The Wolfpacker's ACC basketball power rankings — Week 5

The ACC season really kicks into full gear this week, with a slate of conference games coming. That includes NC State basketball, who will host Duke on Wednesday and then travel to Virginia Tech on Saturday.

The Wolfpacker duo of Matt Carter and Matt Coe tabulated their votes for ACC power rankings, and here is how the list sorted out.

Link: Week 4 of ACC basketball power rankings

1. Miami (13-1, 4-0 ACC): The Hurricanes stay at the top of our ACC power rankings after an 11-point road win at Notre Dame, but what we said last week holds. No team in the conference may have a better schedule set-up to begin conference play than the Hurricanes. That continues with the next two contests being at Georgia Tech and home against Boston College.

Last week: 1

2. Virginia (10-2, 2-1 ACC): The Cavs rebounded from back-to-back losses at home to Houston and on the road at Miami with lopsided wins over Albany and at Georgia Tech.

Last week: 2

3 . Duke (11-3, 2-1 ACC): The young Blue Devils looked impressive in dispatching Florida State in a home ACC game last week. Now begins a stretch of 3 of 4 games on the road, starting Wednesday at NC State.

Last week: 3

4 (tie). Clemson (11-3, 3-0 ACC): Clemson has a three-game winning streak going after a solid win over NC State last week, but the Tigers face a challenging week: ACC road games at Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.

Last week: 6

4 (tie). North Carolina (9-5, 1-2 ACC): The Heels’ 4-game winning streak that included good back-to-back wins over Big 10 foes Ohio State and Michigan came to a halt when the Heels were unable to protect a second-half lead at Pittsburgh. To UNC’s credit, 8 of 14 games have been away from home.

Last week: 5

4 (tie). Pittsburgh (10-4, 3-0 ACC): The Panthers are 1.1 seconds away in a road contest at Vanderbilt from having a 10-game winning streak. With each win, the latest a home victory over North Carolina, Pitt proves to be less and less a bad loss for the Wolfpack.

Last week: 9

4 (tie). Virginia Tech (11-3, 1-2 ACC): The Hokies dropped a second-straight ACC game, but more alarming is the lack of success away from home. Virginia Tech is now 0-3 in true road games after losing at Wake Forest.

Last week: 4

4 (tie). Wake Forest (10-4, 2-1 ACC): The Deacons continue to be the enigma of the ACC — the latest a win at home over Virginia Tech to join victories on the road at Wisconsin and beating Duke (albeit shorthanded). But the Deacons also got trounced at Rutgers and needed buzzer beaters to win over Appalachian State and Utah Valley.

Last week: 9

9 (tie). NC State (11-4, 1-3 ACC): The Wolfpack is off to a tough start in ACC play, but all three losses have been to the last three remaining unbeaten teams in the conference, two of them on the road. The schedule continues to be tough, with the next three contests being Duke, at Virginia Tech and hosting Miami.

Last week: 7

9 (tie). Syracuse (9-5, 2-1 ACC): Syracuse continues to beat teams they are supposed to, most recently knocking off Boston College at home. The Orange will host Louisville Tuesday and then get a good test with a road date at Virginia Saturday.

Last week: 10

11. Notre Dame (8-6, 0-3 ACC): The Irish have lost five out of seven games, including a trio of ACC contests. The latest setback was an 11-point home loss to Miami. After a Sweet 16 run a year ago, Notre Dame is one of the early-season disappointments in the conference.

Last week: 11

12 (tie). Boston College (7-7, 1-2 ACC): The Eagles have been one of the most underwhelming teams in the conference this year. Aside from a surprise overtime win at home over Virginia Tech, the Eagles have little to be excited about.

Last week: 12

12 (tie). Florida State (4-11, 2-2 ACC): The Seminoles slowly showed signs of life, but a lopsided loss at Duke proved that Florida State does not look destined to rise up the power rankings anytime soon.

Last week: 13

14. Georgia Tech (7-6, 0-3 ACC): The Yellow Jackets had a competitive early-season loss to Utah, but in other well-regarded games they have lost consistently been beaten by double-digits: 24 to Marquette, 16 to Iowa, 16 to North Carolina , 13 to Clemson and most recently 18 at home to Virginia.

Last week: 14

15. Louisville (2-12, 0-3 ACC): The Cardinals are what they are, a really bad team. One wonders how many ACC games they could possibly win.

Last week: 15