The Confidential

The Confidential’s ACC Basketball Preseason Rankings

The Confidential’s football top 15 rankings are a regular thing.  With basketball right around the corner, it is time to roll out a preseason ranking.  This is sure to fire up some folks–but, remember, no games have even been played yet.  And if bubble teams can make Final Fours every few years, even a middle of the pack team has a chance.  In any event, here are the preseason rankings:

1. Duke. Duke is as stacked as ever, with top recruits and a lot of returning experience surrounding Grayson Allen.  More than enough ingredients for Coach K to bake a Final Four cake.     
   
2. North Carolina.  The Tar Heels have lost considerable talent, but Virginia and Syracuse have lost a lot too.  It will probably be a step back, but don’t be surprised to see UNC in the hunt to win the ACC.
3. Syracuse.  Huh?  Syracuse lost some players to the NBA off a team that barely eked into the Big Dance, but has had an influx of transfers to fill out the roster.  Hard to argue against that.
4. Virginia.  The Wahoos are one of several teams battling for the #2 spot behind Duke, and a potential surprise to win it all.  One wonders if there will be a hangover from the difficult loss to Syracuse in the Big Dance last year.
5. Louisville.  A very good team.  And even if it is not in November, Rick Pitino will find a way to make them even more dangerous by March.
6. Florida State.  The second tier is led by Florida State, who is capable of threatening to rise to the top tier under Leonard Hamilton.
7. Miami.  The Hurricanes take a step back this year, but don’t expect them to drop TOO far.  The Florida hoops teams are doing quite well of late.
8. Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish lost a great player, but still return three starters.
9. Virginia Tech.  Sooner or later, Buzz Williams will have the Hokies making some noise.
10. Clemson.  Clemson had a few nice upsets last year and will look to build on that this year.
11. Wake Forest.  Danny Manning has things moving in the right direction.
12. Pittsburgh.  The loss of Jamie Dixon will be felt this year.
13. North Carolina State.  The offense will lag behind the defense this year.
14. Georgia Tech.  Still rebuilding under Josh Pastner.
15. Boston College.  Oh well.

Projected NCAA bids: BOLD.  Projected Post-Season bids: Italics.

What do you think?  How would you rank the top 5, top 10, and/or top 15?