NCAA Basketball: Top transfer, Gonzaga running the table among top questions

3. Who is the best team in the ACC?

Zinkula

It’s hard to say that any team is particularly deserving of the “best team” status. Still, I think Florida State might be the most dangerous team moving forward. The Seminoles have struggled in its last three games – losing 86-74 at home to UCF and 77-67 on the road to Clemson – but there is enough talent on the roster to turn things around. If Scottie Barnes can continue to improve and emerge, the Seminoles have enough solid role players (e.g. MJ Walker, Anthony Polite) to rise to the top of the conference.

Tineo

Virginia Tech.

The front runner of the year in the ACC as Coach of the Year has been Mike Young. There are quite a few one-loss teams in the conference so far but have not separated with a convincing schedule. Virginia Tech has the most impressive win out of a somewhat lackluster season for the conference.

Wofford Transfer Keve Aluma has been huge so far, averaging 16 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Hokies have gone to the line early and often, leading the conference in free throws made and attempted. Kansas State Transfer Cartier Diarra has been a nice addition and brings excellent energy and athleticism.

Zacher

Virginia Tech is probably the right answer here, but the Clemson Tigers have impressed me the most of any ACC team.  They own wins over Mississippi State, Purdue, Maryland, Alabama, and Florida State – and their lone loss was a six-point loss at Virginia Tech.  The Tigers do not score much, averaging just 67.7 points on 0.88 points per possession – but they are an absolute nightmare defensively, holding teams to 0.73 points per possession and 56.2 points per game.

The Tigers are in the top 50 and nearly every single defense statistic, and that is insane.  They hold teams to 29.1% (47th) from beyond the arc and 44.6% (44th) on two-pointers – and force teams to turn the ball over on 27.3% of opposing teams’ possessions, the eighth-highest mark in Div. I.  That all culminates into the second-best defense efficiency in college basketball, trailing just Tennessee.

Heiser

I think the Clemson Tigers are the ACC’s best team right now. They are a top-20 KenPom team that ranks 2nd in Adjusted Defense. They also are the top-rated ACC team in the NET rankings. Clemson has weathered a relatively tough schedule and has come out with just one loss to Virginia Tech.

While Duke and Virginia both rank above Clemson in KenPom, Duke hasn’t looked great and Virginia’s offensive inconsistency scares me a little bit. I’ll take the hard-nosed Clemson Tigers team above both of them. Virginia Tech is 24 spots below them in KenPom, so that’s not really a hard sell to me either.

Schmelzer

This is tough, and I could probably pick five teams out of a hat but I’ve got to go with Louisville. The Cardinals have had multiple solid wins over Seton Hall and Western Kentucky and the only loss is to Wisconsin without its best player, Carlik Jones.

Freshmen Dre Davis and Jae’lyn Withers have jumped into the fold and been really good and will only get better over the course of the year and they are still waiting for San Francisco grad transfer Charles Minlend to join them. Oh, also the guy I mentioned before, Jones. He’s showing that the top talent from the Big South can play and be a top guard in the ACC- putting up 16 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds a game.