The ACC has had an interesting start to the season. You have top-ranked North Carolina just rolling over everyone and flexing their muscle. Duke has looked very impressive for most of the year. Wake Forest and Clemson are still undefeated and climbing the polls. Still, there have been some bad moments. Miami hasn't looked as good as advertised, Maryland followed up one impressive win by getting blown out twice. Virginia Tech has lost on two buzzer beaters. Then there is the glut of also-rans that litter the bottom half of the league.
Conference season doesn't get into full swing for another week or so and there has already been two league games played. There are some big non-conference game this week (Ga Tech at Alabama, Xavier at Virginia, NC State at Florida, Wake Forest at BYU) but the highlight will be the ACC's top two teams starting conference play.
The big game will be North Carolina opening up conference play against Boston College. Sure, they are on other ends of the spectrum, but the game boasts the two favorites for ACC Player of the Year. We know all about UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, but BC's Tyrese Rice was right behind Psycho T all last year. In their last meeting, Rice dumped 46 points on the Heels and nearly pulled off a late season upset (Sunday, 5:30 PM ET).
Other big games this week: Virginia Tech at Duke (Sunday, 7:45 PM ET)
Player to watch: Other than Rice and Hansbrough, all eyes at the Dean Dome should be on Ty Lawson. Lawson is having an All-American season thus far but hasn't faced anyone like Rice, yet. Like I said, Rice popped 46 points on the Heels. That was also Lawson's first game back from an ankle injury so he was at a disadvantage. Let's see if his new defensive intensity will be effective against one of the ACC's best.
Pre-Conference Power Rankings
1. North Carolina -- The No. 1 ranked team in the nation has won all 12 of their games by double-digits, a school record.
2. Duke -- When on, they are one of the best teams in the country. But we all saw in Michigan what they look like when they aren't.
3. Wake Forest -- Still undefeated and could be a top four team next week. One of the deepest teams filled with guys you've never heard of.
4. Clemson -- The Tigers have shown that toughness that Oliver Purnell has injected into the program. Their blasting of Miami proved that.
5. Miami -- There is no question that Jack McClinton and the Canes are a tournament-calibar team. However, they don't seem to be on the same page at times, the offense bogs down and the defense isn't focused.
6. Florida State -- The Seminoles may actually be putting together the kind of season we've been waiting for. The loss to Northwestern was puzzling but they gave good effort in a loss to Pitt. Let's see how they do against Duke in ten days.
7. Maryland -- They followed a blowout of Michigan State by getting ran out of the gym by Gonzaga and Georgetown. Still, they've beaten Michigan and all the teams they are supposed to.
7. NC State -- Injuries and inconsistent play has hit the Wolfpack yet again.
9. Virginia Tech -- Well, they've beaten the teams they are supposed to and have been close in their four losses. Remember that Xavier needed a miracle shot to beat them and Wisconsin beat them at the buzzer.
10. Boston College -- They have a few nice wins on the resume, but nothing overly shocking. Let's see how they handle a January stretch at UNC and then hosting Miami and Wake Forest.
11. Virginia -- Three of their four losses aren't horrible. Losing at home to Liberty is.
12. Georgia Tech -- Their home loss to Virginia knocks them down here. Their upcoming schedule looks daunting as well so they may stick here for a while.
