There wasn’t much action over the last week, with most teams in the conference only playing one game. This means there wasn’t a lot of movement in the rankings either. Notre Dame and Miami both fell two spots in to #5 and #10 respectively while no team climbed more than one spot. With only nine days until conference play begins each school is trying to put themselves in the best position they can heading into ACC play. Some of the most notable matchups include Georgia @ Georgia Tech, #6 Kentucky @ #10 Louisville, Clemson @ #16 South Carolina, and #12 Virginia @ California.

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4

1.(1) Duke (10-1)- Duke hasn’t played a game since December 10th and could be getting their top-ranked freshman back any day now. The Blue Devils play host to a Tennessee State team that took N.C. State to overtime just last week and whose only other loss is to Vanderbilt. Duke then has one more non-conference game against Elon on Wednesday before starting ACC play on New Year’s Eve on the road at Virginia Tech.

2. (2) North Carolina (10-2)- The Tar Heels suffered their second loss of the season on Saturday when they fell to #6 Kentucky, 103-100. Justin Jackson scored a career high 34 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the all freshman backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. The pair combined for a staggering 71 points with Monk setting the freshman record with 47. UNC finishes out non-conference play with a pair of tough mid-majors in Northern Iowa and Monmouth before opening conference play on the road against Georgia Tech.

3. (4) Virginia (9-1)- The Cavaliers held Robert Morris to a season low scoring total when they beat them 79-39 on Saturday. Virginia has bounced back nicely with back-to-back wins after losing their first game of the season to West Virginia two weeks ago. Next up for Tony Bennett’s crew is a cross-country trip to take on the California Golden Bears in their final non-conference game. The Cavs open ACC play with games against #11 Louisville and #23 Florida State.

4. (5) Louisville (10-1)- The Cardinals rolled Eastern Kentucky by 31 points in their final game before squaring off against hated rival, #6 Kentucky. Louisville has lost three in a row and six of the last seven to the Wildcats. It doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinals after Kentucky with games against #12 Virginia, #16 Indiana, and #25 Notre Dame. To make it through that stretch with two or fewer losses the Cardinals will need to figure out a way to slow down three of the nation’s top 15 offenses.

5. (3) Notre Dame (9-2)- The Irish faced their second ranked opponent in a row on Saturday when they took on Purdue in the Crossroads Classic. In the first half, everything was going Notre Dame’s way as they built a 14-point halftime lead over the Boilermakers. However, Purdue played lights out in the second half and came back to defeat the Irish 81-86. Notre Dame will look to get back on track with games against Colgate and St. Peter’s before traveling to Pittsburgh to open ACC play.

6. (6) Florida State (10-1)- In the Seminoles’ only game of the week, they were tested early by Manhattan. The Jaspers came out with more energy and even took the lead with 6:50 remaining in the first half. However, Florida State had too much talent for Manhattan and took control in the second half and won comfortably, 83-67. Florida State has just one more non-conference game against Samford this afternoon, after which they have nine days off before opening up ACC play with Wake Forest.

7. (7) Virginia Tech (9-1)- The Hokies had seven different players reach double figures in a 113-71 victory over The Citadel with Ahmed Hill leading the way with 22. Sophomore, Chris Clarke made Virginia Tech history on Saturday when he became the first player in school history to ever record a triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Hokies will host Charleston Southern and UMBC to close out their non-conference schedule before facing off with #5 Duke to open ACC play.

8. (9) Clemson(8-2)- The Tigers picked up their sixth straight win last night when they traveled to Birmingham to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Vanderbilt transfer, Shelton Mitchell, had a career night and led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points. Next up for Clemson is a showdown with in-state rival, #16 South Carolina, on Wednesday before finishing off their non-conference schedule against UNC Wilmington. Clemson has a brutal schedule to start conference play with four of their first six ACC games against ranked opponents. The other two games come against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, but both come on the road.

9. (10) North Carolina State (9-2)- N.C. State finally has their whole team intact for the first time all season and beat Appalachian State and Fairfield by an average of 27 points. Freshman Omer Yurtseven looked solid in his Wolfpak debut, scoring 12 points and pulling down 4 rebounds. The Wolfpack will finish non-conference play with a couple of cupcakes at home in McNeese State and Rider before traveling south to take on Miami in their conference opener.

10. (8) Miami (8-2)- Miami hosted local rival FAU last Friday, and beat them comfortably, 76-56. Senior, Davon Reed, led the Hurricanes with 21 points, while freshman Bruce Brown had 14 of his own. Miami dominated the glass all game long, out rebounding the Owls by 19, and five different players for the ‘Canes grabbed at least six rebounds. Miami only has game against George Washington and Columbia left in the non-conference part of the schedule before facing N.C. State in an important game for both teams.

11. (10) Pittsburgh (8-2)- Pittsburgh won their only game of the week against Rice, 82-72, but were pushed by the Owls all game long. Jamel Artis had a season-high 31 points to lead the way, however the Panthers’ sloppiness kept Rice in the game as they turned the ball over 18 times. Pitt will look for a cleaner performances against Omaha and Marshall before opening conference play against #21 Notre Dame on New Year’s Eve.

12. (12) Wake Forest (8-3)- The Demon Deacons fought admirably, but came up just short of knocking off #17 Xavier, 65-69. Bryant Crawford matched a season high with 20 points while dishing out 6 assists to lead the Deacs in the loss. Wake has one last non-conference game, against LSU, before opening conference play on the road against #23 Florida State. While Wake has no bad losses this season, they also don’t have any signature wins and will need to surprise some teams if they want to make it to the Big Dance.

13. (14) Georgia Tech (6-3)- The Yellow Jackets dominated Alcorn State in their only game of the week, 74-50. Four Georgia Tech players reached double figures with Josh Okogie and Tadric Jackson leading the way with 14 apiece. Georgia Tech will face off against in-state rival Georgia on Tuesday before taking on Wofford two days later. The Yellow Jackets have an extremely difficult three-game stretch against #7 North Carolina, #5 Duke, and #11 Louisville to open ACC play and will start conference play in an 0-3 hole if they can not find an upset in there.

14. (13) Syracuse (6-4)- We’ve all heard the saying “when it rains it pours” right? Well right now Syracuse is in a category-5 hurricane. Last Saturday’s loss to Georgetown was the Orange’s fourth loss in six games and put their hopes of making the NCAA Tournament in serious jeopardy. Luckily for Syracuse their next four opponents are less than good and should give this team a chance to gel before getting into the meat of conference play.

15. (15) Boston College (6-5)- Boston College won their second game in a row on Sunday night with an 82-75 victory over Sacred Heart. Jerome Robinson poured in a career-high 32 points in the victory with Ky Bowman and A.J. Turner joining him in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Eagles conclude non-conference play this week with games against Fairfield and Providence before opening ACC play with Syracuse.

Player of the Week

Chris Clarke, Virginia Tech. – The sophomore guard from Virginia Beach, Virginia made Hokie history when he posted a stat line of 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for the first triple-double in school history. Clarke has seen an increase in his production across the board from last season to this one and does a little of everything for VA Tech averaging 9.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, and 4.2 apg. With ACC play right around the corner, the Hokies will need consistent performances out of players like Clarke if they want to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Buzz Williams.

Game of the Week

#10 Louisville vs. #6 Kentucky– These long time rivals collide in a midweek top 10 showdown for bragging rights as the top team in Kentucky. If Louisville wants to win, they will have to find a way to slow down Malik Monk, who just scored 47 on UNC and is averaging 20.8 ppg as a freshman. Luckily the Cardinals boast the #10 scoring defense in the nation, at 59.4 ppg, and should have the pieces in place to slow the Wildcat’s offense down.