While football fans are focused on the Super Bowl and National Signing Day, the ACC Basketball action is heating up like our warm January weather.

RECAP: On Tuesday the Hurricanes went to Atlanta as Miami defeated Georgia Tech 64-49. On Wednesday #6 Duke won at Maryland 74-61, Virginia Tech hosted and lost to non-conference foe BYU 70-68, while Florida State kept rolling with a 75-52 victory at Wake Forest. Thursday was highlighted by the #8 UNC Tar Heels dismantling North Carolina State 74-55 in Chapel Hill. We also saw #21 Virginia win a home game 66-49 against Boston College. On Saturday #6 Duke avoided a home loss against out of conference opponent St. Johns with a 83-76 win in Cameron. #21 Virginia won at NC State 61-60, Clemson defeated Wake Forest 71-60, and Maryland beat Virginia Tech 73-69. The #8 Tar Heels rolled Georgia Tech on Sunday with a 93-81 win and Miami won at Boston College 76-54.

PREVIEW:  This week #6 UNC travels to Wake Forest and #18 Virginia hosts Clemson. Wednesday features #24 Florida State hosting Georgia Tech while NC State goes on the road to Boston College and Maryland plays at Miami. Thursday’s lone game is #5 Duke at Virginia Tech. Saturday gives us 5 ACC games as #6 North Carolina plays at Maryland, Boston College goes to Georgia Tech, Wake drives across I-40 to NC State, and Clemson plays at Virginia Tech. The biggest match up of the weekend is #18 Virginia at #24 Florida State. The only game on Sunday is Miami at #5 Duke.

CONFERENCE LEADERS:  Terrell Stoglin, Soph, Guard, Maryland – 21.3 points per game. John Henson, Jr, Forward, North Carolina – 9.9 rebounds per game. Kendall Marshall, Soph, Guard, North Carolina – 9.7 assists per game.

CURRENT STANDINGS: #24 Florida State 5-1, #5 Duke 5-1, #6 North Carolina 5-1, #18 Virginia 4-2, NC State 4-3, Miami 3-3, Maryland 3-3, Clemson 3-3, Wake Forest 2-5, Boston College 2-5, Virginia Tech 1-5, and Georgia Tech 1-6.

STREAKS: #24 Florida State – 5 game winning streak, Georgia Tech – 5 game losing streak

BOX SCORE OF THE WEEK: Tyler Zeller, Senior, Forward, UNC – 21 points and 17 rebounds in 74-55 victory over rival NC State.

MY THOUGHTS: There are a lot of “experts” talking about the ACC being down this year. I beg to differ. Just because they don’t have 40 members like the Big East, this basketball powerhouse of a conference should get 5 teams into the NCAA and possibly more if Maryland or Miami can get their act right. #24 Florida State is in control right now with wins over #6 UNC and #5 Duke (all three teams at 5-1) while #18 Virginia is right behind at 4-2. NC State should get in with several big games still to come, however the knock on the Wolfpack is that they are 0-4 vs. Top 25 opponents. The Tar Heels are playing some great basketball but still have 2 games against Duke, 2 games against Virginia, and a tough game at NC State, making their road a lot harder. At the same time Duke isn’t impressing anyone with their top 2 assist leaders averaging a combined 4.7 assists per game. With that being said, I predict 5 teams in the dance with at least 3 making the Sweet 16.

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