Power Rankings- February 8th (Top Half)

1. Duke- The Blue Devils showed they were not looking ahead to arch rival North Carolina this past week, in soundly defeating Georgia Tech and getting a tough road win in Boston. This team will go as far as Singler, Scheyer and Smith lead them. All are in the running for ACC Player of the Year, and rightfully so. Each understands the offense, take care of the ball, and play smart, but still aggressive basketball. Expect the Blue Devils to come out firing Wednesday in Chapel Hill against a team that has simply owned them the past four years.

2. Maryland- An asterisk next to the 2 might be deserved for the Terrapins, as they would be number one if they had a signature victory. Duke has six wins over top 25 teams, while the Terps don't have any. Nonetheless, this club has a chance to be very dangerous in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. Gary Williams' club has fantastic guards, and today's demolition of UNC today showcased each player's unique talents. The Terps got defensive stop after defensive stop against the Tar Heels, and seemingly after every outlet pass, an easy basket or an open three-pointer ensued. Greivis Vasquez is right in the middle of Conference POY honors, and Landon Milbourne and Jordan Williams are playing great basketball. Milbourne will never get the credit he deserves, but he is not the Terp's only unsung hero. Eric Hayes is a deadly outside shooter and playmaker, and Adrian Bowie is at times unstoppable in transition. Maryland's halfcourt offense can make a coach salivate, reflected by the fact that they are leading the conference in team field goal percentage.

3. Wake Forest- Wake got a big road win Saturday at Virginia. Led by Ishmael Smith, the Deacon offense is predicated on spreading the floor and letting Smith use his quickness for penetration opportunities. When they can get stops, run outs ensue, and Wake's primary and secondary breaks involving Smith, Al-Farouq Aminu, and freshman stud C.J. Harris are hard to stop. This team can beat anyone in the conference on a given night. The only thing hampering them from becoming an elite team is the inconsistency of the team's scorers. Each night it seems one or two players don't show up offensively. If Wake can get consistent production inside and outside, they will launch into the top 25 and should stay there for a while.

4. Virginia Tech- What a week for Seth Greenberg's club. Thursday, the Hokies beat North Carolina in a tough, hard-fought 74-70 victory in Blacksburg. Saturday the Hokies followed up their performance with an ugly 11-point victory over Clemson. Both victories have the Hokies in the thick of the ACC race, and in the conversation for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. Tech is led by the conference's leading scorer, Malcolm Delaney. Nobody in the country is more skilled at getting to the free throw line than Delaney, who went to the stripe an astounding 23 times against the Tigers. His outside shot has not been consistently falling over the past few games, but Delaney still always manages to finish with over 20 points. The reasons for the Hokies' success in the two victories were free throws, team defense, and Terrell Bell. Tech shot 82% from the foul line in each win. Great halfcourt defense has been a staple for the Hokies all year, but their transition defense stepped up this week. Bell knocked down a huge three and played very well on both sides of the ball for 40 minutes in the Clemson game and had 11 rebounds against UNC. Freshman point guard Erick Green is playing like an upperclassmen. Tech gets a chance to separate itself even more from the middle of the pack Wednesday at NC State.

5. Georgia Tech- Losing at Cameron Indoor Stadium has become a habit for Paul Hewitt's team, and this year was no different with an 86-67 loss. In Tech's first meeting with Duke, they were able to get stops in the halfcourt and run good enough offense to prevent the Duke fastbreak. The meeting at Duke was the complete opposite. The Jackets followed up their loss in Durham by holding on against NC State at home. A loss to the Wolfpack would have been devastating for this team. Tech's inside trio of Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors, and Zach Peacock is hard to handle. The trio gives GT a huge advantage on the glass. Another good thing Tech has is depth, in large part to the fantastic freshman class Hewitt brought in this year. It will be interesting to see how freshman poing guard Mfon Udofia handles the ACC stretch run in the coming months. Two tough road games at Miami and Wake Forest line the schedule this week, but Tech is perfectly capable of winning both games. Look for the Jackets to go inside to Lawal, Peacock and Favors early and often in both games.

6. Virginia- The 'Hoos lost an overtime heartbreaker at home Saturday against Wake Forest. Sylven Landesberg and Mike Scott were once again terrific, combining for 38 of the team's 61 points. UVA lost because the supporting cast did not step up. Nonetheless, the game still could have gone their way with one more stop in overtime. The Cavaliers will struggle against quick point guards like Ishmael Smith, as Sammy Zeglinski does not possess the foot speed to guard great guards on the perimeter. This team is still somewhat of a contender, though the Wake game showed they are a two-man show. A game Wednesday at rival Maryland gives UVA a chance for a signature win.