After Wednesday night's action (Clemson over FSU and UNC beating Duke), the Hokies are in fourth place in the ACC, two games ahead of their closest pursuers in the all-important loss column. The Virginia Cavaliers, winners of seven in a row and heading to Blacksburg Saturday, sit atop the league standings with Boston College. The rest of February promises to rock and roll in the conference. See what's up this week in "Around the ACC."

A Look Around the League...

Boston College (17-6, 8-2)

Despite losing Sean Williams for the season due to a suspension, Boston College finds themselves sitting atop the ACC standings, tied with UVA. BC owns the tiebreaker over the Cavaliers as a result of their 78-73 victory earlier in the season.

The Eagles had two big victories in the last week. First, they knocked off Virginia Tech 80-59 on Saturday. Last night they held off the Miami Hurricanes 75-68 in Coral Gables. Jared Dudley has been a big part of both wins. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds against the Hokies, and he scored nine straight points late in the second half to propel BC against the Hurricanes. He is making a strong case for ACC Player of the Year.

Boston College travels to Florida State on Sunday. Their first meeting ended in an 85-82 victory for BC on a dramatic three-pointer at the buzzer by, who else, Dudley. After the FSU game, the Eagles will host Duke next Wednesday.

Virginia (16-6, 8-2)

Virginia is the hottest team in the ACC. Led by dynamic guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, UVA has won seven consecutive ACC games. Their latest two victories came at home against Miami, 81-70, and at Maryland, 69-65. Singletary is a lock for First Team All-ACC, and Reynolds is making a serious push for the honor as well.

Reynolds is averaging 25.3 points per game during UVA's seven game winning streak. He has scored over 20 points in five of those games and had a career-high 40 points against Wake Forest. Virginia will go as far as Reynolds and Singletary take them.

UVA travels to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech on Saturday in a game that could make a big impact on the ACC standings. After the Tech game, UVA will host Longwood next Tuesday in their final out-of-conference game of the season.

North Carolina (21-3, 7-2)

In what came as a total shocker to most followers of ACC basketball, the talented and deep UNC Tar Heels got knocked off by the depth-shy NC State Wolfpack 83-79 last Saturday in Raleigh. The loss prevented the Tar Heels from taking over sole possession of first place in the ACC.

UNC got back on track Wednesday night with a 79-73 win at Duke. The Tar Heels trailed for most of the game, but their superior depth eventually wore the Blue Devils down, and UNC rallied in the last few minutes of the game.

Despite the win over Duke on the road, the Tar Heels haven't played as well as they are capable the last two games. That has to be bothering Roy Williams. The Tar Heels have a chance to change that in their next game, when they host Wake Forest on Saturday.

Virginia Tech (16-7, 6-3)

Virginia Tech is in a slump. After falling to NC State at home, the Hokies went on the road to Boston College, fell behind early and could never rally, losing 80-59 and slipping to fourth place in the ACC standings. The off week is coming at a perfect time for Seth Greenberg's team.

The Hokies need to get back to the basics to beat UVA. They need to regain their defensive intensity and get the job done on the boards. Virginia Tech has been out-rebounded by 18 over the past two games.

Saturday's UVA-Virginia Tech game will be the biggest game in the rivalry in the past decade. Both teams are coming into the game with NCAA tournament aspirations, and both teams are at or near the top of the ACC standings. This one could be one of the best games in the history of the rivalry.

Clemson (19-5, 5-5)

After starting the season 17-0, the Clemson Tigers dropped their fifth game in six tries over the weekend, when they lost to Georgia Tech 80-62 in Atlanta. It was possibly the low point of the season for Clemson. Many people assumed they were finished, with such a bad streak.

On Wednesday night, the Tigers showed everyone they aren't finished. They knocked off Florida State, winners of five of their last six, 71-58 at home. It was a perfect example of two teams going in the opposite direction, but this time it was the team that had been losing that came up with the victory.

Clemson takes the weekend off. They will travel to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest next Wednesday.

Duke (18-6, 5-5)

With the 79-73 loss to UNC at home on Wednesday, Duke has lost three ACC games in a row. The last time that happened was 1996. I was in the seventh grade, and TechSideline.com was still a twinkle in Will Stewart's eye (it was founded later in the year, on March 12, 1996).

This is a strange year for Duke, who has been a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament every year since 1997. That year, the Blue Devils were a #2 seed. They won't be nearly that high this year. Their next two games are road contests against Maryland and Boston College, and they still have road games at Clemson and UNC as well.

It's been a long season for Duke fans, and it might get even longer.

Florida State (17-7, 5-5)

It was a good week -- and a bad week -- for the Florida State Seminoles. The good part came on Sunday when they knocked off Duke 68-67 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was a huge win for the Seminoles, who started off 0-3 in ACC play. After the Duke win, FSU had won five of their last six games, with their only loss coming via a last second three-pointer at Boston College.

On Wednesday night, FSU traveled to Clemson, losers of five of their last six. Still basking in the glow of their win at Duke, Florida State was beaten rather handily by the Tigers, 71-58.

With 17 overall wins and sitting at 5-5 in ACC play, Florida State still has a good chance to make the NCAA tournament. In their last six games, they play just two teams ranked in the top half of the ACC standings. They host Boston College on Sunday and Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Georgia Tech (15-8, 4-6)

After losing four straight games, including an 85-75 game to bottom feeder Wake Forest, Georgia Tech looked like they were done for the season. They have rallied to win two consecutive games. They knocked off Clemson 80-62 and used an 18-0 second half run to defeat NC State 74-65.

Both of those victories came at home in Alexander Memorial Coliseum, where Georgia Tech has been nearly unbeatable this year. Their only home loss came to Virginia Tech 73-65.

Georgia Tech likely fell too far behind in the standings to have a good chance to make the NCAA tournament, but they do appear to be NIT bound. They will play UConn in an important out-of-conference matchup this Sunday in the Georgia Dome.

Maryland (17-7, 3-6)

It's all but official at this point: Maryland is heading back to the NIT. The Terrapins beat Wake Forest 79-72 on the road over the weekend but lost at home to Virginia 69-65 on Tuesday. With home games against Duke, Florida State and UNC remaining, as well as road games at Duke, NC State and Clemson, Maryland's chances of an NCAA tournament berth are virtually gone.

The Terrapins next two games will be tough. They host Duke on Sunday and travel to rapidly-improving NC State on Wednesday. Maryland is a talented team, but they just aren't getting it done.

NC State (13-9, 3-6)

NC State did the unthinkable. They were the dead-last team in the ACC when they knocked off conference leader Virginia Tech last week. Then they took on UNC, the new conference leader, over the weekend and knocked off the Tar Heels as well. The Wolfpack is playing much better since Engin Atsur returned.

Things looked like they could go really well for NC State, who appeared to be on the verge of winning their third straight game against Georgia Tech. NC State was firmly in control in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets rallied for the 74-65 win in the second half. Despite the loss, NC State is still moving in the right direction.

Their next two games are very winnable. They travel to Miami on Saturday and host Maryland next Wednesday. With a couple more wins, NC State should be an NIT team.

Wake Forest (11-12, 2-8)

In the past week, Wake Forest lost at home to Maryland and then knocked off Winston-Salem State 87-71. With a record of 11-12, and with a tough schedule down the stretch, Wake Forest is in danger of being one of two ACC schools to not make the postseason. With the way last season went, and the number of young players on this year's team, that's hardly a surprise.

The Demon Deacons play at UNC on Saturday and host Clemson on Wednesday. They need to find a way to win one of those games to stay in the postseason hunt.

Miami (9-15, 2-8)

The poor Hurricanes are still playing very hard, but it's just not enough. They lost yet another frontcourt contributor on Tuesday, when forward Raymond Hicks was suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules.

Miami recently lost to Virginia 81-70 on the road and then lost a tough one to BC and Jared Dudley 75-68 at home. They host NC State on Saturday and then get a much-needed week off. At 9-15 on the season, Miami won't be playing past the ACC tournament.