Duke is ACC's Lone Representative in Top 25

For the first time in 30 years, the ACC has only one representative in the top 25. That would be Duke at number 5. The perception nation-wide is that the ACC is having a very down year. That is surely mostly due to North Carolina's struggles. The Tar Heels are now 14-14 overall and 3-10 in the ACC, and their NCAA tournament hopes are all but gone. Duke had a couple of bad losses at the start of conference play to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State but is now on an 8 game conference winning streak, with a loss to #13 Georgetown in the middle.

But is the ACC really having a down year? They will still have 6 or 7 teams finish the regular season with 20 wins and probably only 1 with a losing record. Just because perennial power UNC isn't doing well doesn't mean the conference as a whole is awful. Georgia Tech is another team that many thought would be in contention for the ACC championship, but several last-second losses, including a heartbreaking buzzer-beater at Maryland last weekend, leave them at 6-7 in the conference and 18-9 overall. They certainly don't deserve to be in the top 25 now, with 9 losses but they are still one of the most feared teams to play in the country because of all the talent on the roster.

I am really surprised that Maryland hasn't gotten into the top 25. Yes, they didn't play a good team outside the conference but had a respectable 10-4 non-conference record and 10-3 in the ACC is quite an accomplishment. Last week they won 3 conference games, against Virginia, NC State, and Georgia Tech. I would have had them around number 18 in this week's poll, but the voters can't seem to face the fact that there are other good teams in the ACC besides the power North Carolina schools and GT. Virginia Tech can also make a strong case for being a top 25 team now with their 21-6 record, but the stumble against BC yesterday certainly doesn't help.

It'll be an exciting finish to the season and a fight for the NCAA tournament bids. I see the ACC getting 6 teams in the tournament this year. Personally I think there are 7 teams worthy of a spot in the final 65 - duke, Maryland, Virginia Tech, FSU, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Georgia Tech - but think the committee will leave one of them out, probably Clemson, due to perceived conference weakness this season. Duke is head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, but the other teams, all the way to NC State at the bottom, have shown they can beat Duke on a given day.