ACC Men's Basketball Power Rankings, Week 16

Fifteen of the finest ACC blogs on the internet get together on a weekly basis to rank the conference's men's basketball teams.

Here are the results for week 16:

SBNATION ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL POWER POLL, WEEK 16

1. Virginia Cavaliers, 120 votes (8 first-place votes)
2. Duke Blue Devils, 112
3t. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 100
3t. Louisville Cardinals, 100
5. North Carolina Tar Heels, 88
6. North Carolina State Wolfpack, 71
7. Syracuse Orange, 67
8. Pittsburgh Panthers, 66
9. Miami Hurricanes, 63
10. Clemson Tigers, 52
11. Florida State Seminoles, 36
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 31
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 25
14. Boston College Eagles, 16
15. Virginia Tech Hokies, 14

1. Virginia Cavaliers (27-1, 15-1 ACC)

Last week: Defeated Wake Forest (70-34), Defeated Virginia Tech (69-57)
This week: @ Syracuse (3/2), @ Louisville (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 1 (--)

The Cavaliers inched closer to their second straight ACC regular season title with victories over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech last week. The win over Wake Forest was impressive. Virginia held Wake Forest to just 34 points, more than doubling up the Demon Deacons in a 70-34 blowout. It was the sixth time this season UVa held an opponent below 40 points—twice as many as any other team in college basketball this season. Virginia can clinch its second consecutive regular season league title with a road victory over Syracuse on Monday.

2. Duke Blue Devils (26-3, 13-3)

Last week: Defeated Virginia Tech (91-86 OT), Defeated Syracuse (73-54)
This week: Wake Forest (3/4), @ North Carolina (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 2 (--)

The Blue Devils survived a scare against Virginia Tech, then rebounded for a big 73-54 home victory over Syracuse at Cameron Indoor. Justise Winslow scored a season-high 23 points in the victory over the Orange. Duke closes out the season with a pair of games in North Carolina: vs. Wake Forest on Wednesday and at North Carolina on Saturday.

3t. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (24-5, 12-4)

Last week: Lost to Syracuse (65-60)
This week: @ Louisville (3/4), Clemson (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 3 (--)

The Irish lost their only game of the week, 65-60, to Syracuse to fall to 12-4 in conference play. The win was Syracuse's sixth in seven tries against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish look to finish the regular season on a high note with games at Louisville on Wednesday and vs. Clemson on Saturday.

3t. Louisville Cardinals (23-6, 11-5)

Last week: Defeated Georgia Tech (52-51), Defeated Florida State (81-59)
This week: Notre Dame (3/4), Virginia (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 5 (up 2)

The Cardinals continue to roll despite the absence of Chris Jones. Louisville survived a scare from Georgia Tech, winning 52-51, then thumped Florida State 81-59. Louisville tied a season high with 32 points off turnovers on Saturday. The Cardinals finish the regular season with a pair of home games: vs. Notre Dame on Wednesday and vs. Virginia on Saturday. Neither game should disappoint.

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (20-9, 10-6)

Last week: Lost to N.C. State (58-46), Defeated Miami (73-64)
This week: @ Georgia Tech (3/3), Duke (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 4 (down 1)

Mixed week for the Tar Heels, who dropped a 58-36 decision to their in-state rivals, but rebounded with a 73-64 victory over Miami. Brice Johnson lead all UNC scorers with 22 points, 11 rebounds in the victory over the Hurricanes. North Carolina wraps up the regular season with games at Georgia Tech and at home vs. Duke.

6. North Carolina State Wolfpack (17-12, 8-8)

Last week: Defeated North Carolina (58-46), Lost to Boston College (79-63)
This week: @ Clemson (3/3), Syracuse (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 7 (up 1)

N.C. State's NCAA Tournament hopes took a big hit on Saturday afternoon. After knocking off in-state rival North Carolina 58-46, the Wolfpack lost by 16 at Boston College on Saturday. Since 1996, N.C. State is 1-7 in the game following a regular season win over North Carolina. State can resuscitate its NCAA Tournament hopes with victories over Clemson (Tuesday) and Syracuse (Saturday) to end the year.

7. Syracuse Orange (18-11, 9-7)

Last week: Defeated Notre Dame (65-60), Lost to Duke (73-54)
This week: Virginia (3/2), @ N.C. State (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 9 (up 2)

The Orange pulled off its second upset over a top 15 team in a week with a 65-60 victory over Notre Dame. B.J. Johnson matched a career-high with 19 points, Rakeem Christmas pulled down 12 boards and Trevor Cooney emerged from a prolonged scoring slump to down the Irish. Only two games remain in this year's SU season: at home vs. Virginia on Monday and a road game in Raleigh vs. the Wolfpack on Saturday.

8. Pittsburgh Panthers (19-11, 8-8)

Last week: Defeated Boston College (71-65), Lost to Wake Forest (69-66)
This week: Miami (3/4), @ Florida State (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 6 (down 2)

Another team whose NCAA Tournament hopes took a serious hit over the weekend is Pittsburgh. The Panthers dropped a 69-66 decision to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Sunday night. The Panthers hit just one FG over the game's final six minutes as the Deacons rallied from as many as 9 down in the second half. Pitt will look to rebound with a pair of games against the two Florida schools—vs. Miami on Wednesday and at Florida State on Saturday—to end the regular season.

9. Miami Hurricanes (18-11, 8-8)

Last week: Defeated Florida State (81-77), Lost to North Carolina (73-64)
This week: @ Pittsburgh (3/4), @ Virginia Tech (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 8 (down 1)

The Hurricanes evened the regular season series with the Seminoles at one apiece with an 81-77 victory over Florida State during the week. Miami followed that up with a 73-64 loss to North Carolina to drop to 18-11 overall and 8-8 in conference play. Like N.C. State and Pitt, Miami's really gonna have to finish strong to make this year's NCAA Tournament. Wednesday's game at Pitt feels like an NCAA Tournament eliminator game. The Hurricanes end the year on the road at Virginia Tech on Saturday in a game they have to have if they have postseason aspirations.

10. Clemson Tigers (16-12, 8-8)

Last week: Defeated Georgia Tech (70-63 OT)
This week: N.C. State (3/3), @ Notre Dame (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 10t (--)

Clemson is one of four ACC clubs deadlocked at 8-8 in conference play after knocking off Georgia Tech, 70-63, in overtime in the Tigers' only game of the week. The Tigers end the regular season with a home game against N.C. State and a road trip to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish.

11. Florida St. Seminoles (15-15, 7-10)

Last week: Lost to Miami (81-77), Lost to Louisville (81-59)
This week: Pittsburgh (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 10t (down 1)

An 0-2 week for the 'Noles, who dropped a close decision to Miami before getting blitzed by Louisville at home. Just one game for the Seminoles this week, who host Pitt on Saturday.

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-16, 5-11)

Last week: Lost to Virginia (70-34), Defeated Pittsburgh (69-66)
This week: @ Duke (3/4), @ Boston College (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 13 (up 1)

After a historic beating at the hands of Virginia, Wake Forest rebounded with a 69-66 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday night to improve to 5-11 in conference play on the year. Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half as the Deacons rallied in the final five minutes to sink Pitt 69-66. Boston College and Wake Forest are both playing their best basketball ahead of Saturday's #therivalry matchup.

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-17, 3-14)

Last week: Lost to Louisville (52-51), Lost to Clemson (70-63 OT)
This week: North Carolina (3/3)

Last week's ranking: 12 (down 1)

The unluckiest team in the ACC dropped another pair of games over the last week, falling to Louisville 52-51 before dropping a 70-63 overtime decision to Clemson. The Yellow Jackets have lost 12 of their 14 ACC games by a combined 46 points, including OT defeats at Notre Dame, at Duke and at Clemson. Just one game for Georgia Tech this week: a Tuesday night home tilt vs. UNC.

14. Boston College Eagles (10-18, 2-14)

Last week: Lost to Pittsburgh (71-65), Defeated N.C. State (79-63)
This week: @ Virginia Tech (3/2), Wake Forest (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 15 (up 1)

After a number of close calls, BC finally broke through with a 16-point home victory over NCAA Tournament hopeful N.C. State. Olivier Hanlan scored 24 to pace the Eagles as five BC players finished in double figures. The Eagles end the year with winnable games at Virginia Tech on Monday and at home vs. Wake Forest on Saturday. #therivalry.

15. Virginia Tech Hokies (10-19, 2-14)

Last week: Lost to Duke (91-86 OT), Lost to Virginia (69-57)
This week: Boston College (3/2), Miami (3/7)

Last week's ranking: 14 (down 1)

The Hokies put scares into two of the conference's best over the week, but fell short in both, losing to Duke 91-86 in overtime, and to Virginia 69-57. The 2-14 Hokies end the regular season with a pair of home games against former Big East foes: BC on Monday and Miami on Saturday.