Week 1, Week 2

1.(2) Duke (8-1)- Despite being short-handed all season, the Blue Devils continue to look like one of the nation’s top teams. Duke handled Michigan State, 78-69, while only playing six players. On the season, five different Duke players are playing at least 30 minutes a game. Two of those players, Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson, missed the Blue Devils’ most recent game against Maine. Despite that, Duke thrashed Maine by 39 points with freshmen Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden both making their season debuts. The pair will give the Blue Devils extra depth and allow some of the starters to catch their breath over the course of a game. Duke will face off against the 7-1 Florida Gators this week in the Jimmy V Classic before traveling out to Las Vegas to take on a rebuilding UNLV.

2. (1) North Carolina (8-1)- The Tar Heels lost their first game of the season to Indiana in the ACC/B1G Challenge, before bouncing back for a 45-point win over Radford a few nights later. The Tar Heels couldn’t put the ball in the hole against the Hoosiers and shot under 40% for the game. They also shot 28.6% from deep and 59.1% from the free throw line. Justin Jackson was one of the few bright spots for the Tar Heels against Indiana. He scored 21 points on 7-13 from the field and 4-7 from deep. On top of that, he pulled down eight rebounds and didn’t commit a foul or a turnover. North Carolina has a light week this week with only one game on the schedule against a sneaky good Davidson team.

3. (4) Notre Dame (8-0)- The Fighting Irish are the last undefeated team standing in the ACC at 8-0. Notre Dame continues to roll through opponents and is second in the nation in scoring margin at 26.5 points per game. Colson continues to play like an All-American and has had a double-double in each of his last five games. This includes a 24-point and 17-rebound outing against Iowa as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. The Irish’s next game is against 7-2 IPFW on Tuesday before playing their biggest game of the season on Saturday against #1 Villanova. Notre Dame must make sure they do not overlook the Mastodons, who beat Indiana two weeks ago.

4. (3) Virginia (7-1)- The Hoosiers won a highly contested game against Ohio State in the ACC/B1G Challenge before losing their first game of the season to West Virginia. Both the Buckeyes and the Mountaineers scored over 60 points against the Cavaliers, which no other team has done this season. The Cavs turned the ball over 14 times against Bob Huggins’ ‘in your face defense’ while only forcing 8 of their own. Darius Thomas was the only player for Virginia to reach double-digits in the loss with 14 points. Tony Bennett’s squad only plays one game this week against ECU, which should give them a chance to right the ship going forward.

5. (5) Louisville (5-1)- The Cardinals had a solid week with wins over #15 Purdue, 71-64, and at Grand Canyon, 79-70. The Cardinals built a 14-point halftime lead over the Boilermakers before giving up 48 points in the second half and allowing Purdue to get back in the game. Louisville features one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the nation, with eight different players averaging between 5 and 12 ppg. The Cardinals have a pair of home games against Southern Illinois and Texas Southern this week as they gear up for one of the toughest two week stretches any team will face this season. Louisville will find out how good they really are over the winter break with games against #2 Kentucky (Dec. 21st), #14 Virginia (Dec. 28th), #9 Indiana (Dec. 31st), and #23 Notre Dame (Jan. 4th.).

6. (8) Virginia Tech (6-1)- Virginia Tech picked up a pair of quality wins over Big Ten opponents Nebraska, 66-53, and Michigan, 73-70, this week. Buzz Williams has the Hokies playing at a high level right now and looks poised to lead his team into the top third of the conference. Zach LeDay continues to play well scoring 19 and 18 points in Virginia Tech’s two games this week. The Hokies host one of college basketball’s worst teams this week when they welcome 0-7 Maryland-Eastern Shore. After that, Virginia Tech will face their last true challenge of the out of conference portion of the schedule when they host Ole Miss.

7. (9) Florida State (7-1)- Since losing their only game of the season to Temple, the Seminoles have looked like a completely different team. Gone is the run and gun style that defined Florida State’s early season success and in its place a dominating defense has emerged. In their last three games, the Seminoles are only giving up 58.7 ppg after allowing opponents to score 77.6 ppg in their first five games of the season. Florida State has a pair of tune up games against Southern Mississippi and Nicholls this week before hosting their biggest rival in the Florida Gators on Sunday.

8. (7) Miami (6-2)- The Hurricanes lost back-to-back games to Iowa State and Florida over the past couple of weeks, but bounced back nicely with wins versus Rutgers and Wofford. The game has begun to slow down for freshman guard, Bruce Brown. Over the past three games, Brown has averaged 10.7 ppg on 57% shooting while also pulling down 6 rpg. A part of his increase in production comes from the recent increase in minutes Brown has seen. Brown is averaging 33.3 minutes per game over the course of the last three games after averaging 24 minutes in the Hurricanes’ first five. Miami will host an overmatched South Carolina State team that has struggled to score this season, as well as stop their opponents. The Bull rank dead last in college basketball with a scoring margin of -34 points a game.

9.(6) Syracuse (5-2)- The Orange continued to struggle this week after losing their first game of the season to a stout South Carolina team. First, the Orange traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the #17 ranked Badgers. The Orange trailed by four at halftime, but quickly let the game get away from them in the second half when Wisconsin extended their lead to 13 by the under 16 timeout. Syracuse ultimately loss 77-60 and headed home to play North Florida. The Orange jumped out on the Ospreys and led by as many 24, but let Dallas Moore carry the Ospreys back into the game before Syracuse came away with a 77-71 victory. Syracuse will travel to their home away from home, Madison Square Garden, to take on bitter rival, UConn tonight.

10. (14) Clemson (5-2)- Clemson picked up a pair of wins at Nebraska, 60-58, and against Coppin State, 85-43, to stretch their winning streak to three games. Jaron Blossomgame continues to look like an all-conference type player, averaging 17.4 points and 5.7 rebounds a games. The only part of Blossomgame’s game that needs to improve for the Tigers to be competitive in the ACC is his three-point shooting. Last season Blossomgame shot 45% from deep, so far this year he has yet to find his stroke and is 3-21 from deep. Clemson will host Mercer on Saturday in their only game of the week.

11. (11) North Carolina State (6-2)- The Cardiac Wolfpack continues to live life on the edge so far in 2016. Mark Gottfried’s squad is eight points from being 3-5 after another close call against Boston University. Before escaping the Terriers, 77-73, N.C. State picked up their second loss of the season when they fell at Illinois as a part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Sophomore Torin Dorn had a very good week, averaging 19.5 ppg and 9 rpg in the two games. The rest of December is filled with what should be easy to win games for the Wolfpack as long as they don’t play down to their opponent’s skill level.

12. (12) Wake Forest (6-2)- The Demon Deacons lost a crucial game against fellow possible bubble team when they went into Evanston, Illinois to play Northwestern in the ACC/B1G Challenge. While the loss may not be a fatal blow to Wake’s postseason hopes, this was the type of game the committee will look at when trying to decide on the last few teams in the tournament. The Deacs bounced back with a tough fought road victory over a Richmond team that beat Boston College, 75-67. Wake will play host to the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday before traveling to Greensboro on Friday to take on UNCG.

13. (10) Pittsburgh (6-2)- Pitt’s week started out fantastically with a 73-59 win at Maryland as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. The excitement around that win didn’t last long as the Panthers turned around and lost to a Duquesne team that was 3-5 entering the matchup. Pittsburgh was without senior forward Jamel Artis, who was serving a one-game suspension for failing to live up to team standards. While Artis is one of Pitt’s best players, and is ranked third in the conference in scoring at 19.7 ppg, there is no reason the Panthers should lose to a team of Duquesne’s caliber. Pitt will get a chance to rebound against Buffalo on Wednesday before taking on a 6-3 Penn State team that has already beat one ACC school in Georgia Tech.

14. (13) Georgia Tech (4-3)- It was a tough week for the Yellow Jackets who lost a pair of road games at Penn State and at Tennessee. Georgia Tech has struggled to score this season averaging only 69.9 ppg, which is good for #231 in the nation. Big man Ben Lammers recorded his fourth and fifth double-doubles in the losses this week. Josh Pastner’s team has another tough test on Wednesday when they are back on the road taking on a talented VCU squad.

15. (15) Boston College (4-3)- The Eagles had a slow week with only one game on the schedule against Dartmouth of the Ivy League. Jerome Robinson poured in 27 points in the 88-70 victory and is ranked second in the conference in scoring at 20.1. However he is the only double-digit scorer on Boston College’s roster and needs someone else to step up and be a second option as the season wears on or else defenses will game plan to take him completely out of the game. The Eagles will play their second straight Ivy League team on Wednesday when they take on a struggling Harvard squad. They follow that game up with another home game on Friday against a 2-7 Hartford team. The Eagles have an opportunity to build some momentum with wins in these two games heading into a matchup with the Auburn Tigers.

Player of the Week

Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame– The 6’5 junior has been excellent all season and has recorded a double-double in his last five games. This includes a massive 24-point, and 17-rebound performance against Iowa in the ACC/B1G Challenge last Tuesday. Colson can score in a variety of ways including in the low post, as well as from behind the arc where he is shooting 35% on the season. He is also money from the free throw line where he is 42-46 on the season. You can find a more in-depth breakdown of Colson’s game by checking out my colleague Jacob Zinkula‘s update on him.

Game of the Week

#23 Notre Dame vs. #1 Villanova– The Fighting Irish face their biggest test of the season when they meet the Villanova Wildcats in a neutral court game in New Jersey. A win here would vault Notre Dame into top 10 territory and solidify them as a contender in the ACC this season. Both teams like to get up and down the court which should provide an exciting game. The key for the Fighting Irish to win this game is for them to limit the damage the Wildcats do from deep. Villanova averages 10.9 three-pointers made a game which is good for 8th in the nation. Senior Josh Hart is the best player on the Wildcats and is averaging 17.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 3.9 apg.