ACC Power Rankings
Editor's note: Each week, Yahoo! Sports college basketball writer Jason King will rank teams in each of the Big Six conferences plus the best of the rest. Monday's entry – The Atlantic Coast Conference.
(Through Feb. 15 games)
North Carolina basketball fans are probably having trouble deciding the player they love more: Tyler or Ty.
Tyler Hansbrough may be the defending national player of the year, but lately point guard Ty Lawson has been the guy keeping the Tar Heels at the top of the ACC standings.
Lawson scored 21 of his season-high 25 points in the second half as North Carolina rallied for a 101-87 victory at Duke on Wednesday. Four days later Lawson connected on a career-best five 3-pointers – including one to clinch the game with 10 seconds remaining – in a 69-65 win at Miami.
“I think I'm a great shooter,” Lawson said after the game. “That's one of my strengths. If somebody says (otherwise), that's crazy.”
Lawson's performance came on a night when Hansbrough, North Carolina's all-time leading scorer, was held to eight points and four rebounds.
Now on to the rankings. Last week's rank in parenthesis.
 | 1. | North Carolina | The Tar Heels picked up their best two true road wins of the season last week, first by defeating Duke in the always-hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium, and then by toppling Miami on its home turf. Their record might not show it, but the Hurricanes have been one of the most dangerous teams in the league as of late, as evidenced by North Carolina's narrow, 69-65 victory. (1) | |||
 | 2. | Wake Forest | There's no way a team with three first-round draft picks in its starting lineup should lose lower-tier teams such as Georgia Tech and N.C. State, but that's exactly what's happened to the Demon Deacons, who have dropped three of their last five. Wake Forest at Duke on Sunday might be college basketball's game of the week. (2) | |||
 | 3. | Duke | The Blue Devils actually didn't play all that poorly in Wednesday’s home loss to North Carolina – and their effort was outstanding. They just got beat by a better team. Four days later, though, Duke missed 13 of its 16 3-point attempts in a loss at Boston College. This simply isn't a Final Four-caliber team. (5) | |||
 | 4. | Clemson | Two week after Wake Forest lost to Georgia Tech, Clemson suffered the second-biggest upset in ACC play Sunday when it fell in overtime at Virginia. Terrence Oglesby made five 3-pointers in a losing effort for the Tigers, who have a favorable schedule until heading to Wake Forest for their regular-season finale March 8. (4) | |||
 | 5. | Boston College | Although they may have trouble with consistency, the Eagles certainly have a flair for the dramatic. After opening ACC play with a victory at North Carolina, Al Skinner's squad pulled off another stunner Sunday by defeating Duke. It was Boston College's first win over the Blue Devils in 24 years. (8) | |||
 | 6. | Florida State | Just as people were starting to jump on their bandwagon, the Seminoles got shredded in a 23-point loss at Wake Forest on Saturday. There's certainly no shame in losing in Winston-Salem, but folks were probably hoping for a closer game between two top-25 teams. Wednesday's home game against Miami will be tough (3) | |||
 | 7. | Virginia Tech | The Hokies feature one of the more underrated guards in the country in Malcolm Delaney, who averages 18.6 points and 3.6 assists. After Wednesday's showdown at Virginia, the Hokies' final five regular-season games are against ranked teams. (6) | |||
 | 8. | Miami | No team in the ACC has suffered more heartbreaking losses than the Hurricanes, whose last three games have been against top-10 teams. After beating Wake Forest on Feb. 4, Miami lost to Duke by three points and North Carolina by four. The Hurricanes' last five losses have come by an average of four points. (7) | |||
 | 9. | Maryland | The Terrapins have won three of their last four thanks, in large part, to the play of Greivis Vasquez, who's averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 assists. Maryland's next three games are against Clemson, North Carolina and Duke. Uh-oh. (9) | |||
 | 10. | North Carolina State | What a week for the Wolfpack, who beat No. 7 Wake Forest before treating Georgia Tech like a conference doormat in an 86-65 victory in Atlanta. Brandon Costner scored 23 points in the Wake Forest victory and is averaging a team-high 15 on the season. (11) | |||
 | 11. | Virginia | Tough not to bump the Cavaliers out of the cellar following Sunday’s overtime win against Clemson. Freshman Sylven Landesberg scored six of his 23 points in overtime on a day when Virginia retired the jersey of former star Sean Singletary. (12) | |||
 | 12. | Georgia Tech | The Yellow Jackets have lost four straight since beating Wake Forest back on Jan. 31 – but three of those defeats came by five points or less. Unfortunately Georgia Tech's next three games are against ranked teams. (10) | |||