The first month of the 2025-26 college basketball season is in the books, and the Duke basketball program has gotten out to the first 8-0 start in head coach Jon Scheyer's tenure. The Blue Devils already own wins over No. 21 Kansas, No. 25 Arkansas, and Texas, but still have several marquee contests lined up through their grueling non-conference slate. Duke will face reigning national champion No. 15 Florida on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, then head to East Lansing to take on No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday, and then face No. 19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on December 20th.
The ACC as a whole looks like it's in a much better place than it has been in recent years. Upon the release of the first NET rankings, the ACC notched eight programs in the top 50, the third-highest number of any conference. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips switched back to an 18-game conference schedule this year for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, and a lot of that had to do with allowing teams to schedule better non-con games to ultimately get more programs out of the ACC into the NCAA Tournament field. However, there will always be outliers at the bottom.
Tier ranking every ACC basketball team one month through the season
National championship contenders: Duke and Louisville
Duke and Louisville, both undefeated, are clearly at the top of the ACC, ranking No. 4 and No. 6 in this week's Associated Press Poll, respectively. Some view the Blue Devils in a tier of their own, but the Cardinals have looked extremely impressive to begin the year. Duke is currently No. 2 in the NET, with a 3-0 record in the first two Quadrants. Louisville came in at No. 9 in the NET, with one Quad 1 victory over No. 18 Kentucky at home.
In contention for a top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament: North Carolina
UNC's star freshman Caleb Wilson has looked like a top-ten player in the sport thus far, as the Heels came in at No. 16 in this week's AP Poll and No. 26 in the NET. In a hot seat year for Hubert Davis, UNC is 1-1 in Q1, with a home win over No. 21 Kansas and a neutral floor loss to Michigan State.
NCAA Tournament near locks: Virginia, Clemson, NC State
None of these programs have any marquee wins to their names yet, but it would be a shock if any didn't find themselves in the NCAA Tournament field. Both NC State and Virginia suffered early losses to Seton Hall and Butler, respectively, but with new coaches and brand new rosters, hiccups are going to arise early. Will Wade has built a talented roster with the Wolfpack, headlined by ACC Preseason Player of the Year Darrion Williams, and Ryan Odom certainly has an NCAA Tournament team over in Charlottesville. UVA, Clemson, and NC State currently sit at No. 29, No. 30, and No. 42 in the NET, with the Cavaliers and Tigers already owning a Q1 win. NC State has work to do, but it's too talented and too well-coached not to figure things out.
NCAA Tournament hopefuls with work to do: Miami, Wake Forest, SMU
All three of these programs rank in the top-55 of the NET, but none have secured a quality win to boost their resume. Wake has blown two huge opportunities already, surrendering late leads against both No. 3 Michigan and Texas Tech. With no wins in the first two Quadrants yet, the Deacs don't have a case. SMU is 8-0 to begin the season, but its only victory in Q1 or Q2 is over Butler at home by two points. Miami is another ACC program with a new coach and an overhauled roster, but Jai Lucas has done a solid job to start. The Canes are 6-2 overall but are 0-2 in Q1 with losses to No. 15 Florida and No. 9 BYU, both by double-digits.
NCAA Tournament long shots: California, Notre Dame, Syracuse
These programs are a combined 1-7 in the first two Quadrants, but all have come within striking distance of a quality win or achieved a respectable one. California lost to Kansas State by three points, but took down UCLA by eight. Notre Dame has lost all three of its Q1 opportunities to Ohio State, No. 21 Kansas, and No. 8 Houston, but all of those losses have come by ten points or less. Syracuse is also 0-3 in Q1, but gave both Houston and Kansas a run late before losing. There's still plenty of work to do for all of these schools, but they've shown some type of life through the first month of the season.
Not at the bottom, but just above it: Virginia Tech, Florida State, Stanford
None of these schools seem to have any March Madness hopes, but they all could be competitive in the ACC once conference play comes around. Stanford owns a Q1 win over Saint Louis on a neutral floor, but also a Q3 loss to Seattle at home. Neither Florida State nor Virginia Tech has suffered any eye-popping losses thus far, but neither has secured a respectable win that would make anyone think an NCAA Tournament berth is in the cards. All three schools are in the top 100 of the NET, but not much was expected of them heading into the year.
Bottom of the barrel: Pitt, Boston College, Georgia Tech
All three of these programs own a loss in Quad 3 or worse with no wins over Quad 1 opponents, while all are ranked outside the top-145 of the NET. Similar to the tier above, nothing was really expected from any of these teams, but it could be a long season with the ACC looking deeper than it has been in any of the past five seasons.