ACC Weekly Digest (Dec 13-Dec 19)
Welcome to ACC Hoops Digest - where we take a look at some of the best matchups, some statistical trends, schedules, and information on each team in the ACC.
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Who Had the Best Wins Last Week?
Notre Dame 63, Kentucky 60
The Irish were on the struggle bus, but bounced back with a huge win against Kentucky. We also got a glimpse at just how good Blake Wesley can be.
Pittsburgh 71, Colgate 68
The Panthers were underdogs in this one…and, based on the season so far, anything positive for Pitt is going to make some news. This was a good win.
Clemson 90, Drake 80 (OT)
Clemson was another squad who was struggling to get good wins and this is a deceptively good win for the Tigers. This was a top-75 win.
Who Had the Worst Loss Last Week?
James Madison 52, UVA 49
The Cavaliers traveled to raucous JMU, struggled to score, almost came back, but were the victims of a court storm as the Dukes pulled off the biggest upset of the week in the country probably. The Cavaliers have to find ways to score.
Honorable Mention
Syracuse losing to Georgetown
Pittsburgh losing to Monmouth
FSU blowing a 16 point lead to South Carolina
Who Had the Biggest Comeback Last Week?
Believe it or not, Notre Dame’s 5 point comeback against Kentucky was the biggest comeback during the week for an ACC game.
Who Blew the Biggest Lead Last Week?
Florida State blew a 16 point lead against South Carolina for a brutal loss. South Carolina was ranked 101st (one of the lower ranked Power-6 teams in the country) coming in.
Who Were the Biggest KenPom Movers This Week?
BIGGEST GAINERS
Clemson (49) (+4)
Notre Dame (51) (+1)
Wake Forest (58) (+1)
BIGGEST LOSERS
Syracuse (68) (-11)
UVA (59) (-8)
NC State (79) (-6), Georgia Tech (96) (-6), Pittsburgh (199) (-6)
ACC Standings
KenPom Rankings
Here are the national rankings to start the week based on KenPom rankings.
The first number listed is the ACC rank, the second number is the KenPom rank, the last number is the increase/decrease in rank.
Duke (9) (-2)
UNC (31) (-2)
Virginia Tech (33) (E)
Florida State (40) (-4)
Louisville (44) (-4)
Clemson (49) (+4)
Notre Dame (51) (+1)
Wake Forest (58) (+1)
UVA (59) (-8)
Syracuse (68) (-11)
NC State (79) (-6)
Georgia Tech (96) (-6)
Miami (97) (-2)
Boston College (115) (-2)
Pittsburgh (199) (-6)
This Week’s 5 Most Interesting Games
(8) UCLA vs. (31) UNC - Sat, 3pm, CBS
(27) Indiana vs. (51) Notre Dame - Sat, 230pm, FOX
(48) St. Bonaventure vs (33) Virginia Tech - Fri, 4pm, ESPN2
(40) FSU vs. (55) UCF - Sat, 330pm
(79) NC State vs. (67) Richmond - Fri, 630pm, ACCN
**Honorable Mention**
(17) USC vs. (96) Georgia Tech - Sat, 4pm, P12N
(99) South Carolina at (49) Clemson - Sat, 8pm, ACCN
(121) Miami OH at (49) Clemson - Tues, 7pm, ACCN Extra
(120) Furman at (31) UNC - Tues, 7pm, ESPN2
(199) Pitt at (66) St John’s - Sat, 12pm, FS1
This Week’s Master Schedule
**Rankings based on Sunday evening KenPom rankings**
MONDAY, DECEMBER 13
(321) Albany at (115) Boston College - 8pm - ACCN
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14
(308) SE Louisiana at (44) Louisville - 6pm - ACCN
(237) VMI at (58) Wake Forest - 7pm - ACCNX
(120) Furman at (31) UNC - 7pm - ESPN2
(121) Miami OH at (49) Clemson - 7pm - ACCNX/ESPN+
(345) South Carolina State at (9) Duke - 8pm - ACCN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15
(253) Lipscomb at (40) Florida State - 9pm- ACCN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16
(173) Appalachian State at (9) Duke - 7pm - ESPN2
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17
(33) Virginia Tech vs. (48) St. Bonaventure - 4pm - ESPN2 (Game played in Charlotte, NC)
(79) NC State vs. (67) Richmond - 630pm - ACCN (Game played in Charlotte)
(58) Wake Forest vs. (224) Charlotte - 9pm - ACCN (Game played in Charlotte)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18
(199) Pittsburgh at (66) St. John’s - 12pm - FS1
(328) Fairleigh Dickinson at (59) UVA - 2pm - ACCN
(44) Louisville at (108) Western Kentucky - 230pm
(27) Indiana vs. (51) Notre Dame - 230pm - FOX (game played in Indianapolis)
(31) UNC vs. (8) UCLA - 3pm - CBS (game played in Las Vegas)
(40) Florida State vs. (55) UCF - 330pm (game played in Sunrise, FL)
(96) Georgia Tech vs. (17) USC - 4pm - P12N (game played in Phoenix)
(158) Cleveland State at (9) Duke - 4pm - ACCN
(312) Lehigh at (66) Syracuse - 6pm - ACCN
(99) South Carolina at (49) Clemson - 8pm - ACCN
Top 3s and Bottom 3s
Top 3 and Bottom 3 Offenses (national rank in parentheses)
Duke (11)
UNC (13)
Syracuse (22)
Louisville (116)
Boston College (122)
Pittsburgh (153)
Top 3 and Bottom 3 Defenses
Louisville (12)
Duke (14)
Florida State (31)
Miami (134)
Pittsburgh (153)
Syracuse (167)
Top 3 and Bottom 3 Tempos
Wake Forest (72)
Duke (81)
UNC (93)
Pittsburgh (333)
Virginia Tech (336)
UVA (358)
Top 50 Matchups Around the Country This Week
TUESDAY
(11) Alabama at (39) Memphis - 9pm - ESPN2
FRIDAY
(33) Virginia Tech vs. (48) St. Bonaventure - 4pm - ESPN2
(35) Saint Mary’s vs. (46) San Diego State - 10pm
SATURDAY
(21) Kentucky vs. (15) Ohio State - 5pm - CBS
(14) Texas Tech vs. (2) Gonzaga - 1pm - CBS
(31) UNC vs. (8) UCLA - 3pm - CBS
(39) Memphis vs. (10) Tennessee - 11am
(1) Baylor at (53) Oregon - 10pm - ESPN2 ???
(51) Notre Dame vs. (29) Indiana - 230pm - FOX ???
(45) West Virginia at (42) UAB - 5pm - CBSSN
(5) Houston vs. (43) Oklahoma State - 7pm - ESPNU
ESPN Bracketology
**Last update was 12/10**
In the latest Bracketology, the ACC has 6 teams slated to make the Big Dance after Wake Forest joins. However, Duke is a 1 seed, UNC is a 7 seed, and the other 4 teams (FSU, VT, Louisville, and Wake) are all double-digit seeds.
There are no ACC teams listed by Lunardi as the next 8 left out.
Duke - 1 seed vs. Princeton/Nicholls St (1 last week)
UNC - 7 seed vs. Loyola Chicago (9 last week)
Virginia Tech - 10 seed vs. Illinois (8 last week)
Florida State - 11 seed vs. 11 Northwestern in First 4 Game (8 last week)
Louisville - 11 seed vs. BYU (11 last week)
Wake Forest - 12 seed vs. 12 - Memphis in First 4 Game (OUT last week)
KenPom Top 8 and Bottom 8 Power-6 Rankings
TOP 8 POWER-6 (overall ranking in parentheses)
Baylor (1) - B12
Kansas (3) - B12
Purdue (4) - B10
Villanova (6) - BE
Arizona (7) - P12
UCLA (8) - P12
Duke (9) - ACC
Tennessee (10) - SEC
BOTTOM 8 POWER-6 (lowest ranked team listed 1st)
Pittsburgh (199) - ACC
Georgia (164) - SEC
Missouri (153) - SEC
Washington (147) - P12
Oregon State (132) - P12
Nebraska (128) - B10
Boston College (115) - ACC
Georgetown (110) - BE
KenPom Top 8 and Bottom 8 NON-Power-6 Rankings
TOP 8 NON-POWER 6
Gonzaga (2) - WCC
Houston (5) - AMER
Loyola Chicago (23) - MVC
BYU (25) - WCC
San Francisco (32) - WCC
Saint Mary’s (35) - WCC
Colorado State (37) - MWC
Memphis (39) - AMER
BOTTOM 8
Mississippi Valley State (358) - SWAC
Arkansas Pine Bluff (357) - SWAC
Delaware State (356) - MEAC
Chicago State (355) - WAC
IUPUI (354) - HORZ
Incarnate Word (353) - SInd
Maine (352) - AEAST
Houston Baptist (351) - SInd