Now that each team is over halfway through their ACC schedule, it's starting to become clear that there are probably only four NCAA tournament teams in the conference this year, with five being the ceiling. This week we'll look at what happened this past week, as well as give some postseason predictions for each of the ACC teams.

A Look Around the League...

Duke (21-1, 9-0)

In what was supposed to be a great game in Chapel Hill on Wednesday night, Duke controlled the game and beat UNC with relative ease 89-78. The Blue Devils followed that up with a 90-80 victory over Boston College on Saturday afternoon.

Despite not matching up well with UNC on the inside, Duke's guards and wings thoroughly outplayed the Tar Heels' perimeter players. UNC has not been playing good defense this year, and they couldn't stop Duke at all on Wednesday. Even though UNC did not have point guard Ty Lawson, Duke proved to be the clear #1 team in the ACC with their performance against UNC.

The Blue Devils host Maryland on Wednesday night, then travel to Wake Forest on Sunday.

UNC fell to Duke 89-78 on Wednesday, then staged a late rally to defeat Clemson 103-93 in double overtime on Sunday night. The Tar Heels were very close to losing two straight games, as they trailed Clemson by as many as 15 points. Despite not having Ty Lawson, UNC was able to pull it off at home.

Tar Heels center Tyler Hansbrough is dominating opponents. How good UNC can be depends on how much help he can get. They have just two perimeter shooters, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington. If those players are off, then UNC can be beaten. See the Duke game on Wednesday night.

UNC plays at Virginia on Tuesday night, then hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Heels should be able to win both games to hold on to second place in the ACC.

After starting ACC play 0-2, Maryland has won six of their last seven games. The Terps beat Boston College 70-65 last week in Boston, then easily beat NC State 84-70 in College Park on Saturday. The Terps are the third best team in the ACC right now.

Maryland point guard Greivis Vazquez tied a Maryland record with 15 assists against NC State. Now that Eric Hayes is back from injury, the Terps are going to be very hard for other ACC teams to handle.

Maryland plays at Duke on Wednesday night, then hosts Florida State on Saturday.

The Tigers went 1-1 this past week, crushing Virginia 82-51 in Charlottesville on Thursday night, then losing a tough game at UNC 103-93 in double overtime, despite holding a 15 point lead in the second half. Clemson is now 0-53 against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Despite the UNC loss, the Tigers are pretty much an NCAA tournament lock with a few more wins. Three more wins would get them to 20 wins overall and a .500 record in the ACC. Only three of their last seven games are at home, but they are good enough to win all three and steal another game or two on the road.

This week Clemson hosts Georgia Tech on Thursday, then plays at NC State on Saturday.

At this time last week Virginia Tech looked like a bubble team. After a 73-63 loss at NC State and a 74-71 setback to Miami, that's far from the case. The ACC mark is still fine, but even finishing .500 in conference play won't be enough to get Tech into the NCAA tournament, because they lack the overall wins needed.

After out-rebounding their opponents for 10 straight games, the Hokies were out-rebounded in both games this past week. Miami in particular dominated Tech on the glass by a 35-20 margin.

Virginia Tech gets the week off, then must travel to Chapel Hill to take on UNC on Saturday. That's not a good way to end a losing streak.

Georgia Tech is in the same position as Virginia Tech, except more drastic. Their ACC record is solid at .500, but they are just 11-11 overall. They might not make postseason play at all, much less the NCAA tournament. GT beat Wake on the road 89-83 this week, then lost at UConn 80-63.

At appears Matt Causey's hot streak is over. After dominating the Hokies and several other teams earlier in the season, he scored a total of two points over the last two games.

Georgia Tech plays at Clemson on Thursday, and then hosts Miami on Sunday.

NC State defeated Virginia Tech, as usual, 73-63 in Raleigh on Tuesday night. They followed that up with an 84-70 defeat at the hands of Maryland on Saturday. Despite the loss to the Terps, the Wolfpack are still in a position to make a run at the NCAA tournament. They have the talent.

Their remaining home slate is not favorable, however. They host Clemson, UNC and Duke in three of their remaining home games. The fourth game is one they should win against Florida State. They do have winnable road games against Boston College, Virginia and Wake Forest, but it's tough to win on the road.

The Wolfpack travels to Boston College on Thursday, then hosts Clemson on Saturday.

Wake Forest lost a tough home game 89-83 against Georgia Tech, then rallied over the weekend to knock off Virginia 80-64 in Winston-Salem. Dino Gaudio will probably get a little bit of consideration for ACC Coach of the Year. He took over the program last summer after the death of Skip Prosser, and he's doing a good job with a team that features no seniors and has two freshmen in the starting lineup.

Because of their overall record and schedule down the stretch, Wake has little chance of an NCAA tournament berth. It seems they are headed to the NIT and CBI, and can use it as a springboard to the NCAA tournament next season.

Wake plays at Florida State on Thursday, and then they host Duke on Sunday. Two wins would get them back in the picture for the NCAA tournament. However, two wins is an unlikely scenario this week.

After a depressing 62-55 home setback against Florida State on Wednesday, Miami had to win at Virginia Tech to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. They did just that, beating the Hokies 74-71 after a last second three-pointer by Deron Washington missed.

Still, even with the win, it is going to be very difficult for Miami to get to .500 in the ACC. They will need to win all their home games and steal one on the road, but two of their remaining home games are against Duke and Maryland, the two best teams in the ACC right now.

Miami gets the week off before playing at Georgia Tech this Sunday.

Florida State responded to the tough overtime loss to UNC by winning at Miami 62-55. That was the only game of the week for the 'Noles, who took the weekend off. Despite the big win, FSU took a big hit during the game when senior guard Isaiah Swann was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

FSU doesn't stand much of a chance of getting an NCAA tournament bid this year, but the NIT or CBI is still a very strong possibility. However, they'll need to win a few more games to guarantee a winning record.

The 'Noles host Wake Forest on Thursday, then play at Maryland on Sunday.

Boston College played better this week, losing just 70-65 to Maryland and 90-80 against Duke. They even led at halftime and in the second half against the Blue Devils. However, the fact remains that the Eagles still lost two games, and they have now lost six games in a row after starting 3-0 in ACC play.

The Eagles don't have an extremely difficult schedule down the stretch, but they aren't going back to the NCAA tournament this year. You can count on that.

BC hosts NC State on Thursday, then hosts Virginia on Sunday. If they can win both home games, they'll get back into the NIT or CBI picture.

The downhill slide continues for the Cavs. They aren't losing tough, close games anymore. They are getting blown out. They lost at home to Clemson 82-51 on Thursday, then got beat by Wake 80-64 in Winston-Salem on Saturday giving up13 straight to end the game. Will the Cavs win again? Probably, but against whom?

The Hoos have four home games remaining against UNC, NC State, Duke and Maryland. Their road games come against Boston College, Georgia Tech and Miami. Their only ACC win so far came 84-66 against BC, so that rematch in Boston might be their best chance. That could easily be the battle for last place in the ACC.

UVA plays UNC at home on Tuesday night, where Tyler Hansbrough should have his way with the Hoos' post players. Sunday they travel to BC, where they'll have a chance to pick up win #2.