ACC update: Everyone chasing Duke, UNC

The first two months of the season havent done anything to answer our preseason concerns about the ACC.As we expected, the top of the league is as strong as ever, but the rest of the conference is a major question mark. Although neither North Carolina nor Duke is undefeated, both teams look like Final Four contenders. Were still trying to figure out if anyone has chance to challenge those two heavyweights for conference supremacy.Virginia is 8-1 but largely untested. Florida State has plenty of promise, but the Seminoles have lost most of their tough non-conference games. Most of the rest of the league is in a state of transition, and the bottom of the conference is as bad as its been in quite some time.Heres a rundown of where the ACC stands as we head into the holiday season and prepare for the start of conference play.[Power rankings: KUs Thomas Robinson off to a fast start]Youre better than we thought youd be: Virginia. We knew Virginia was going to make major strides this season now that F Mike Scott was healthy again and the Cavaliers had a couple of years to adjust to Tony Bennetts system, but we werent anticipating an 8-1 start that included a double-digit victory over Michigan and a 20-point win over George Mason. Virginia probably isnt as good as its record indicates (we easily could have put the Cavaliers in the were still not convinced section instead), but this team has a legitimate shot at an NCAA tournament bid.Youre in more trouble than we thought youd be: Clemson. Although Clemson was picked to finish just seventh in the league, the Tigers have struggled even more than we expected. Clemsons 4-4 record includes a 2-3 home mark. There is some reason for optimism. Three of Clemsons losses came by a total of seven points. Clemson also showed it could bounce back from a tough start last season when it advanced to the NCAA tournament after winning only five of its first nine games.Were still not convinced: North Carolina! State. After struggling to a 15-16 finish last season, the Wolfpack have won six of their first nine games this season. They beat Texas, and their only losses have come against Vanderbilt, Indiana and Stanford. The Wolfpack look like one of the ACCs most improved teams, but we want to see more from them before were ready to consider them NCAA tournament contenders. Of course, it would help if leading scorer C.J Leslie could stay healthy.Top freshman so far: Duke G Austin Rivers. Although his five-point performance against Michigan State drew some early-season criticism, Rivers has shown since why he was the No. 1 prospect in the 2011 recruiting class. Rivers leads the Blue Devils in scoring at 15.8 points per game. He scored 20 points against Michigan, 22 against Ohio State and 18 against Washington. He also has gone 13-of-28 from 3-point range in his past six games.Where did he come from? Maryland G Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, didnt exactly come from nowhere. He averaged 11.4 points including 16.8 points over his last 10 games to make the ACCs all-freshman team last season. Still, he has emerged as one of the nations most improved players this season. Stoglin leads the ACC in scoring at 22.5 points per game; thats 3.9 more points per game than anyone else in the conference.Where did he go? Miami G Durand Scott. Although Scott is averaging more rebounds and assists per game than he did a year ago, his shooting has tailed off dramatically. He is shooting 30.2 percent, down from 44.5 percent in 2010-11 and 45.5 percent in 2009-10. Scott is 7-of-28 from the floor over his last three games. He has done a good job of getting to the foul line he went 16-of-18 on free throws and 0-of-6 from the field in a recent win over UMass but he must improve his shooting.[The Dagger: USCs Maurice Jones is the nations busiest player]Best non-conference win: North Carolina beat Wisconsin 60-57. Others: Duke beat Kansas 68-61, North Carolina beat Michigan State 67-55, Duke beat Michigan State 74-69, Duke beat ! Michigan 82-75, Virginia beat Michigan 70-58.Worst non-conference loss by an NCAA tournament contender: Virginia lost 57-55 to TCU.Conference play begins: Jan. 7. Duke at Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, Boston College at North Carolina, Florida State at Clemson, Miami at Virginia.Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports: What was the biggest story of 2011? Vote in Yahoo! Sports poll Aaron Rodgers calls PED allegations against pal Ryan Braun ridiculous Video: Celtics Kevin Garnett criticizes David Stern over condensed schedule