrown in the towel on the season because the calendar has turned and the ACC is still very mediocre.

1) Duke Blue Devils– (11-1 Last week: 1st)

Duke hasn’t played in a while and they might have to deal with some rust when they get back on the court tomorrow night. If they do Coach K’s grandson better be prepared for the criticism coming his way.

2) Miami Hurricanes: (11-3 Last week: 6th)

Miami is now 3-0 in the ACC and after knocking off Wake over the weekend they jump up to the 2nd spot. Syracuse heads to Coral Gables on Wednesday looking to know the Canes out of the top spot in the league.

3) North Carolina Tar Heels: (10-3 Last week: 3rd)

Armando Bacot making 3-pointers is not good news for the rest of the league.

4) Wake Forest Demon Deacons– (11-3 Last week: 2nd)

So much for Wake getting into the Top 25. Two road losses last week mean the Deacons drop back a bit but we can’t bury them for that.

5) Louisville Cardinals (9-4 Last week: 10th)

Louisville defended their home court against Wake and that becomes one of the better wins in the league so far this year. Adding a win on the road at Georgia Tech pushes them up to the top five this week.

6) Virginia Tech Hokies (8-5 Last week: 4th)

Hosting NC State this week will be a good opportunity for Virginia Tech to get back on the winning track.

7) Florida State Seminoles (7-4 Last week: 8th)

The Seminoles held on for a nice road win at NC State. We are giving Leonard Hamilton’s team some slack because of their recent success. It would certainly help Syracuse if Florida State can rise over the next two months.

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

8) Clemson Tigers (9-4 Last week: 8th)

No games for the Tigers this week so we’ll keep them in the same spot.

9) Virginia Cavaliers (8-5 Last week: 11th)

It looked like vintage Virginia in the Carrier Dome on Saturday night as the Cavaliers dissected the Orange defense behind Kihei Clark’s play.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

10) Syracuse Orange (7-6 Last week: 7th)

The Orange are hoping to get back on the court this week and with three games on the schedule we will see how they respond to the time off. Syracuse needs to figure out how to get the offense playing complete games in 2022.

11) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-5 Last week: 12th)

We’re at the point in ACC mediocrity that a buzzer beater to beat Pitt actually moves a team up in the rankings. Yeesh

12) NC State Wolfpack (7-7 Last week: 9th)

Dereon Seabron has been a one-man wrecking crew and hopefully he’ll receive consideration for ACC POY honors despite the Pack looking like a sub-500 squad.

13) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: (6-6 Last week: 13th)

Michael DeVoe is another player having a great season on a bad team. He’s probably itching to get a shot at the Syracuse zone.

14) Boston College Eagles: (6-6 Last week: 14th)

That positive momentum we thought was going on in Chestnut Hill was flushed by UNC on Sunday. Better luck next year Eagles fans.

15) Pittsburgh Panthers (5-8 Last week: 15th)

The Panthers are playing some really boring games and you can live with that if you win them. Lose them and it’s going to be a long season. The goal for Pitt this winter is to avoid a last-place finish.

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Where did we go wrong this week? Which team are you thinking emerges behind Duke?