ACC Conference Report 1/27

Atlantic Coast Conference Report January 27, 2022

The Atlantic Coast Conference yet again is still struggling to gain attention in the top 25 at the moment with Duke still being the only ACC team ranked in the top 25 at #9.  There are a couple teams starting to get noticed in the voting, but for now the Blue Devils stand alone in the top 25 rankings for the ACC. Duke played a home game against Clemson  Tuesday night and got the Home win 71-69 to move to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the ACC. The Devils were led by the Freshman forward, Paolo Banchero with 19 points, and the Junior forward, Wendell Moore with 13 points.

Conference Best

The Miami Hurricanes remain atop of the ACC with a 7-2 conference record (15-5 overall) after losing to Florida State, they had a good comeback win against Virginia Tech 78-75. On January 22, the Miami Hurricanes played Florida State again. What would have been a great comeback fell short for Miami as Sophomore Isaiah Wong was just off missing a fade away jump shot as the time ran out causing them to lose 60-61.

Trending up: Teams moving up the seed list

Notre Dame is currently 13-6 overall and 6-2 in the ACC. They lost their 6 game winning streak to Virginia Tech 73-79, but have kicked it back into gear by beating Howard, Louisville, and NC State. Their next three games are going to be challenging. They play Virginia January 29, Duke on January 31st, and then the top of the conference, the Miami Hurricanes on February 2nd. The Fighting Irish are gonna keep their fingers crossed going into the next two weeks of basketball.

Bubble: Teams either in or out of the bracket

The Miami Hurricanes and the North Carolina Tar Heels currently sit in the “last four byes” line according to ESPN, while Virginia Tech has slipped to the dreaded “first four out line.”  Miami had won 9 games in a row, but have gone 2-2 in their last 4. The Hurricanes look to avoid the Yellow Jackets sting as they head to Georgia Tech on Saturday. UNC has won two in a row beating Virginia Tech and BC and will play NC State on Saturday at home. Virginia Tech will head to the tough to play in Tucker Center at Florida State on Saturday.

Trending Down: Teams that are dropping down the seed list or out of our bracket

The Louisville Cardinals, the Syracuse Orange and the Boston College Eagles are all on 2 game losing streaks, but the biggest downhill skid at the moment belongs to the Hokies from Virginia Tech who have dropped 3 in a row to move to 10-10 overall and 2-7 in the conference. This recent skid has officially moved Va Tech into the next 4 out lines.

Key Games

-Top Conference seed Miami takes on Georgia Tech Saturday @ 12:00pm on ESPN+

-The Duke Blue Devils hope to be finger licking good as they head to play Louisville in the KFC Yum Center on Saturday at 12:00pm on ESPN

-The UNC Tar Heels will host in-state rival NC State Wolfpack Saturday at 2:00pm on the ACCN 
-Braydn Gleason