College basketball season is already about halfway over and if you are a casual college basketball fan you probably don't start following closely until the conference schedule starts. Every year the ACC is arguably the best conference in college basketball and this year is no different. With the usual teams at the top as well as a few surprising teams doing well, conference play is sure to be interesting in the ACC. Below you will see our Power rankings for the ACC at this point in the year as well as a brief note for each team so far. I have also added each team's best win and worst loss as well as rankings of where teams currently stand. Now as you look down you may see some wins that don't look good and losses that don't look that bad and that is the point. Not every team has a good win yet or a bad loss and that is outlined by that portion of the rankings.
1. Duke (13-1) -Little argument about this one from most people as the Blue Devils are one of 3 teams in the conference with only 1 loss. Of those three teams the Blue Devils definitely have the best wins so far and look the best on the court. Grayson Allen and freshman Marvin Bagley lead the Blue Devils and are a popular pick by many to make the final four and win the ACC
Best Win: vs Florida State
Worst Loss: at. Boston College
2. North Carolina (12-3)- The defending national champs definitely lost some pieces but have a lot back this year to put themselves in a good place to compete for the ACC crown. UNC has lost 3 games so far but 2 have been against ranked teams including top ranked Michigan State. UNC did lose to Wofford at home but they do have some good wins to add to that.
Best Win: at Tennessee
Worst Loss: vs Wofford
3. Virginia (13-1) -One of the more surprising teams so far in the ACC sitting at 13-1, however looking at their schedule so far they don't have any wins that really jump out. The Cavaliers will have a chance to prove themselves very soon and will establish themselves as a real contender or not for the ACC crown.
Best Win: at Vanderbilt
Worst Loss: at West Virginia
4. Florida State (12-2) - Florida State has been somewhat of a surprise this year. The Seminoles seem to have a good team every few years and this seems like one of those wins. With wins over Florida and North Carolina so far the Seminoles are tested already and look to be a team who could sneak into a top 4 seed in the tourney this year.
Best Win: vs. North Carolina
Worst Loss: vs Oklahoma State
5. Miami (12-2) - The Hurricanes got off to a 10-0 start but have lost 2 of their last 4 including losses against Georgia Tech and New Mexico State, two games the Hurricanes should have won. The next three games are against ranked teams so the Hurricanes will have to figure it out fast.
Best Win: at. Minnesota
Worst Loss: vs. New Mexico State
6. Clemson (13-1) - Since 1998, the Tigers have won just one NCAA tournament game. One of the more surprising teams this year but if they can keep it up they will have a shot to win another tournament game. Clemson has good wins but is still looking for a signature win.
Best Win: at Ohio State
Worst Loss: at Florida
7. Notre Dame (12-3) - Notre Dame took a huge loss this week as they announced that Bonzie Colson would be out for about 6 weeks. The Irish are a talented team who could beat anyone when they are at their best. If they can get Colson back late in the year watch out for the Irish to get hot at the right time.
Best Win: vs Wichita State
Worst Loss: vs Ball State
8. Louisville (11-3) - Louisville has pretty much won every game they were expected to win and lost every game they were supposed to lose. That being said, the Cards don't have any overly impressive wins but also don't have any bad losses. If the Cards can get back all of the distractions they are still one of the most talented teams in the nation.
Best Win: at Memphis
Worst Loss: vs Seton Hall
9. Syracuse (12-3) - Of all of the teams on this list I could see Syracuse going big in any direction. I could see the Orange finish up around 3 or 4 or down at 13 or 14. The Orange have shown some potential but I'm not too sure about this team yet. The Orange always seem to figure it out and I think they will eventually in this tough conference.
Best Win: vs Maryland
Worst Loss: vs Saint Bonaventure
10. Boston College (10-5)- The win over Duke has been the story for this team so far. Besides that win they don't have any overly impressive wins. The win over Duke shows that they have potential to be good but only time will tell.
Best Win: vs Duke
Worst Loss: at Nebraska
11.Virginia Tech (11-4) - Virginia Tech is another one of those teams who I can't get a good read on. They don't have any great wins but none of their losses are that bad including a 7 point loss to Kentucky. They are 0-2 in conference and have been blown out both games so it will be interesting to see how they do in the conference schedule.
Best Win: at Mississippi
Worst Loss: at Saint Louis
12. NC State (10-5)- NC State has started 0-2 in conference and 4 of their next 5 games are against ranked teams. The Wolf Pack could find themselves in a big hole if they can't pull a few upsets here.
Best Win: vs Arizona
Worst Loss: vs UNC Greensboro
13. Wake Forest (8-6) - Wake started out 1-4 losing 4 games they could have and should have won. Wake has started to pick it up but we will see how they fare when they face the tough ACC schedule this year.
Best Win: vs Syracuse
Worst Loss: vs Liberty
14.Georgia Tech (7-7)- Georgia Tech has been very up and down this year that in all honesty could beat almost anyone in this league but also lose by 30 to any team in this league. If the Yellow Jackets can show some consistency they could jump up some and make a run at the tourney.
Best Win: vs Miami
Worst Loss: vs Grambling State
15. Pittsburgh (8-7) - To be honest, I wasn't sure about their best win. They have 8 wins against mid majors who honestly probably won't make the tournament. The top team was easy and Pitt at the bottom was also easy. It is going to be a tough climb for Pitt and probably won't be a good year...but hey, at least they don't pay their players $100,000.
Best Win: vs Duquesne
Worst Loss: vs Montana