CBS Sports’s Isaac Trotter released his early 2024-25 ACC men’s basketball power rankings on Thursday and the Duke Blue Devils took the top spot.
The Blue Devils finished second in the ACC regular-season race last season, coming up two games short of the North Carolina Tar Heels after having a chance to earn a share of the crown in the final game.
However, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] will welcome an entirely new team next season after 10 departures. The Blue Devils kept Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster from last year’s backcourt alongside [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2024 recruiting class.
The Tar Heels finished second in Trotter’s rankings with the Miami Hurricanes in third. The Louisville Cardinals, months removed from an 8-24 season with three conference wins, lept all the way up to fourth after new coach Pat Kelsey’s first offseason.
The three new teams in the ACC also made their first appearance in an ACC power ranking with SMU (13th), California (15th), and Stanford (16th) all set to join the conference this summer.
Are these the rankings you would put for @accmbb this season? đ§ pic.twitter.com/oMy4Tj6tDL
— CBS Sports College Basketball đ (@CBSSportsCBB) June 13, 2024
The Blue Devils remain one of the top preseason national championship favorites with Flagg leading the 2024-25 team.