Every ACC team has played at least one conference game, and although it's still early, we can begin to get a feel for which teams have a chance to make some noise this year. Here's an early hint: the ACC is down this year.

A Look Around the League...

North Carolina is the #1 team in the country, and they are plowing through anyone who gets in their way. The latest victim was NC State, whom the Tar Heels held to 13 first half points in a 93-62 victory in Chapel Hill.

Tyler Hansbrough is the best player in the conference, and Wayne Ellington is perhaps the most improved player in the ACC. Ellington has made a lot of progress in the offseason, and is averaging 17.8 points per game this season. The Tar Heels are an improved team because they are a better perimeter shooting team. Ellington and Danny Green are both shooting over 40% from the outside this year.

UNC's next two games should be easy. They play at Georgia Tech on Wednesday night and host Maryland on Saturday.

Boston College is #2 in the ACC right now, but if they finish in that spot it will be a testament to how down the conference is this year. BC did blow out Wake 112-73 on Saturday, but that margin is probably a fluke more than anything. The Eagles had lost 57-51 to Robert Morris at home earlier in the week.

When you lose Jared Dudley, Sean Marshall and Sean Williams in the offseason, there is going to be a dropoff. Point guard Tyrese Rice (32 points against Wake) is a very good player, and post-man Shamari Spears has been a pleasant surprise.

Boston College hosts Miami on Tuesday night, before traveling to Virginia on Saturday. Both will be challenging games.

Miami has been the surprise team of the ACC thus far, boasting a 14-1 overall record, with their only loss coming to a Winthrop team that makes the NCAA tournament every year. The 'Canes won their ACC opener against Georgia Tech over the weekend.

The Canes have a good outside game, led by Jack McClinton. McClinton, James Dews and Brian Asbury are all shooting at least 44.4% from three-point range. Miami also has good inside players like Anthony King and Dwayne Collins, and impressive players like Jimmy Graham and Eddie Rios coming off the bench.

We'll start to get a feel for how good Miami really is over the next two weeks. They travel to Boston College and NC State for their next two games, then host UNC and Clemson.

The Blue Devils appear to be a much better team this year than they were a year ago. They have improved quite a bit offensively, despite the early loss of Josh McRoberts to the NBA. Freshmen like Kyle Singler and Taylor King have added to the Blue Devils' offensive firepower.

DeMarcus Nelson is playing like a senior guard should, and Gerald Henderson is a much improved player. Jon Scheyer is now coming off the bench for the Blue Devils, which shows just how much depth they have. The Blue Devils won their ACC opener 87-65 against UVA on Sunday night.

Duke will travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State this Wednesday, before returning home to face Clemson.

Clemson started the season 11-0, but have lost three of their last six games. They lost to a then-undefeated Ole Miss team 85-82 in Puerto Rico, and lost at home on a buzzer beater to #1 UNC. The UNC game drained them emotionally, and they followed that up by losing by 10 to Charlotte at home.

In their most recent game, it took Clemson double overtime to beat a very depleted Florida State team that only played a six man rotation. Because of their recent performances, the jury is still out on the Tigers.

Clemson hosts NC State on Tuesday, and then travels to Duke on Saturday.

Wake Forest has a few freshmen that got their first exposure to ACC basketball on the road when they got drilled by a down Boston College team 112-73 on Saturday. BC had lost at home to Robert Morris 57-51 earlier in the week.

The Demon Deacons have talent, but they are a pretty young team, with no seniors. Freshman forward James and freshman guard Jeff Teague have a very bright future in Winston-Salem. They lead Wake in scoring, and Teague is already a very good on-ball defender.

Wake has two winnable games coming up. They play at Maryland on Tuesday night, and then host Florida State on Sunday.

The Seminoles better get healthy, or they are going to start losing a lot of games. They played eight players against Clemson on Saturday, but one of those guys only played two minutes, and another just three. Despite having basically just six players, FSU took the game into double overtime before losing.

It was a great effort, but when you've got five players who play 40+ minutes in a game, it's generally not going to work. It's a credit to FSU's toughness that they were able to win a road game earlier in the year at Georgia Tech with just six players.

However, things get more difficult this coming week. FSU hosts Duke on Wednesday, then travels to Wake Forest on Sunday.

Virginia Tech improved their home record to 7-0 on the season with a 67-66 victory over Maryland on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Tech knocked off Charleston Southern 79-49 in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies have won four of their last five games, with their only loss coming at Richmond.

Five of Virginia Tech's top seven scorers are freshmen. They are getting excellent production from Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney, and freshman guard Hank Thorns is coming off the best game of his career against Maryland. Tech has had four losses by five points or less, and a fifth loss in overtime against a Butler team that is ranked #14 in the nation. The Hokies have lost their last two games by a total of five points. A couple of more shots, and they could have won seven in a row, but that's life for a young team.

The Hokies travel to Virginia on Wednesday night to take on UVA, and then play Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday.

It was thought that NC State might challenge for the ACC title this year, but it's clear that isn't going to happen. The Wolfpack lost to UNC 93-62 on Saturday. They've been a bad offensive team all season after losing point guard Engin Atsur.

The Wolfpack have also had injury problems and chemistry issues. Freshman forward J.J. Hickson is the leading scorer. Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner, who played great on the inside last season, are having a down year. This team isn't very good right now, and they probably won't be all year.

On Tuesday they travel to Clemson, and then they host Miami on Saturday. They could start off 0-3 in the ACC.

You never quite know what you're going to get from this UVA team. They knocked off Arizona on the road 75-72 earlier in the season, but when they've faced quality competition since then, the results have not been good at all. The Hoos lost to Seton Hall by 14, then lost at home to Syracuse by two. They got trounced at Xavier 108-70, then followed that up with a 22 point loss at Duke.

UVA has allowed 195 points in their last two games against Xavier and Duke. They aren't a very good defensive team right now. They also allowed 85 points earlier in the year against Penn. The common denominator in those games? They were all on the road. The Hoos have not been a good road basketball team under Dave Leito, especially defensively.

Virginia hosts Virginia Tech on Wednesday night, and then gets Boston College in Charlottesville on Saturday. The Hoos need to win their home games, because they aren't going to win very many on the road.

Maryland point guard Greivis Vasquez said the Terps were going to be in trouble if they couldn't beat Virginia Tech this past Saturday. Maryland didn't win the game, and Vasquez is right: They're in trouble. This is a young Maryland team that is going to have a tough season offensively.

The Terps have six freshmen that come off the bench, so they don't have a lot of experienced depth. They are also hurt badly by the lack of an outside shooting game. They have good inside players, but that won't be enough to get them through ACC play.

Maryland hosts Wake Forest on Tuesday, then travels to UNC on Saturday.

You have to win your home games to compete in the ACC, and so far the Yellow Jackets are 0-1 in the ACC in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. That lost came to an injury-depleted Florida State team. This could be the last place team in the conference this season, and coach Paul Hewitt could find himself on the hot seat. Georgia Tech should not be 7-8 at this point.

The problem with Georgia Tech has been their defense. They have given up at least 77 points on eight different occasions. For comparison purposes, Virginia Tech has allowed over 77 points just twice, and one of those was an overtime game. UNC-Greensboro beat Georgia Tech back in November, scoring 83 points. The same UNC-Greensboro team scored just 39 points against Tech later in the year.

The Yellow Jackets have two more home ACC games this week. They host #1 UNC on Wednesday night, and then get Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Hokies haven't lost in Alexander Memorial Coliseum since joining the ACC.