ACC WBB Check-In -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Standings as Conference Season Arrives

The holiday season is nearly behind us, which means that college basketball's conference slate is on the horizon. Long past are the days when you wouldn't meet a conference foe until January, as many teams have already played at least one conference game. These days, you might even play a team in your conference early in the season and it not count as a conference game (looking at you Virginia football). Nevertheless, while a few teams will play some marquee non-conference games in the next couple of months, most every matchup will be between league opponents going forward. 

That makes now a great time to look at the conference as it stands. Louisville is one of five teams with a 2-0 record in ACC play so far this season, as they took care of Clemson and North Carolina earlier on. Both of those teams won their other conference matchup and are among six total teams at 1-1. Stanford and California have each played just one conference game, with the Cardinal at 1-0 and the Golden Bears at 0-1. Yes, they played each other. The remaining five teams are 0-2. 

Notre Dame sits atop the league with the best overall winning percentage at 10-2 (.833). Louisville is close behind with a 12-3 record, good for an .800 winning percentage. Virginia is 10-3, NC State is 9-4, and Duke has struggled in non-conference play, as the Blue Devils are 7-6. Stanford would lead the league if they had a second conference win, as they're 12-2 overall. 

Surprisingly, though, a look at the NET rankings sees Louisville as the highest rated ACC team in 12th. The Cards have had 0 quad 2 opportunities, but they are 9-0 in Q3/Q4 games and 3-3 in Q1 opportunities. North Carolina is second in the ACC at 17, followed closely by Notre Dame at 18. Both teams have struggled in Q1 games, with the Tar Heels 0-3 in those matchups and the Irish 1-2. UNC is 3-0 in Q2, though, which is bumping them ahead of ND, who are just 1-0. Stanford finds themselves all the way down in 36th, one spot behind Virginia. NC State is 30th, and Duke, the team that was below .500 in non-conference, is 25th. The Blue Devils are 1-5 in Q1 opportunities and 2-1 in Q2 games. They've made a living in playing difficult teams, facing just four Q3/Q4 opponents so far. 

There's obviously a ton of basketball left to play, but Louisville finds themselves in a good spot. We may be disappointed by the games that got away, but Louisville has won all of the games they were supposed to, and the losses were to teams ranked 1st, 2nd, and 8th in the NET. The Cards will get the ACC season underway in earnest on Thursday with a New Year's matchup against SMU. The Mustangs are 0-2 in conference and 7-7 overall. They find themselves currently sandwiched between Brown and Purdue Ft. Wayne in 137th in the NET rankings. It's a home matchup Thursday afternoon, so the Cards should be able to take care of business.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case