Last week, the power rankings showed little movement from week two. However, due to many ugly and unexpected results, we finally see several drastic movers. There is now a clear upper echelon of teams. The troubles of Miami and Virginia caused them to make major movements down the list, but how far did they drop? The clear battle for the top three spots can easily be replicated for the bottom teams as well. Everybody is trying to see who can be the best or the worst. Let’s look more closely at the ACC Power Rankings for week four to see who the big movers are and who is battling it out at each end of the spectrum.
ACC Power Rankings for Week 4: One Contender Surges
18. Georgia Tech, 2-3 (Last Week: 18)
If you hold the last spot, you probably have to put up a fight to move up. Georgia Tech lost by 23 to Cincinnati on Saturday. They have mid-major opponents with a combined 3-10 record this week. Georgia Tech needs to come out of this week with a winning record. It already looks like it may be a long season for the Yellow Jackets, but they have a chance to gain some momentum this week.
17. Virginia Tech, 3-2 (15)
The rapid decline of Virginia Tech should be studied. I labeled the game against Jacksonville as a must-win and they managed to lose. Virginia Tech has a tough slate of games coming up, so they really needed that win. Michigan and Xavier/South Carolina will be tough games. Vanderbilt and Pittsburgh wait for them after that. They’re hoping for a win this week, otherwise, they may struggle to reach .500 again this season.
16. Syracuse, 3-2 (16)
I debated dropping the next two teams below Syracuse, but I can’t move a team up that doesn’t win. Syracuse fought much harder this week against tougher opponents. Time will tell if they will win any of those games in the future, but they played much better. Texas and Texas Tech will be solid opponents this season, so losing to them isn’t the end of the world. A dangerous Cornell team waits for them on Wednesday. Syracuse will have to be ready to play if they want to walk out with a victory.
15. Virginia, 3-2 (7)
This is a huge drop from a team with much higher aspirations than what they’ve shown so far. The Villanova win continues to look worse, all while they lost two games against quality opponents by a combined 47 points. Virginia certainly had the opportunity to show they belonged this season at the top of the conference. Instead, they air-balled, if that is even harsh enough to describe their performance. Virginia should win both games this week. Hopefully all they need is a little momentum.
14. Miami, 3-3 (3)
I am disappointed I moved up Miami to that third spot over another team, but I was not expecting that performance for Miami last week. If Virginia shot an airball, Miami air-balled a free throw. In what I labeled as the fourth most important set of games for the ACC last week, they disappointedly lost all three games in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, Norchad Omier is not coming back to save their rebounding woes. The biggest non-conference games for the Hurricanes remain, so the season is not lost. However, Miami needs to find ways to win.
13. California, 5-1 (14)
I am hesitant to move them up any further in the ACC Power Rankings for week four. They looked unconvincing against inferior opponents, much like Syracuse earlier in the season. The difference between the Golden Bears and the teams below them is that they won. This week was such a train wreck for the ACC that winning unconvincingly is enough to hold your spot or even move up. They almost even jumped to 12 or 11.
12. Boston College, 4-1 (17)
I had no idea where to put Boston College. They looked like a completely different team this past week, so I think that warranted a nice jump over teams that looked terrible. The kind of wins they had won’t often move teams up so far, but it was a rough week for the ACC. They have two more winnable games this week, so let’s wait and see before we really believe they’ll sit here most of the season.
11. Notre Dame, 4-1 (9)
It looked like they turned the corner before a loss to Elon. Notre Dame did similar things last year too. I still think they will perform well, and one loss doesn’t derail a whole season. Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry can’t be the only players to show up this week against Rutgers and Houston. We will learn a lot more this week about Notre Dame than last week.
10. SMU, 4-2 (11)
Blowing a nice early lead against Mississippi State will burn for the rest of the season. They only have one more non-conference test. A loss there and they will have to play nearly perfectly in ACC play to make the NCAA Tournament. They should have no trouble picking up a win this week, so maybe that will help boost morale for December: the beginning of a true power conference schedule.
9. Stanford, 6-0 (10)
Who had Stanford as the team with the best record through three weeks? I certainly did not. However, they have yet to play any challenging opponents and continue to keep things interesting. Grand Canyon will be a big challenge this week. For now, it is hard to keep them from the top half of the ACC Power Rankings for week four. Maxime Raynaud continues to dazzle against inferior competition. He is the most important player for Stanford and must continue to play lights out for the Cardinals to keep winning.
8. Florida State, 5-1 (13)
They jumped up because they won both games this week by an average of 21 points. They always have the talent, but it appears they have avoided the bad loss so far this season. The ACC hopes that trend continues throughout the rest of non-conference play. Wins are wins, a concept that other ACC teams should certainly study.
7. Louisville, 3-1 (12)
Louisville capitalized on their bye week and won their week three matchups. They moved up for the same reason Florida State did: wins. They were fairly convincing too. However, I can confirm that the ACC is not happy that a team that lost to Tennessee by 22 is this high up in the ACC Power Rankings for week four. This is subjective, but it’s hard to argue that their performances have placed them below the teams behind them. They will have to play well to win any games in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis this week and hold their spot.
6. NC State, 5-0 (8)
The Wolfpack have still only lost one game since the beginning of the ACC Tournament last season. It’s fitting that they play the team that provided them with that one loss this week: Purdue. Could you write the story any better? A flip switched since March of 2024. It’s hard to argue with such consistent results. Only the lack of competition keeps them at the sixth spot.
5. Clemson, 4-1 (5)
Clemson picked up a nice win against Radford. The Tigers have an important week in the Sunshine Slam. If they want to gain the national attention they did last season, they will need to find a way to leave this week with three wins. It won’t be easy, but Clemson and the ACC are hoping the Tigers can assert their dominance to win the Sunshine Slam.
4. Wake Forest, 6-1 (4)
Wake Forest will have the opportunity to pick up another quality win or two this week in the ESPN Events Invitational. The loss to Xavier will likely sting throughout the season, but a win this week against Florida would quickly subside that pain. The Demon Deacons have several opportunities for quality wins in the non-conference. They have to hope they can win one or two. Losing them all last season kept them out.
3. Pittsburgh, 6-1 (6)
I was hesitant to move them up last week, but they showed up at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. Wisconsin continues to be a dominant force in the Big Ten, so the loss won’t hurt them much. Another Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, is on the schedule for this week. It will be the Panthers’ first true road test this season. A win will put them in the driver’s seat for an NCAA Tournament berth if they avoid a collapse in conference play. Damien Dunn was injured on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how Pitt plays without him for the foreseeable future. Regardless, their strong start to the season has cemented themselves in the upper tier of the ACC.
2. North Carolina, 3-1 (2)
It appears that North Carolina and Duke will continue to battle for the top spot for most of this season. North Carolina has the chance to pick up several key wins this week at the Maui Invitational. Three wins would likely put them at the top. The field is stacked and would provide the Tar Heels with three quality wins, or losses. Let’s hope North Carolina shows up in this tournament. The last team I said could win a tournament lost all three games. North Carolina is much better than Miami, but RJ Davis must continue to lead this team if they hope to achieve greatness against a much tougher field.
1. Duke, 4-1 (1)
The Blue Devils hold the top spot again in the ACC Power Rankings for week four Duke dominated Arizona on defense. They have incredible size and length, something that will certainly give fits to Kansas on Tuesday. I’m not sure how Duke and Kansas ended up in an event with Seattle and Furman, but that is irrelevant. All eyes will be on Cooper Flagg and Hunter Dickinson in Las Vegas. However, something that doesn’t get said enough, the role players will decide this one. Both teams are full of depth and talent. There is a chance both Flagg and Dickinson go for 25 points. The real question will be the rest of each team. Duke could lose their top spot with a win or a loss depending on North Carolina. However, a good win against Kansas would likely start the push for the one seed.
