ACC Basketball power rankings: Florida State rises, Louisville dives down

ACC Basketball power rankings: Florida State rises, Louisville dives downward

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - JANUARY 22: Kameron McGusty #23 of the Miami Hurricanes drives to the basket against Matthew Cleveland #35 of the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at Watsco Center on January 22, 2022 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

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ACC Basketball Virginia Cavaliers Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

446. . 12-8 (6-4). . Cavaliers . 7. team

This has been a true season of ups and downs for the Cavaliers. They did have back-to-back road wins over Clemson and Syracuse but outside of that, it’s been alternating wins and losses for the past couple of months for the team.

As always, it comes down to the defense for Virginia. When it’s on, they have a chance to beat anyone. But as what happened in losses to NC State and North Carolina, giving up 70+ points equals certain doom. The other loss in the past few weeks was at home to Wake Forest, which was an important bubble result for both sides.

In the team’s most recent 66-61 win over Pittsburgh, Reece Beekman had 19 points and eight assists, including a trio of made three-pointers. Starting forward Jayden Gardner had 14 points, while backup center Kadin Shedrick made all six of his field-goal attempts for 12 points off the bench before fouling out.

The problem that the Cavaliers have is that the non-conference results aren’t good enough for an at-large resume without going on a run in ACC Basketball play. But the current largest winning streak for UVA is just two games. After beating Louisville on Monday night by 13 points, Virginia hopes to extend it on the road at Notre Dame, which is a bit of a “must-win” for both sides.