This list pretty well sums up the ACC's struggles in recent years

Fair or not, the perception around the college basketball world is that the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has slipped in recent years. Long known as one of the gold standards in college basketball, the ACC has had a lot less success in the regular season and gotten fewer teams in the NCAA tournament than they have in years past. The ACC has only had five teams selected for the tournament the past three years, and this year doesn’t look to be any better despite adding three more teams to the conference (although it’s worth noting that despite the reduced number of bids, the ACC teams that make it continue to excel in the NCAA tournament; they placed four teams in the Sweet Sixteen last year and three in the Elite Eight).

So while the list below probably isn’t exactly shocking, it does offer a stark reminder that several ACC teams have been struggling for years:

Seven of the ten major power conference teams with the longest active streaks without appearing in the AP Top 25 poll are from the ACC. Now, there’s the obvious caveat that three of those teams (SMU, Stanford, and California) just joined the ACC this year. It’s also worth noting that several teams on this list have NCAA tournament appearances during seasons in which they didn’t appear in an AP Top 25 poll. Georgia Tech was a nine seed in the 2021 tourney; Stanford made the Sweet Sixteen in 2014; Notre Dame actually won three games in the 2022 tournament. Still, having so many teams make this list doesn't really help the idea that the ACC hasn’t been as good in recent years.

So which (if any) of these teams have a chance of getting off this list this year? I think two teams have a shot at it: SMU and Wake Forest. SMU actually has a pretty solid record of 16-5 (7-3 ACC) going into Saturday's game against Stanford. The lack of any signature wins to catch the pollsters' eyes is probably holding them back, but if they win enough games, eventually, they could break into the rankings.

Wake Forest actually received votes in the AP poll two weeks ago before suffering back-to-back losses to Duke and at Louisville. While they’re certainly understandable losses, they pretty much knocked the Demon Deacons out of consideration for inclusion in the poll for a while. Still, with a 15-6 (7-3 ACC) record going into Saturday’s huge matchup against Pitt, Wake Forest could conceivably work their way into the poll by the end of the season. 

The rest of the ACC teams on this list will probably have to wait until next season to get a crack at breaking their streak (although I supposed with an all-time run Stanford could also sneak in). Part of the ACC’s return to prominence will have to include the bottom of the league getting better; these teams can certainly help that by getting off this list next year.

Also see: This graphic makes NC State's Cinderella run even more surprising