ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Week 7
It was another crazy week in the ACC as two of the top three teams lost, giving the standings a little bit of a shakeup.
This past week had a lot of close losses and a lot of questionable calls. As we travel through this past week you’ll see a combination of upsets and near misses by some of the best in the country.
Monday: Buddy Hield to the Rescue. Sorry Texas, but you knew this is how it was going to end. With the game tied and less than 15 seconds to play, Buddy Hield was going to shoot the ball. And on his home court, with two seconds left, it was going to go in. Really there wasn’t a lot you could do. Maybe you could double team him, forced him to pass. Maybe you could’ve fouled him, given up the two points, but left some time to maybe shoot a three of your own. But really this is why he is the favorite to win Player of the Year. This is just what he does.
Tuesday: Creighton crushes Xavier. The Blue Jays haven’t been relevant since Doug McDermott carried his team two seasons ago. Last season was an abysmal 14-19 kind of year. This season wasn’t looking much better as the team was only 9-4 heading into conference play with a bad loss to Loyola in Chicago. However their win over Xavier, a top 5 team at the time, was a statement that this team is better than last years. They are now 8-5 in conference play and 17-9 overall. The are squarely on the bubble, but have a few more chances to get back to the big dance for the second time in three seasons since joining the new Big East.
Wednesday: Texas A&M loses again. There was a time when the Aggies weren’t just the cream of the SEC but also the nation. By the end of January they were 18-3 with a huge win over a really good Iowa State team. Unfortunately they have not won a game in February. The loss against Alabama on Wednesday was their third in a row and it would be four in a row after the week was done. A&M is probably going to make the tournament, but they are no longer the class of the SEC let alone the nation.
Thursday: Cal beats Oregon. For weeks I was spouting about how great Oregon looked as the cream of the crop in the Pac 12. Thursday they looked like just another team as they got blitzed by a talented yet flawed Cal team. A bad loss to a talented team on the road isn’t a death knell. However, Oregon followed that up with a loss to Stanford, and that is not a good loss. Oregon is still the likely champion of the Pac 12, but losses like this only help even the playing field of a conference in need of someone to stand out.
Friday: Dayton survives Rhode Island. Dayton is a tournament team. Rhode Island is well not probably even an NIT team. Friday that didn’t matter. Darryl Davis made a three pointer with 26 seconds left that gave Dayton a one point lead and the game. Archie Miller (yes the same guy who played at State), has got a top 25 team. And as Carolina can attest even top 25 teams can struggle against bad competition. Dayton survived, but they might’ve easily not and that would’ve put a damper on their otherwise decent season.
Saturday: Virginia gets robbed? Ok if you haven’t seen the replay, you should check it out. Did Greyson Allen travel? When watched in super slo mo, the answer appears to be yes. Is there a real human who could see that in real time? The answer is no. Is there a ref who would have the brass to make that call against Duke in Cameron Indoor? You make me laugh just by asking. Look it was an amazing shot and I totally understand why Virginia feels robbed, but so is life on the road in the ACC.
Sunday: Denzel Valentine’s Day. Last season on Valentine’s Day, Denzel Valentine hit the game winning shot to beat Ohio State. This season, a game winning shot was not needed as the Spartans won by 19 in a game they only led by one at halftime. However, Denzel was still able to have his day by going for 30 points and 13 assists. Apparently we now know why the day was named after him.
There are some huge games this week in the ACC starting Wednesday with round one of the UNC/Duke game. In the past this could easily be a top two ranking battle. Let’s see how things unfold this week starting with the bottom of the league.
Note: All games and records as of 2/14
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