ACC Shakeup -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville is Last Undefeated Team in ACC Play

It took less than three weeks for Louisville to become the final ACC team without a blemish on their conference record. The Cards improved to 4-0 with a blowout victory over Wake Forest over a weekend.

Virginia Tech, the only other team that hadn't lost in conference play, fell to Florida State over the weekend to fall to 4-1. They are joined by other one-loss teams in Florida State, Syracuse, North Carolina, and NC State.

Before the new year, NC State and Virginia Tech appeared to be the top two teams in a loaded ACC. The Wolfpack have posted strong wins against ranked teams like UConn, Colorado, and Florida State. Virginia Tech brought back Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore, who helped lead the Hokies to a Final Four last year.

Florida State is another of the one loss teams. They lost to NC State before defeating Virginia Tech a few games later. Ta'Niya Latson, last season's ACC Freshman of the Year, is back to full health and has helped the Seminoles to a Top 25 ranking.

North Carolina is another team sitting high in the ACC right now. They stumbled a few times in the non-conference slate of the schedule, mostly against teams that have a good chance at making the NCAA Tournament. Their only conference loss was to Florida State. The Tar Heels returned key players in Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby.

Syracuse is the surprising team still hovering near the top of the conference. They upset Notre Dame to close out the 2023 calendar year but got beat by North Carolina pretty soundly. Perhaps second-year coach Felisha Legette-Jack is on the verge of bringing the Orange back to their glory days.

Notre Dame was projected as one of the top contenders in the ACC this season... and they probably still are. Injuries have not been kind to the Irish. Olivia Miles still has yet to dress this season after a late-season injury last year. Sonia Citron missed much of this season and recently returned. KK Bransford has missed some time this year too. Hannah Hidalgo has stepped up and made a strong case for ACC Freshman of the Year. A healthy Notre Dame could still make a run for the conference title.

There are still plenty of games remaining so anything can happen and I fully expect more surprises to come in the next few weeks.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared