Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Duke falls flat, North Carolina rises in latest power rankings

By Tristan Freeman

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 02: Caleb Love #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts following a play during the first half of their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Dean Smith Center on January 02, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 02: Caleb Love #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts following a play during the first half of their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Dean Smith Center on January 02, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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ACC Basketball Harlond Beverly Miami Hurricanes Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
ACC Basketball Harlond Beverly Miami Hurricanes Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

12. Duke Blue Devils (7-8, 5-6)

It’s rare for Duke to ever have a three-game losing streak in ACC play. This season though, they now have two of those, including a current skid after falling at Miami on national television, followed by giving up 90+ points in defeats to both North Carolina and Notre Dame. They’ve finally gotten contributions from sophomore Wendell Moore and freshman center Mark Williams has been playing much more as of late.

But the sudden defensive problems have canceled that stuff out, leaving the Blue Devils nowhere near the projected field of 68. That leaves the February 20th matchup against Virginia an absolute “must-win” but before that, Duke needs to avoid a road loss against either NC State or Wake Forest. If the defense doesn’t improve at all, both of them could end up as defeats too.

11. Miami Hurricanes (7-11, 3-10)

The season is all but over for the Hurricanes. They’re near the bottom of the standings, have no shot at an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, continues to be without last year’s leading scorer an All-ACC guard Chris Lykes and most recently parted ways with freshman forward Matt Cross, who was averaging 6.9 ppg in 24 mpg and nine starts.

And yet, Miami has been one of the toughest outs, regardless of available talent. The win over Duke over a week ago has them viewed as a spoiler, and they took a ranked Virginia Tech squad to overtime a few days ago. Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong (17.4 ppg) has emerged as a star and wings Earl Timberlake, Elijah Olaniyi, and Kameron McGusty have played well also.

Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Florida State are up next, all of whom should be careful not to overlook the Hurricanes.