Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball power rankings: Dukes falls down, NC State and Pittsburgh moves up

By Tristan Freeman

Jan 14, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Jarkel Joiner (1) and forward Ernest Ross (24) embrace during the overtime against Miami Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Jarkel Joiner (1) and forward Ernest Ross (24) embrace during the overtime against Miami Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports /
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ACC Basketball Florida State Seminoles guard Cameron Corhen (3) and forward Baba Miller Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports /

12. Florida State Seminoles – 8-18 (6-9)

The Seminoles aren’t contending for a postseason bid but there are two goals still available. One is to try to get a top-9 seed and get a bye in the first round of the ACC Basketball Tournament and the other is to be a spoiler for teams on the bubble out of pure pettiness.

The problem is that they didn’t accomplish either of that this week at home. The first game was against Syracuse, where they were up by six points at the half. But the defense, which has been at its lowest point of the Leonard Hamilton era this year, gave up 47 second-half points en route to a 76-67 defeat. Matthew Cleveland had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Naheem McLeod had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Darin Green did have 17 points but shot 5/17 from three-point range and couldn’t carve up the zone.

Florida State then took on Pittsburgh in an effort to not only get a season sweep but also give the Panthers another bad loss on its resume. They managed to stay close to Pitt for 38 minutes but couldn’t get stops once again when it mattered, falling 83-75. Jalen Warley had a career-high 23 points on 9/11 shooting, while Calenb Mills had 16.

This was a rough week for the Seminoles in the standings and now they have Clemson on the road next. But if they beat the Tigers, it would certainly be a devastating setback for their resume. After that is a home battle with Boston College in a key game for ACC positioning.