ACC Power Rankings: Week 4

One of the great things about conference games is true road play. Now that conference season is in full force, you’ll start to see good teams lose. A lot of that happens on the road. Some teams find ways to never leave the state during non conference season. Some teams will only play in neutral sites.

Whatever the reason, because of this we often get a lot of bloated records after non- conference play. The problem with this is we don’t know how good a team really might be. Thankfully we have things like BPI and even to an extent RPI that kind of help sort things out in the beginning. So as we travel through this past week in college basketball, keep that in mind as upsets may not be as upsetting as first appeared.

Monday: Oklahoma holds top spot for less than 24 hours? Just hours after being unanimously named the number one team in the AP poll, the Sooners go out and lose at Iowa State. Of course they didn’t drop right away but still it was a semblance of how balanced this basketball season is. However, despite the loss, the Sooners stayed number one in the AP poll and rightfully so. Their only two losses were by a combined eight points against ranked teams on the road. Who else can claim that? Plus they followed that loss up with a road win against Baylor that was as impressive a road win as any other so far this season.

Tuesday: UVA ends Clemson’s impressive run. Clemson was playing their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent. In their previous three they were 3-0. However those were all at home, this one was on the road. The Tigers played tough but came up short and the Cavaliers reminded people why they are the two time reigning ACC regular season champions.

Wednesday: Villanova survives Seton Hall. Up to this game teams ranked in the AP top seven were 2-4. The Wildcats were on the road and gave Seton Hall more than enough opportunities to send the game to overtime. However, the Pirates couldn’t make a layup and Villanova held on for a big road win. Of course four days later the Wildcats would fall at home in a week were seven of the top ten teams would end up with a loss.

Thursday: Iowa crushes Rutgers. I know, I know Iowa should crush Rutgers. However it wasn’t just the crushing, it was the fact that it was on the road and it was their second such crushing in as many road games. The Hawkeyes, who have won 13 of their last 14 and nine straight are clearly legitimate. The fact that they are dominating on the road as well as at home, only adds to that legitimacy.

Friday: Northern Illinois beats Toledo. In our mid major review, we travel to the MAC. In what is normally a good football matchup, the Huskies took care of business against an overmatched Toledo team. Normally this game wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye, but Northern Illinois is looking to take home the MAC West in football less than six months after doing so in football.

Saturday: Cal upsets Arizona. The Pac 12 screams mediocrity. However, because of some wise scheduling, that mediocrity is keeping more teams in the run for a tourney bid. Ten teams have a realistic shot of making the big dance, though none scream higher than maybe a four seed. Cal’s upset over Zona is a prime example of this. The Wildcats are a good team, but no one is confusing them with Villanova or even Kentucky. Imagine a league full of last years Carolina team and you probably have a good idea of what I am talking about.

Sunday: SMU loses. Last season the last undefeated team lost on April 4th, 2015 when Kentucky dropped their only L to Wisconsin in the Final Four. This season that honor falls on SMU who lost this past Sunday Night at Temple. SMU can still win the AAC regular season crown, but with a postseason ban, the undefeated season was really worth something a little more.

Remember road wins are hard to get. Actually 70% of all college home teams win. That is a ridiculous advantage. So even if it is against a crummy team, a road win is still impressive and a road loss, not as much. Most rankings are weighted that way too, though some more than others (RPI supporters raise their hands).

I mention all this because as the ACC season goes along teams with equal wins will be judged on three criteria in these rankings. The first is head to head, though as I mentioned last week that stat doesn’t carry as much weight. The second is who you beat, something the committee pays close attention to. The third is where did you beat them. Since road wins influence the RPI so much and the committee is influenced by that ranking, it is important to understand the value of a road win.

So with all that out of the way, let’s delve into this week’s rankings, starting as always with the worst of the conference.

Note: All games and records as of 1/24

Next: The Bottom Five