The first month of the 2025-26 college basketball season is in the books, and Duke is making a serious early statement. The Blue Devils are off to an 8-0 start - their best under head coach Jon Scheyer - and they haven’t exactly tiptoed through a soft schedule.
Wins over ranked opponents like No. 21 Kansas, No.
25 Arkansas, and a solid Texas team have Duke looking every bit like a national title contender. And the road ahead?
It’s not getting any easier. The Blue Devils face reigning national champion No.
15 Florida on Tuesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge, then head to East Lansing to battle No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday, before a marquee showdown with No.
19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on December 20.
This isn’t just about Duke, though. The ACC as a whole is showing signs of life after a few years of being overshadowed by other power conferences.
With the season’s first NET rankings released, the ACC landed eight teams in the top 50 - third-most among all conferences. That’s a promising sign for a league that’s been fighting off the “down year” narrative for a while now.
Commissioner Jim Phillips made a key scheduling change this season, dialing the conference slate back to 18 games for the first time since 2018-19. The move was strategic - giving teams more flexibility to schedule meaningful non-conference matchups and boost their NCAA Tournament resumes.
So far, it’s paying off.
Let’s break down where the ACC stands a month into the season - who’s looking like a real threat in March, who’s got work to do, and who’s just trying to stay afloat.
National Championship Contenders: Duke and Louisville
Duke and Louisville are sitting pretty at the top of the ACC mountain - both undefeated, both ranked in the top 6 nationally, and both passing the eye test with flying colors. Duke checks in at No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 2 in the NET, with a perfect 3-0 record in Quadrants 1 and 2.
Louisville isn’t far behind at No. 6 in the AP and No. 9 in the NET, and they’ve already notched a signature win over No. 18 Kentucky.
Some might argue Duke’s on a tier of its own - and that’s fair considering the depth and balance Scheyer’s squad has shown - but Louisville has earned its spot in the conversation. They’re defending, they’re scoring, and they’re playing with a toughness that travels in March.
In Contention for a Top-3 NCAA Tournament Seed: North Carolina
North Carolina is right on the fringe of elite status. The Tar Heels are 1-1 in Q1 games, with a big win over No.
21 Kansas and a neutral-site loss to Michigan State. Freshman phenom Caleb Wilson has been nothing short of electric - a top-10 player nationally through the first month - and he’s giving Hubert Davis exactly what he needs in a critical year.
UNC came in at No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 26 in the NET, and while there’s still room to grow, the pieces are there for a high seed come March.
NCAA Tournament Near Locks: Virginia, Clemson, NC State
None of these teams have that defining win yet, but make no mistake - they’re all tracking toward the NCAA Tournament. Virginia (No.
29 NET), Clemson (No. 30), and NC State (No. 42) are all in solid shape, even with some early missteps. Virginia dropped a game to Butler, NC State fell to Seton Hall, but both programs are navigating new-look rosters and coaching transitions.
Ryan Odom has Virginia playing disciplined, efficient basketball, while Will Wade has assembled a deep, talented group in Raleigh, led by preseason ACC Player of the Year Darrion Williams. Clemson’s already picked up a Q1 win, and Virginia has one as well.
NC State still has some work to do, but the talent and coaching are there to get them across the finish line.
Tournament Hopefuls With Work to Do: Miami, Wake Forest, SMU
This group is stuck in the “not quite there yet” category. Miami, Wake Forest, and SMU are all in the top 55 of the NET, but none have a resume-defining win to hang their hat on.
Wake has had two golden opportunities - late leads against No. 3 Michigan and Texas Tech - but couldn’t close either.
That’s the kind of margin that can haunt you in March. SMU is undefeated at 8-0, but their only notable win is a narrow home victory over Butler.
Miami is 6-2 under new head coach Jai Lucas, but both losses - to No. 15 Florida and No.
9 BYU - were by double digits. There’s promise in all three programs, but they need to capitalize on the next wave of opportunities.
Long Shots With a Pulse: California, Notre Dame, Syracuse
These teams are hanging around, but the margin for error is razor-thin. California, Notre Dame, and Syracuse are a combined 1-7 in Q1 and Q2 games, but they’ve each shown flashes.
Cal nearly knocked off Kansas State and beat UCLA by eight. Notre Dame has played a brutal schedule - losses to Ohio State, Kansas, and Houston - but all were competitive, single-digit defeats.
Syracuse is in a similar boat, pushing both Houston and Kansas late before falling short. None of these squads are out of the conversation just yet, but they’ll need to string together some big wins to stay relevant in the at-large picture.
Middle of the Pack, But Not Dead Yet: Virginia Tech, Florida State, Stanford
These teams aren’t at the bottom, but they’re not exactly trending toward March either. Stanford has a Q1 win over Saint Louis on a neutral floor, but also a head-scratching Q3 loss to Seattle at home.
Florida State and Virginia Tech haven’t suffered any major setbacks, but they haven’t done much to inspire confidence either. All three are inside the top 100 of the NET, which keeps the door cracked open, but they’ll need to overachieve in ACC play to enter the tournament discussion.
Bottom of the Barrel: Pitt, Boston College, Georgia Tech
It’s been a rough start for these three. Pitt, Boston College, and Georgia Tech have struggled out of the gate, and the early returns suggest they’ll be fighting just to stay out of the ACC basement.
The wins aren’t there, the metrics aren’t kind, and the path forward looks steep. There’s always room for improvement, but for now, these programs are on the outside looking in - and it’s not particularly close.
One month in, the ACC is showing signs of resurgence. Duke and Louisville have the look of national title threats, UNC is rounding into form, and there’s a solid middle tier of teams that could make noise in March.
The key now? Sustaining this momentum through the grind of conference play - and continuing to rack up those all-important Q1 and Q2 wins.