On Saturday, March 14, Duke basketball will play Virginia in the 2026 ACC Tournament championship game.
The top two teams in the league will square off in what will be their second meeting this season. On February 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the No. 1 Blue Devils (31-2) upset the No. 2 Cavaliers (29-4) 77-51.
Virginia defeated No. 3 seed Miami 84-62 in the semifinals on Friday night, while Duke defeated No. 5 seed Clemson 73-61 to move on to the title game.
The Blue Devils want to win the ACC Tournament for the second time in a row and for the 24th time in program history. Duke has previously won the league’s regular season championship twice in a row.
Here are some facts and a predicted score for Duke basketball vs. Virginia:
From the first meeting this season
In their first encounter on February 28, Duke held Virginia to a season-low 51 points on a 29.1% shooting percentage from the field and a 20% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. With 16 points, Thijs De Ridder was the only Cavalier to score in double figures. Malik Thomas (12.2 ppg) and Sam Lewis (10.4 ppg) complete Virginia’s double-figure scorers, with De Ridder being the team’s top scorer (15.8 ppg) and rebounder (6.2 rpg). In their semifinal victory over Miami, the Cavaliers shot 52% of the time, including 60% of the time in the second half. Duke, on the other hand, held Clemson to a 32.7% shooting percentage and its second-lowest scoring total of the season.
Virginia’s defense, which limits opponents to 68.4 points per game, is KenPom’s 16th most effective. Three Blue Devils—Isaiah Evans (19, five 3PTS), Cameron Boozer (18), and Patrick Ngongba II (11)—scored in double digits as Duke shot 49.1% from the field with a 50% clip from three during their first meeting with Virginia. Naturally, Ngongba will miss his third consecutive game for Duke due to persistent foot pain, which may be a significant loss for the Blue Devils. Caleb Foster will also be absent from Duke due to a fractured foot.
On the glass
Duke leads the ACC in defensive rebounds (27.9/game), while Virginia leads in offensive rebounds (13.3/game). Virginia barely defeated Duke 9–7 on the offensive glass in their first meeting of the season, but Duke was able to convert more second-chance points—11 to the Cavaliers’ 8. With 30 points to Virginia’s 20, the Blue Devils dominated the defensive boards.
Duke dominated the glass 41-27 in its semifinal victory over Clemson. Miami was defeated 38–26 by Virginia.
Duke looking for back-to-back ACC Tournament titles
For the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the Blue Devils hope to win consecutive ACC Tournament crowns. Additionally, they want to win the league’s tournament and regular season titles in consecutive seasons.
In addition, a victory on Saturday would represent Duke’s third ACC Tournament title since Jon Scheyer became leadership in 2022. Additionally, during his four years, Scheyer would have won five of the eight ACC regular season and tournament crowns.
