Another week has passed and with the league's MVP still out, we've got a new team at the top of the list. Elsewhere, seeding for the conference tournament continues to fall into place, a former contender has fallen by the wayside, and at least one NCAA bubble team needs some good news.
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: Winning Streaks and Injuries
1. Virginia Cavaliers (25-2, 13-2 ACC)
Last Week: 2
UVa moves back up to the top spot for now simply by taking care of business. The Cavaliers rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Louisville on the road and earn a record fifth win away from over a ranked team. They followed that with a demolition of Georgia Tech on Wednesday night, their fifth-consecutive win and ninth in their last 10. UVa now has the inside track for the top seed in the ACC Tournament and can clinch that without help if the Hoos simply win out. They do have one more tricky Saturday/Monday turnaround, with a home date against Pitt on Saturday afternoon followed by a trip to the Carrier Dome on Monday night as Virginia closes out the road portion of its schedule at Syracuse.
2. North Carolina Tar Heels (23-5, 13-2 ACC)
Last Week: 3
UNC had two NCAA Tournament teams roll into Chapel Hill this past week and the Heels were able to beat both of them despite some tense moments. FSU kept Saturday’s game close for a while but a big run by the Tar Heels eventually buried the Noles. The same was true of Syracuse, which led at the break on Tuesday night but eventually was overwhelmed by Carolina in a 93-85 loss. Those two wins helped the Heels keep pace with UVa and sets up an interesting final week. Carolina has a pair of road games at Clemson and Boston College that should be wins but could prove tricky. Then, the Tar Heels close out the regular season with Duke in what should be an important game for conference tournament seeding no matter what happens between now and then.
3. Duke Blue Devils (24-4, 12-3 ACC)
Last Week: 1
The Blue Devils have now played three straight games without Zion Williamson, going 1-2 against UNC, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech. The Syracuse game was tight most of the way but Duke got a big effort from R.J. Barrett and an unexpected outing from Alex O’Connell in the 75-65 road win that avenged an earlier loss to the Orange. Duke didn’t have the same success closing out the Hokies on Tuesday night, dropping that one 77-72 and falling a game behind UVa and UNC in the race for first place. It feels almost unfair to drop Duke two spots considering the Blue Devils aren’t at full strength and just played a challenge stretch of games but this is where they are right now without Williams. If he returns, they could easily return to form and finish the season strong. The good news is that Duke should have no problems in its next two games with Miami and Wake Forest coming to Durham.