ACC Men's Basketball Power Rankings, Week 8

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 8:

SBNATION ACC MEN'S BASKETBALL POWER POLL, WEEK 8

1. Duke Blue Devils, 193 (11 first-place votes)
2. Virginia Cavaliers, 183 (2)
3. Louisville Cardinals, 168
4. North Carolina Tar Heels, 152
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 148
6. Syracuse Orange, 117
7. North Carolina State Wolfpack, 115
8. Miami Hurricanes, 113
9. Pittsburgh Panthers, 87
10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 83
11. Florida State Seminoles, 56
12. Boston College Eagles, 46
13. Clemson Tigers, 39
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 35
15. Virginia Tech Hokies, 25

1. Duke Blue Devils (13-0, 1-0 ACC)

Last week: Defeated Toledo (86-69), Defeated Wofford (84-55), Defeated Boston College (85-62)
This week: @ Wake Forest (1/7), @ N.C. State (1/11)

Last week's ranking: 1 (--)

Toledo, Wofford and BC couldn't put up much of a fight against a very good Duke team last week. Freshman phenom Jahlil Okafor has scored 27, 24 and 28 points in his last three games. The Blue Devils have a pair of road games against in-state rivals Wake Forest and N.C. State this week.

2. Virginia Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0)

Last week: Defeated Davidson (83-72), Defeated Miami (89-80)
This week: N.C. State (1/7), @ Notre Dame (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 2 (--)

The Cavaliers squandered a 19-point first half lead and needed to mount comebacks in both extra sessions to avoid the Miami upset bid. Virginia won 89-80 in two overtimes to remain unbeaten. The 'Hoos host N.C. State in a mid-week game before traveling to South Bend to take on a red hot Fighting Irish team.

3. Louisville Cardinals (13-1, 1-0)

Last week: Defeated Long Beach State (63-48), Defeated Wake Forest (85-76)
This week: Clemson (1/7), @ North Carolina (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 3 (--)

The Cards rang in the ACC era with a victory over Wake Forest, though the Deacons gave Louisville all it could handle. Chris Jones scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as the Cardinals pulled away from Wake, winning the program's ACC debut 85-76. After the Cards' ACC home opener against Clemson on Wednesday, it's back to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels on Saturday.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels (11-4, 1-1)

Last week: Defeated William & Mary (86-64), Defeated Clemson (74-50)
This week: Lost to Notre Dame (71-70), Louisville (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 4 (--)

Voting for this week took place before Notre Dame's 71-70 road victory over North Carolina, so I suspect there may be a shakeup in the top four spots next week. Marcus Paige led the Heels with 15 points, but UNC couldn't overcome an ice cold shooting stretch that saw the Heels go 1-for-14 in the final seven-plus minutes. North Carolina will look to rebound this week as they host Louisville on Saturday.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-1, 3-0)

Last week: Defeated Hartford (87-60), Defeated Georgia Tech (83-76 2OT)
This week: Defeated North Carolina (71-70), Virginia (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 5 (--)

Presented without comment:

Pray for basket.

6. Syracuse Orange (10-4, 1-0)

Last week: Defeated Cornell (61-44), Defeated Virginia Tech (68-66)
This week: @ Georgia Tech (1/7), Florida State (1/11)

Last week's ranking: 7 (up 1)

The Orange notched a pair of victories over Cornell and Virginia Tech to move to 10-4 on the year. Syracuse let a 42-23 halftime lead slip away in Blacksburg, and nearly let Virginia Tech come all the way back before pulling away late in the second half. Syracuse travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech on Wednesday, then returns home to host Florida State on Sunday.

7. North Carolina State Wolfpack (11-4, 2-0)

Last week: Lost to Cincinnati (76-60), Defeated Pittsburgh (68-50)
This week: @ Virginia (1/7), Duke (1/11)

Last week's ranking: 6 (down 1)

After an ugly home loss to Cincinnati, N.C. State bounced back in a big way with a 68-50 victory over Pittsburgh to move to 2-0 in ACC play. Ralston Turner scored 16 to help the Pack beat Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack will put its undefeated ACC record on the line this week with a pair of games against top 5 opponents—at Virginia on Wednesday followed by a home game vs. Duke on Sunday.

8. Miami Hurricanes (10-4, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Charleston (67-40), Lost to Virginia (89-80 2OT)
This week: Boston College (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 8 (--)

The Canes gave the defending ACC champs all they could handle, but couldn't knock Virginia from the ranks of the unbeatens, suffering an 89-80 double overtime loss to UVA. Just one game for the Canes this week, who host Boston College on Saturday.

9. Pittsburgh Panthers (10-4, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Florida Gulf Coast (71-54), Lost to N.C. State (68-50)
This week: @ Boston College (1/6), Clemson (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 9 (--)

Pitt seemed to be rolling into ACC play, but took a step back with a 68-50 loss to N.C. State in the ACC opener. A quick turnaround awaits the Panthers, who travel to Chestnut Hill tonight to take on the Eagles, then return home to face Clemson on Saturday.

10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-4, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Charlotte (67-66), Lost to Notre Dame (83-76 2OT)
This week: Syracuse (1/7), @ Wake Forest (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 10 (--)

Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 20 and Charles Mitchell added 12 points but it wasn't enough as Notre Dame slipped past the Jackets, 83-76, in two overtimes. Georgia Tech will look to rebound this week with games against Syracuse and on the road at Wake Forest.

11. Florida State Seminoles (8-6, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Florida (65-63), Lost to Mississippi State (62-55)
This week: Virginia Tech (1/6), @ Syracuse (1/11)

Last week's ranking: 13 (up 2)

The strangest set of results of the week award has to go to Florida State, which beat in-state rival Florida when Gator forward Jacob Kurtz accidentally tipped in a missed shot with 0.4 seconds left to give FSU a 65-63 victory. The Seminoles followed that victory up with a 62-55 road loss at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (7-6) held a 54-53 lead with just over a minute to go before closing the game on an 8-2 run. FSU resumes ACC play this week with a pair of games against Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

12. Boston College Eagles (7-5, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Massachusetts Lowell (70-47), Lost to Duke (85-62)
This week: Pittsburgh (1/6), @ Miami (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 11 (down 1)

BC hung with Duke for about...10 minutes, but the ultra-talented Blue Devils coasted to a 85-62 victory from there. BC hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday night before heading down to South Florida to take on the Hurricanes.

13. Clemson Tigers (8-5, 0-1)

Last week: Defeated Robert Morris (64-57), Lost to North Carolina (74-50)
This week: @ Louisville (1/7), @ Pittsburgh (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 12 (down 1)

Clemson knocked off Robert Morris, but fell to North Carolina, 74-50, in the Tigers ACC opener. Jaron Blossomgame had 13 points—all in the second half with the game all but decided—to pace the Tigers. Clemson hits the road this week for a pair of games at Louisville and Pittsburgh.

14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-7, 0-2)

Last week: Defeated Princeton (80-66), Lost to Louisville (85-76)
This week: Duke (1/7), Georgia Tech (1/10)

Last week's ranking: 14 (--)

The Deacons knocked off Princeton, 80-66, before falling to Louisville, 85-76, in the Deacons' ACC home opener. Danny Manning's young Deacons squad acquitted themselves well against the 5th ranked team in the nation, leading 69-68 with under 6 minutes to play, but it just wasn't meant to be. Devin Thomas had a career-high 31 points and 11 rebounds for Wake Forest. No rest for the Deacs who host Duke and Georgia Tech in conference play this week.

15. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-6, 0-1)

Last week: Lost to West Virginia (82-51), Lost to Syracuse (68-66)
This week: @ Florida State (1/6)

Last week's ranking: 15 (--)

A valiant second-half effort wasn't enough for the Hokies to spring the upset, as Virginia Tech fell 68-66 to Syracuse at Cassell. The loss to Syracuse was the second of the week. Virginia Tech got waxed by border rival West Virginia earlier in the week. Just one game for the Hokies this week, which travel to Tallahassee to take on the 'Noles tonight.