2017-18 ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Holiday Edition
Teams 13-15
Pittsburgh has been exactly what most expected them to be this season, not very good. The Panthers rank last in the conference in both RPI and BPI and are the only ACC squad to be in double digits in both indexes.
The Panthers are bad at rebounding, ranking 308th nationally, and have a negative 1.3 point differential. On the plus side, they do have four players averaging double digits and are currently riding a three-game winning streak.
Pittsburgh’s next game is at home versus a Mt. St. Mary’s team that is 3-5 on the year.
Wake Forest easily has been one of the more disappointing teams in the ACC this season. I knew there would be a drop off for the Demon Deacon’s with the loss of John Collins to the NBA, but thought that Bryan Crawford and company could at least be competitive.
I was wrong.
Crawford is leading the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game, which is what he averaged last season, but that alone is not enough to make up for the loss of Collins.
Wake also has not played a tough schedule this season having faced seven opponents ranked below 150 in RPI, most in the ACC. They are 4-3 in those games with losses to Liberty, Drake, and Houston.
On the bright side Wake has won four of their past five games and maybe looking to turn things around. Their coach Danny Manning also got an extension despite the slow start. The Deacon’s next game is against a Charlotte team that has lost two straight games.
Here is what I can say for the Eagles of Chestnut Hill, they are better than they have been.
However, that improvement pales in comparison amongst most of the rest of the ACC, which is why they are only 13th in these rankings. But that is not a bad thing Eagles fans. The ACC is just that good.
Boston College has four double-digit scorers and is getting nearly 32 points per game from the scoring duo of Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson. They have a 6.5 plus point differential and are one of the top 50 teams in rebounding.
Additionally, the Eagles have no bad losses and even have a victory over LaSalle, which would be an RPI top 50 win currently. Boston College’s next game is a conference tilt with Duke on Saturday.
This is a great chance to see just how much the team really has improved.