ACC Basketball: League faces mid-major problems in conference play

The league may not have the same number of needle-moving opportunities

Note: All rankings are through Dec. 27

Power-five teams that don’t have the kind of non-conference slate they hoped always have plenty of opportunities to gain quality wins in league play, something that isn’t afforded to mid-major teams once conference play starts. However, the cushion may not be as big as it has been in previous years thanks to the league’s early-season struggles.

Looking at the NCAA’s NET rankings we see the Blue Devils at No. 9, Virginia Tech is the second ACC team on the list, coming in at No. 28. Wake Forest checks in nine spots later and North Carolina is nine spots lower than that at No. 46. Those are the only four teams in the top-50, with Clemson coming in at No. 54 and Florida State checking in at No. 71. What this means is that after Duke, the ACC has just five quad 1 opportunities, with three of the remaining nine teams in the league landing in quad 3 or 4.

Some of the metrics that the committee uses are a little more favorable to the conference than the NET as KenPom has nine teams ranked in the top 66 and EvanMiya has ten in the top 68. While that is good for the league, the problem it poses is that those wins and losses may not move the needle all that much.

For the first time in a long time, there may be a serious lack of in-conference opportunities for the ACC, but you won’t hear mid-major conferences shedding too many tears in March if that turns out to be the case.