Cameron Boozer, Duke Beat UVA to Win ACC Title as CBB Fans Hype Blue Devils Chances as No. 1 Seed

Duke men's basketball is heading into a second straight NCAA Tournament as ACC Tournament champions.

Late defense from Cameron Boozer and clutch foul shots from Isaiah Evans helped No. 1 Duke seal a 74-70 victory over No. 10 Virginia in the ACC Tournament Final on Saturday night in Charlotte.

Duke had already locked in as a No. 1 seed, per ESPN's Joe Lunardi. Saturday's win will keep the Blue Devils in the running for the projected top seed in March Madness.

Fans debated Duke's status as a national title contender after the Blue Devils' ACC tournament wins over Florida State, Clemson and Virginia.

Other fans debated where the Cavaliers would end up in the NCAA Tournament bracket after the ACC title game loss. Virginia was projected by Lunardi as a No. 3 seed in the West heading into Saturday.

The March Madness bracket will be announced when Selection Sunday begins airing at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.

Duke will head into Sunday as the first school to win ACC championships in football as well as men's and women's basketball in the same academic year, per ESPN and The Athletic's Stewart Mandel.

Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said after the win he felt Duke had been underestimated after a close conference tournament quarterfinal win over Florida State.

"After the Florida State game, I think a lot of people said Duke doesn't have it, but these guys are special," Scheyer said (h/t Duke Athletics' David Schumate).

The Blue Devils, who came one missed buzzer-beater away from losing to FSU in the quarterfinals before earning a blowout win over Clemson in the semifinal, once more faced a tough matchup against Virginia.

Duke was missing two starters heading into Saturday's ACC title matchup, with both Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba sidelined by injuries.

The team's depth was tested as the Blue Devils traded leads with the Cavaliers throughout Saturday night.

UVA's Thijs De Ridder tied the game for the last time with just over three minutes left in regulation.

Duke pulled away at that point thanks to a layup from Boozer, followed by a shot clock violation on UVA's next possession. Virginia was never able to recover from that late deficit as the Blue Devils closed out the win.

Evans finished the victory with a game-high 20 points. Boozer contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while his brother Cayden Boozer posted 16 points and five rebounds.

Malik Thomas and Sam Lewis contributed 18 points and 17 points, respectively, in UVA's loss.

The Blue Devils will hope to get a boost ahead of March Madness with the return of at least one of the team's injured starters.

Scheyer said Friday night that Ngongba is "trending in a great direction" and could be available to play in the NCAA Tournament, per The Athletic's Brendan Marks.

Foster, who suffered a foot fracture that necessitated surgery last Sunday, is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Duke similarly won the 2025 ACC Tournament missing a key player in Cooper Flagg, who was able to return for the start of the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils will now hope to get Ngongba back in the near future before improving on last season's trip to the Final Four.