10. Duke Blue Devils - 16-5 (7-3 ACC)
Coming off a thrilling and controversial home win over Clemson, Duke was on the road on Monday at Virginia Tech, a team on the bubble looking for a signature win. And they played like it, with it being a one-possession game in the middle of the second half.
In the end, the Blue Devils still were able to make it out with a 77-67 victory. Jeremy Roach came off the bench for 16 points, while Ryan Young had 10 off the bench as well in 15 minutes. As a team, they shot 55% from the field and 9/17 from deep.
The big game for the Blue Devils was against North Carolina in arguably the biggest rivalry in NCAA Basketball. After beating them twice last season, it was expected that the Tar Heels were going to be highly motivated. And that they were, having a sizeable lead essentially from state to finish for a 93-84 win. They got plenty of offense, as Roach, Jared McCain, and Kyle Filipowski all had at least 20 points. But the lack of defense was their undoing in this one.
If Duke wants any chance at staying in the ACC title race, they’ll have to take care of business before the rematch in Cameron Indoor Stadium. They have two very winnable games up next, taking on both Boston College and Notre Dame at home.