ACC Basketball power rankings: Florida State takes top spot as Duke tumbles

Duke takes a fall in our ACC power rankings after taking back-to-back losses to drop them into sole possession of second place in the conference. Duke was on an incredible run they looked almost unbeatable until a very feisty Clemson team proved that was not the case. In their January 14 loss to the Tigers, Vernon Carey Jr. proved to have problems guarding in space and Blue Devils’ forward was capable of being finished though, not strong enough to put up resistance against certain Clemson bigs. Tiger forward Aamir Simms went off for 25 points and the rest is history.

The Blue Devils were expected to regroup and knock off the Lousiville Cardinals in a tough game a Cameron Indoor. Instead, despite the Cardinals’ best player having a poor shooting performance, Duke wasn’t able to keep up with the Louisville offense in the first half, falling behind 42-32 at halftime. Vernon Carey Jr. got into foul trouble quickly and it took away his aggression on offense in a game that Duke really needed it.

Duke point guard Tre Jones, who had been playing much better as of late, is shooting 27.2% from the 3-point line over the last two games, both Duke losses. Without Jones able to provide any scoring punch from the perimeter and Carey unable to operate inside, the Duke offense was a shell of itself against Louisville. Duke’s two-straight ACC losses included their second home loss of the season, a tough blow to their resume for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Back-to-back games at Cameron Indoor against Miami and Pittsburgh give Duke a chance to get back on track before a big game at Syracuse on February 1.