Another week has passed and unexpectedly the league's best player is hurt, its best team is vulnerable, FSU continues its win streak, and Pitt is still terrible. All in all, it's been quite a week.
So, how do we see things stacking up going into this weekend's games? Check out the way we see it in our updated CavsCorner ACC Power Rankings.
Tier I: The 11-2 Crew
1. Duke Blue Devils (23-3, 11-2 ACC)
Last Week: 1
After last night’s loss, there is nothing Duke can do but wait and see what happens with Zion Williamson’s strained knee. Despite all of the talent they have on the roster, the Blue Devils clearly weren’t the same team against UNC without him, just as they struggled against Syracuse when Tre Jones went down with an injury mid-game. Williamson is Duke’s most important player and assuming he misses at least a few games it could cost Duke in the ACC title race. The Blue Devils have a couple of challenging road games at Syracuse and Virginia Tech coming up this week, and a rematch with the Tar Heels to end the regular season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them lose another game or two if Williamson can’t play for a while. In the meantime, Coach K needs to come up with a Plan B and find some help for RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish on the offensive end of the floor.
2. Virginia Cavaliers (23-2, 11-2 ACC)
Last Week: 2
The result last night in Durham brought the Cavaliers into a three-way tie for first along with Duke and UNC. Virginia is 1-2 against those two programs and has the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tar Heels. The Hoos have taken care of business outside of the two Duke games, including a pair of close wins over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech this week. Kyle Guy has been on a tear of late, scoring 20 points in three consecutive games. Virginia is in a good position in the ACC title race for now and will be even better off if the team wins at Louisville on Saturday. After traveling to the Derby City, the Hoos finish the season with three of their final four games at JPJ, starting with a matchup against Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.
3. North Carolina Tar Heels (21-5, 11-2 ACC)
Last Week: 3
Obviously Duke wasn’t at full strength in Wednesday’s game, but UNC was impressive nonetheless. The Blue Devils couldn’t keep the Tar Heels out of the paint, and Carolina had way too many easy buckets for Duke to be able to keep up or come back late. Rather than being two games back with a loss in Durham, Carolina is now tied for first place and has its toughest remaining games at home. The Heels have a pair of tests this week, starting with Saturday’s game against FSU in Chapel Hill. If Carolina can get by the Seminoles and then Syracuse early next week then the Heels would be on the way to 15-2 heading into the regular season finale against the Blue Devils.