2017-18 ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Holiday Edition
Teams 10-12
Georgia Tech wins the award for the biggest drop this past month, falling six spots from sixth to 12th. I saw good things for Josh Pastner’s squad. What I didn’t see was the loss of Josh Okogie who has played zero games this season due to injury and suspension.
Okogie was good for 16 points per game last season and considering Georgia Tech’s three losses have come by a combined 11 points, you can see why the team has fallen. Of course, none of that can explain a one-point home loss to Grambling, but I digress.
With Okogie out, Ben Lammers has stepped up once again with his 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He is also giving them 3.4 blocks a game, second in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are also getting 14.6 points a game from freshman Jose Alvarado.
Georgia Tech will look to end their current two-game losing streak when they take on Wofford Wednesday. The Terriers are 4-4 this season and just won on the road at Coastal Carolina.
I know what you are asking, how can a 7-1 team be ranked 11th in these rankings?
Well one, it just goes to show how good the ACC is this season, as always. Secondly, all schedules and therefore all wins are not created equally.
Virginia Tech has played a schedule that ranks 284th in RPI and 293rd in BPI. They have played no teams ranked in the RPI 50 and their best win is a three-point road victory over Ole Miss, who is 4-3 and one of the worst teams in the SEC.
The real question isn’t how is Virginia Tech ranked this low at 7-1, but why aren’t the 8-0 on the season. The Hokies next game is against Radford who will do nothing to improve the team’s resume.
The Wolfpack are a little bit better than I thought they would be and that is a credit to new coach Kevin Keatts who has brought a fun style of play to Raleigh and is doing a good job despite losing freshman phenom Dennis Smith Jr last year.
NC State is getting a good season from senior Allerick Freeman, one of four players scoring in double figures this season, which has helped the Wolfpack to a top 50 ranking in scoring nationally this year.
However, State, much like Wake, has played an easier schedule bolstered by six games against sub 150 RPI squads. However, unlike Wake, the Wolfpack are 6-0 in those games, including a win over Arizona, that looked a lot more impressive at the time.
NC State’s next game is against UMKC. The Kangaroos are 3-6 on the season and therefore should be another sub 150 win for the Wolfpack.