Duke and Louisville were both in the top five of the preseason AP Top 25 poll and thus among the obvious favorites to win the ACC. Somewhat surprisingly, Florida State has emerged as a real challenger. But if it does come down to the Blue Devils and Cardinals, then Louisville’s 79-73 victory inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday could be a title-deciding result.
It was impressive stuff from the Cardinals.
They jumped on Duke early and led by 15 points just 10 minutes into the game. Predictably, Duke made a run in the second half, tied the score twice and seemed on the verge of taking control. But the Cardinals ultimately steadied themselves and escaped while handing Duke its second straight loss.
“If you’re going to win here, especially with them coming off a loss, you’re going to have to figure out a way to be the tougher team for 40 minutes,” said Louisville coach Chris Mack.
So now the ACC standings look like this:
- Florida State (6-1)
- Louisville (6-1)
- Duke (5-2)
Those are the only three ACC schools in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Florida State is No. 5, Louisville is No. 6 and Duke is No. 13. For what it’s worth, if you’re curious, KenPom currently projects Duke and Louisville to finish in a first-place tie in the ACC with 16-4 league records. It has Florida State projected to finish one game back at 15-5.
Sunday’s Top 25 And 1 rankings
IN: Houston, Penn State
OUT: Ohio State, Colorado