Winning another ACC basketball title satisfying for Duke, but only to a point
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke won a second straight ACC title while missing key starters.
- Freshmen and role players stepped up to win tense late-game battles.
- Scheyer called the ACC win a step toward 2026 NCAA title ambitions.
The confetti was still falling in the Spectrum Center and it was just before Queen’s “We are the Champions” thundered through the arena late Saturday that Duke coach Jon Scheyer had a proclamation:
“We’re not done yet.”
What the No. 1 Blue Devils had done the past three days in the ACC Tournament was survive a tense thriller against Florida State, smack Clemson in the semifinals and then outlast Virginia for a 74-70 victory that sealed a second straight ACC championship.
What Scheyer meant -- and everyone knew it -- was that bigger games remain. It’s one-and-done time in the NCAA Tournament, where the Blue Devils will be a No. 1 seed, and no room for slips – something like a 3-pointer falling at the buzzer to send you home.
Duke was beaten by Houston in close game last year in the NCAA semifinals at the Final Four. To the Devils, and certainly Scheyer, that’s the unfinished business that remains when the 2026 NCAA field is announced Sunday.
The Blue Devils, in defending their ACC title, had to gut it out for 40 minutes against the second-seeded Cavaliers, who matched Duke punch for punch. The Devils had smacked Virginia 77-51 just a few weeks ago in Durham, but that was with junior guard Caleb Foster and sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II in the Duke lineup.
Quieting the ‘noise’
The Devils came to Charlotte knowing Foster would not play after surgery for a foot fracture and that Ngongba would be held out until the NCAAs because of foot soreness.
The Devils also heard the “noise” before the ACC Tournament began.
“We heard a lot of talk of ‘This is the time to get Duke’ because we were down two starters,” freshman Nikolas Khamenia said. “I mean, you turn on any NCAA (college) game and the commentary is that we’re down two starters and you hear ‘Duke isn’t the same without them.’
“But ‘The Brotherhood’ is still so strong that when two of our brothers are out we have to step up. That’s what we did. It wasn’t a matter of proving anybody wrong as it was proving ourselves right.”
Duke’s Cameron Boozer said the Devils could “win ugly” if need be, and the need was there Saturday. Virginia’s Ugo Onyenso was a lurking defensive presence in the paint, blocking nine shots and forcing Boozer, who had more than a few shots swatted away by the 7-footer from Nigeria, trying to improvise at times.
Boozer has rarely shown frustration during a season that should make him the national player of the year, but did at times Saturday. He got his 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting – to go with 8 rebounds and 8 assists – and gamely continued to work and strain.
Cayden Boozer to the rescue
It would be Cayden Boozer who might have been Duke’s steadiest player, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the first half. Boozer was the only Duke player to go the full 40 and had just two turnovers despite the Cavs’ defensive attempts to harass him.
The NCAA Tournament rarely has many blowout wins, with No. 1 seeds having to struggle. It’s usually a possession by possession, gut-churning battle, a chess match of coaches, and the close win over Virginia had to further prepare Duke for inevitable late-game test and tension.
Against Virginia, it was a 66-66 game with three minutes left. But Cayden Boozer, just as he did late against FSU, followed up a missed shot. Duke forced a shot clock violation and soon Isaiah Evans and Cam Boozer were making free throws and the championship was won.
“We’ve worked on end-of-game situations since we got to campus in the summer,” Khamenia said. “We’ll put two minutes on the clock and we’re down three., down two, up one. We practiced those situations so much so that we can execute when we have them.”
The NCAA Tournament will be something new and different for the Duke freshmen -- for the Boozers, Khamenia, Dame Sarr.
“I think we’re really confident,” Cayden Boozer said. “We know what the stakes are now. “
Duke’s Maliq Brown was injured for almost all of the 2025 ACC Tournament, as was Cooper Flagg., as the Devils overcame their absence to win. Brown now will have two ACC championship rings.
Brown was asked if he got a piece of the net last year in Charlotte, and smiled and nodded.
Asked if Saturday’s net clipping was a little sweeter, he said, “Yes, sir.”
There’s another net the Blue Devils have in mind. In Indianapolis.
This story was originally published March 15, 2026 at 5:15 AM.
