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

8. Pittsburgh Panthers (9-6, 5-5)

After beating Duke nearly a month, Pittsburgh’s at-large possibilities looked legitimate. Since then’ they’ve lost four of five games, including a blowout loss to Notre Dame and a road setback against Wake Forest. The lone victory came at home against Virginia Tech, led by a career-high 32 points off the bench from point guard Xavier Johnson, a bounce-back effort after a bad performance against Notre Dame.

The Panthers will need a late run in ACC to get on the bubble, starting this Sunday against Georgia Tech. What’s also left to be determined is whether or not star forward Justin Champagnie (19.2 ppg and 12.0 rpg) will win Conference Player of the Year. The team may have to win some more games and move up the standings to have a better shot.

7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-7, 5-5)

You can take it as good news or bad but Georgia Tech has been able to play just about all of the top teams in the conference. The results have been mixed, with wins over Florida State and Clemson. None of the losses have been bad but the close margins of defeat could come back to haunt the Yellow Jackets on Selection Sunday.

Jose Alvarado and Moses Wright continues to play at an all-conference level but the better defensive opponents have been keying in on them in recent games. Georgia Tech will need the supporting cast to step up more, starting with upcoming contests against Clemson, Pittsburgh, and Boston College. Important to note, this is a stretch of four games in seven days for the Yellow Jackets, so they may be tired by the time they see the Eagles.