ACC Basketball News & Notes: A Power Surge Before Conference Play

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The final week of non-conference basketball is drawing to a close for the Atlantic Coast Conference. On December 30, the league schedule takes full control, and the ACC enters the new year with significant momentum. As we wrap up the final weekend of December, every team in the conference is playing at least .500 basketball, fueled by an impressive collective non-league record of 172–55.

The conference is currently on pace for its best non-conference showing since the 2017–18 season, representing a massive leap from last year’s 130–69 mark.

Historic Depth and Polling Presence

The league currently boasts nine teams with a 10–2 record, the highest count of any Division I conference in the country. This mark ties the ACC’s second-best start in history (2017–18), trailing only the 2016–17 campaign, where 11 teams hit that milestone. This collective dominance is reflected in the latest national polls:

Duke: #6 (AP / USA Today)
North Carolina: #12 (AP / USA Today)
Louisville: #16 (AP) / #14 (USA Today)
Virginia: #21 (AP / USA Today)

The Analytics Edge

Friday’s NET Rankings further solidified the league’s standing. With eight teams in the Top 40 and three inside the Top 20, the ACC is tied for the second-most elite-ranked teams of any conference.

The league has been especially dangerous against top-tier competition, racking up 16 Quad 1 wins. Duke is tied for the national lead with four such victories. Overall, 10 ACC teams have secured at least one Quad 1 win—a mark that leads the country. Furthermore, the ACC has recorded 38 victories over power-conference opponents, nearly doubling the record of 20 set last season.

A Generational Freshman Class

The 2025 freshman class continues to be a primary engine for the league’s success. Duke’s Cameron Boozer is currently leading all Division I freshmen with a staggering 23.3 points per game. He is joined in the national Top 13 by four other ACC standouts:

Ebuka Okorie (Stanford): #3 at 22.1 PPG
Caleb Wilson (UNC): #4 at 19.5 PPG
Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville): #11 at 16.6 PPG
Thijs de Ridder (Virginia): #13 at 16.1 PPG

Milestone for Scheyer

On December 16, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer earned his 100th career victory. In doing so, he became the fastest coach in ACC history to reach the milestone, needing only 122 games. He surpassed the previous record of 128 games held by another Blue Devil legend, Vic Bubas.

ACC Weekly Honors

Player of the Week: Paul McNeil Jr. (NC State) The junior guard put on a shooting clinic, averaging 33 points and 8 rebounds in wins over Texas Southern and Ole Miss. His week was highlighted by a historic 47-point explosion against Texas Southern, where he shot 12-of-18 from the field, 11-of-17 from deep, and a perfect 12-of-12 from the stripe. His 47 points are the fifth-most in Wolfpack history and the highest single-game total by an ACC player since 1991.

Rookie of the Week: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) Wilson secured his second weekly honor after averaging 20 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in wins over ETSU and Ohio State. Wilson was exceptionally efficient, shooting 68.2% from the floor for the week. Against the Buckeyes, he flashed his “clutch” gene, scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second half to go along with 15 total rebounds.

Next week, the “preliminaries” end and the real season begins—it’s conference time in the ACC.