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ACC College Basketball Power Rankings: Week 7

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By @writered21

ACC Power Rankings for Week 7

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Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

It was an interesting week for the ACC, which made news off the court as the league suspended Louisville star Montrezl Harrell for a game for his conduct in a win over Western Kentucky Saturday. On the court, Notre Dame and North Carolina might have posted the most impressive wins, while Virginia's defense decimated Harvard. Here are this week's power rankings.

15. Wake Forest (5-6, 0-1, last week: 13)

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15. Wake Forest (5-6, 0-1, last week: 13)

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Wake only played once last week and fell to Florida by 13. The Demon Deacons are still adjusting to life under new head coach Danny Manning and may well be facing a tough go of things once league play begins.

14. Virginia Tech (6-4, 0-0; 14)

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14. Virginia Tech (6-4, 0-0; 14)

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Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Hokies beat The Citadel to improve to 6-4, and while that win itself isn't particularly noteworthy, Virginia Tech being over .500 with ACC play now on the horizon is a small sign of progress in head coach Buzz Williams' first year.

13. Florida State (7-5, 0-1; 15)

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13. Florida State (7-5, 0-1; 15)

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The Seminoles escaped the cellar in the power rankings with a rare three-win week, as Florida State ran a gauntlet of state schools in defeating North Florida, South Florida and Stetson. Junior guard Devon Bookert had 22 in the win over USF.

12. Clemson (6-4, 0-0; 10)

12 Clemson
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12. Clemson (6-4, 0-0; 10)

Clemson
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

The Tigers only played once last week and that was probably for the better as Clemson was demolished at arch-rival South Carolina by 23 points. Having already lost to Rutgers, it gets tougher and tougher to believe in the Tigers being any factor in the ACC this season.

11. Boston College (6-4, 0-0; 8)

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Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

11. Boston College (6-4, 0-0; 8)

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Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Boston College's recent good spurt of play ended with a loss to Southern California. The defeat ended a four-game winning streak and the Eagles will have to stew over for it a while, since they don't play again until Dec. 29 against UMass-Lowell.

10. Syracuse (6-4, 0-0; 11)

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10. Syracuse (6-4, 0-0; 11)

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Syracuse lost its only game of the week, losing a lead and then falling in overtime to No. 7 Villanova. It's a game the Orange should have won, but it's also a tough opponent and a much better loss than some other teams in the ACC have suffered recently (we're looking at you, Miami), so Syracuse gets the benefit of the doubt and moves up one from last week.

9. N.C. State (9-3, 1-0; 9)

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9. N.C. State (9-3, 1-0; 9)

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The Wolfpack suffered a loss for the second straight week, this time to West Virginia, after beating Tennessee earlier. N.C. State is a team that seems to be just below the cut of really good teams in the conference, but even a .500 mark in ACC play should be enough to get the Wolfpack in the NCAA Tournament.

8. Miami (9-2, 0-0; 5)

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8. Miami (9-2, 0-0; 5)

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Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

The Hurricanes seemed to be one of the top stories of the early season in the ACC, but then they ran into Eastern Kentucky and were blown out by 28 points in one of the more inexplicable results of the college basketball season so far. Miami will have to earn its way back up the rankings after a defeat like that.

7. Pittsburgh (8-3, 0-0; 6)

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7. Pittsburgh (8-3, 0-0; 6)

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The good news is that the Panthers went 2-0 in the week, defeating Manhattan and Oakland. But Pitt struggled in the latter game at home, needing overtime to finally fend off pesky Oakland. Too many other teams had good weeks to keep the Panthers from dropping a notch.

6. Georgia Tech (8-2, 0-0; 12)

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Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

6. Georgia Tech (8-2, 0-0; 12)

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Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

It's time to give the Yellow Jackets their due. Georgia Tech has won eight of 10 to start the season and went 2-0 last week, defeating Appalachian State and Vanderbilt. Not exactly the greatest of opponents, but the Yellow Jackets seem to be a much more competent club than last season.

5. North Carolina (8-3, 0-0; 7)

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5. North Carolina (8-3, 0-0; 7)

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The Tar Heels did what they do best in the non-conference schedule, which is beating ranked opponents. This time, North Carolina got No. 12 Ohio State at the CBS Sports Classic, while also winning at UNC-Greensboro earlier in the week. North Carolina may well be figuring things out at the right time with ACC play right around the corner.

4. Notre Dame (11-1, 1-0; 4)

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4. Notre Dame (11-1, 1-0; 4)

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It's a testament to the strength at the top of the ACC that Notre Dame hasn't moved beyond No. 4 in the power rankings despite its very impressive start. The Fighting Irish hit on all gears in a 94-63 rout of a good Purdue team in their only action last week. Pat Connaughton leads Notre Dame in rebounding at 8.2 boards per game.

3. Louisville (10-0, 0-0; 1)

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3. Louisville (10-0, 0-0; 1)

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Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

How does Louisville drop from No. 1 to No. 3 without losing? Simply put, the Cardinals really were not impressive in a win over Western Kentucky, and that's along with Harrell's suspension for an altercation in the game that saw him get ejected. Harrell won't miss UL's big game vs. Kentucky Saturday, but Louisville wasn't strong enough to stay at the top.

2. Virginia (11-0, 0-0; 3)

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2. Virginia (11-0, 0-0; 3)

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Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time this season, Virginia held a team to less than 10 points in a half and less than 30 in a game, destroying Harvard, 76-27, on Sunday. Harvard made one field goal in the first half. UVA also beat Cleveland State, 70-54, a bigger margin than Louisville managed earlier this season (45-33). UVA is No. 5 in the AP poll this week.

1. Duke (10-0, 0-0; 2)

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1. Duke (10-0, 0-0; 2)

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The Blue Devils just keep rolling along, taking down Connecticut in their only game last week. Though beating the Huskies perhaps isn't as big as it has been in past seasons due to UConn's (4-4) struggles, they are still the defending national champions. Duke takes on Toledo and Wofford before ACC play begins.

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