ACC Baseball Snapshot

Warren Nolan has no love for the ACC in the early going. Despite having the highest winning percentage of any conference (.780) and nine teams ranked in at least one major poll, Nolan has the ACC as merely the nation's fifth best conference in terms of RPI. Even with three undefeated teams, Nolan does not have a single ACC team ranked in his top 25; FSU comes in highest at 27^th. North Carolina, the consensus number one team in the nation according to the major polls, is 101st in RPI, a few spots behind UNC-Asheville.

As the example above shows, RPI is notoriously wonky early in the year, but with conference play starting this weekend, one wonders just how much the ACC teams can help themselves in Nolan's rankings if none of them are ranked particularly high. The good news for ACC teams is that the NCAA selection committee doesn't particularly care what Nolan's system thinks anyway. The conference is a good bet to put at least six teams into the postseason.

The Wolfpack are fortunate to get both Clemson and Florida State at home this season, starting with the Tigers this weekend. Those two figure to be the toughest competition in the Pack's bid for an Atlantic Division crown.

With the ACC slate set to begin this weekend, it seemed like a good time to take stock of how league teams have fared so far:

Florida State (10-0)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 27^th
• Rankings: 15^th (CBN), 5^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: Rhode Island (30^th) three times
• "Good losses": N/A
• Bad losses: N/A

Virginia (12-0)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 32^nd
• Rankings: 17^th (CBN), 17^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: None
• "Good losses": N/A
• Bad losses: N/A

Clemson (6-4)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 54^th
• Rankings: 32^nd (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: South Carolina (5^th)
• "Good losses": South Carolina (5^th) twice
• Bad losses: William & Mary (184^th), Winthrop (271^st)

N. C. State (10-1)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 61^st
• Rankings: 8^th (CBN), 14^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: Florida Atlantic (65^th), Charlotte (90^th), Coastal Carolina (97^th)
• "Good losses": Appalachian State (16^th)
• Bad losses: None

Virginia Tech (11-2)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 72^nd
• Rankings: 27^th (CBN), 27^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: Rhode Island (30^th), Tennessee (45^th), Radford (51^st)
• "Good losses": Notre Dame (4^th)
• Bad losses: Temple (267^th)

Miami (8-2)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 73^rd
• Rankings: 24^th (CBN), 24^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: Rutgers (64^th) three times, Florida Atlantic (65^th), Florida (92^nd)
• "Good losses": Florida (92^nd) twice
• Bad losses: N/A

North Carolina (10-0)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 101^st
• Rankings: 1^st (CBN), 1^st (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: California (26^th), Texas A&M (95^th), Coastal Carolina (97^th)
• "Good losses": N/A
• Bad losses: N/A

Georgia Tech (11-1)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 116^th
• Rankings: 16^th (CBN), 18^th (coaches)
• RPI top 100 wins: Rutgers (64^th) three times
• "Good losses": None
• Bad losses: St. John's (140^th)

Wake Forest (9-4)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 156^th
• Rankings: Unranked
• RPI top 100 wins: UL-Monroe (100^th)
• "Good losses": UL-Monroe (100^th)
• Bad losses: West Virginia (126^th), Western Carolina (159^th)

Maryland (9-3)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 166^th
• Rankings: 30^th (CBN)
• RPI top 100 wins: None
• "Good losses": LSU (1^st) 3 times
• Bad losses: None

Duke (5-5)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 178^th
• Rankings: Unranked
• RPI top 100 wins: Towson (11^th), Florida (92^nd)
• "Good losses": Towson (11^th) twice, Florida (92^nd) twice
• Bad losses: Campbell (226^th)

Boston College (2-7)

• Warren Nolan RPI: 232^nd
• Rankings: Unranked
• RPI top 100 wins: Elon (70^th)
• "Good losses": VCU (12^th), Illinois (84^th)
• Bad losses: Marist (107^th), East Carolina (123^rd), Georgia State (249^th) twice, Ohio (284^th)