12. Pittsburgh Panthers
Jeff Capel has Pittsburgh (10-3) off to its best start since Jamie Dixon was manning the clipboard there. Perhaps a reflection of the coach’s phoenix-like rebirth himself, Pittsburgh looks to be headed in the right direction in the young season. With Kevin Stallings gone, the Pitt Panthers are out to put his 24-41 two-year stint, as the head man, behind them.
Pittsburgh only has one win against a top-150 opponent this year and more than likely won’t be competing for a double-bye in the conference tournament but the future is bright in Pittsburgh. If it weren’t for Duke’s super freshman, Pittsburgh might have a real Freshman of the Year candidate in Xavier Johnson. In fact, three of Capels’s four leading scorers are freshmen and, despite having no commits for the class of 2019, a handful of top-100 recruits have Pittsburgh on their lists.
Look for this young team to have growing pains early in conference play but be the trap game on every contender’s schedule come February as they gain some cohesion on the offensive side of the ball. Expect the Pitt Panthers to return to postseason play by the hair of their teeth as they squeak into the NIT.
11. Miami Hurricanes
With some off recruiting years, the Miami Hurricanes (8-4) are set to make a run for mediocrity and match Coach Jim Larranaga’s worst year as the Head Honcho. The Hurricanes leading scorer, with nearly 17 points per game, is sophomore Chris Lykes. He headlines a very thin roster for Coach Larranaga’s perennially competitive program.
Beyond Lykes, Miami’s roster boasts four other players who average double figures, of which none are freshmen or sophomores. Furthermore, only six players on this year’s Hurricanes average more than 2.5 points per game.
Miami is talented but thin, and beyond not being able to keep up in-game with the talented depth of the ACC upper echelon, injuries are certain to be an issue as the Hurricanes weather the storm of conference play. If Larranaga’s small band of talented upperclassmen can stay healthy the league can, at best, expect a team just outside of the NCAA tournament looking in. And that’s a big “if”.
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In all candor, Notre Dame (10-4) would have been at least one spot higher on this power ranking had they not lost their assist leader for the season last Monday. Rex Pflueger was adding in 8.1 points per game and 4.7 rebounds to his team-leading 4.3 assists when he injured his knee recently. Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish, after having lost their three leading scorers to graduation last year, had started the 2018-19 campaign unconventionally, losing their third outing at home to an average Radford team.
Notre Dame has since rallied back collecting back-to-back home wins against DePaul and Illinois before winning a neutral site battle with an in-state foe, Purdue. They’ve dictated the pace of most of their games through possession basketball and, in turn, are third-best in the country in avoiding turnovers. Brey will certainly have his team prepared for conference play, especially at home. Notre Dame is 594-157, at home, since starting play in the Joyce Center in 1968.
Not having the primary ball-handler on a team that predicates its game on possession will certainly slow some of the success Notre Dame hopes to achieve this season. Expect the Fighting Irish to hit hard times in their 10 ACC road games and find themselves just outside of the tournament.