Duke Opens ACC Tournament Tuesday Against Boston College

Tuesday, March 9

Greensboro, N.C.

4:30 P.M.

Duke University

Boston College

Duke Men’s Basketball takes on the Bellarmine University Knights in the first half at the Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 4, 2020 at Durham, North Carolina.

Duke Opens ACC Tournament Tuesday Against Boston College

3/8/2021 12:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

WATCH LISTEN LIVE STATS DUKE GAME NOTES BOSTON COLLEGE GAME NOTES (PDF)2021 ACC TOURNAMENT BRACKET

THE OPENING TIP

Duke, which has won two of last three ACC Tournaments that have been contested, begins its quest for the program's 22nd ACC title on Tuesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament vs. Boston College.
The game tips at 4:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network with Dave O'Brien and Cory Alexander on the call. On the radio, David Shumate and John Roth have the call on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield IMG College (96.5FM & 610AM in Durham).
The Blue Devils are an ACC-best 103-45 in the ACC Tournament with a league record 21 titles -- eight crowns have come at Greensboro Coliseum where Duke is 39-18 the tournament (28-10 under Coach K).
Mike Krzyzewski is 65-23 all-time in the ACC Tournament with 15 titles. Duke has won 12 of the last 23 ACC titles and is 48-11 in the tournament in that span, including eight wins in its last nine games.
Meeting for the second time this season, the Blue Devils survived an 83-82 decision vs. the Eagles at Cameron Indoor on Jan. 6 and lead the all-time series, 24-3, including 2-0 in ACC Tournament action.
Sophomore Matthew Hurt, who finished the regular season as the ACC's leading scorer both overall (18.7) and in conference play (18.6), is looking to become the 14th Blue Devil to lead the league in scoring.
Hurt joins Iowa's Luka Garza as the only major college players shooting 50+ percent from the field, 40+ percent from three-point range and making 7.0+ field goals per game this season.
Hurt was a first-team All-ACC pick and named the ACC's Most Improved Player this season -- giving Duke at least one first-team pick in 14 consecutive years.
Hurt becomes Duke's 75th first-teamer (second-most in ACC history) and the 50th under Coach K (most by a coach).
Also for Duke, senior Jordan Goldwire was named to the All-Defensive Team, while DJ Steward was an All-Freshman selection.
A Blue Devil has been the ACC's leading freshman scorer in six of the last seven seasons, and Steward is on pace to make it seven of the last eight. Steward leads all ACC freshmen at 13.0 points.
Freshman Mark Williams is averaging 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and shooting .763 (29-of-38) over the last four games, which includes his first career double-double (18 and 11 vs. Syracuse) and first career 20-point game (20 at Georgia Tech).

ACC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Duke has won a league-best 21 ACC Tournament championships and appeared in the title game 33 times in the event's 67 years … Fifteen of the titles and 21 of the title game appearances have come under Coach K … Duke's .696 winning percentage and 103 wins are each the best of any league team … Duke has more ACC Tournament titles than any other school and has the second-most semifinal (47) and finals (33) appearances.

DUKE VS. BOSTON COLLEGE
Duke and Boston College are meeting for the 28th time, with the Blue Devils leading the all-time series, 24-3 … Duke has won four straight and 15 of the last 16 in the series … Since BC entered the ACC, the series favors Duke, 20-3, including 18-2 in regular season contests and 2-0 in the ACC Tournament … The Blue Devils beat the Eagles in the 2006 ACC title game in Greensboro, 78-76, and in the 2009 quarterfinals in Atlanta, 66-65 … When the teams met on Jan. 6 in Durham, Duke survived, 83-82, thanks to 25 points from Wendell Moore Jr. -- it was Duke's first game in 20 days after canceling a Dec. 19 reschedule vs. Gardner-Webb and having games on Dec. 29 vs. Pitt and Jan. 2 at Florida State canceled due to COVID issues in those programs … Sophomore Matthew Hurt poured in a then-career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range when the teams met earlier last season at Cameron Indoor -- an 88-49 Duke win on New Year's Eve.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
The Blue Devils have posted an all-time record of 97-40 (.708) at the Greensboro Coliseum dating back to 1960 … The program's 97 wins at the venue place it behind only Duke's current home (Cameron Indoor Stadium) and former homes (Card Gym and Duke Gym) as the winningest venue for the Blue Devils … The Greensboro Coliseum has seen Duke win eight ACC Tournament titles, while compiling a 39-18 record in tournament play (28-10 under Coach K) … Duke's ACC titles in the Coliseum came in 1978, 1980, 1986, 1988, 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2011.

DUKE'S ACC AWARD WINNERS
Matthew Hurt was honored as the ACC's Most Improved Player and named first-team All-ACC, while DJ Steward was selected to the All-Freshman Team and Jordan Goldwire tapped to the All-Defensive Team … Duke now boasts at least one first-team All-ACC pick in 14 consecutive seasons -- the ACC's longest active streak by far … Hurt is the Blue Devils' 75th first-teamer (second most in ACC history), the 50th first-teamer under Coach K (most by a coach) and the 100th overall All-ACC pick under Coach K (most) ... Steward gives Duke an All-Freshman pick in 10 consecutive seasons, and the Blue Devils' 31 selections are most all-time … With Goldwire as an All-Defensive pick, Duke also owns the most in ACC history, now with 19 … Hurt is the second Blue Devil to win the Most Improved Award, which was established in 2014, joining Grayson Allen (2016) … Hurt received three votes as Player of the Year, as Duke was bidding to be the first program in ACC history with the POY in four consecutive seasons … Duke's hold on the ACC Freshman of the Year Award was also snapped at three straight years.

A HELPING HAND
As Duke's young roster has gained confidence and experience, the Blue Devils are playing better team basketball as a result … Duke is second to Georgia Tech in the ACC in assists (16.2) -- 28th nationally, and is fifth in assist/turnover ratio (+1.25) -- 43rd nationally … Duke's 141 assists in eight games (17.6) in the month of February led the ACC, were 14th-most nationally, and the third-most by any power conference team behind Nebraska (144) and Iowa (143) … While increasing their assists, the Blue Devils also took better care of the ball in February with a +1.47 assist/turnover ratio for the month … Over the last six games, Duke has 113 dimes and 70 turnovers (+1.61) … Duke improved both its assists per game and assist/turnover ratio each month through February.

ELITE COMPANY FOR HURT
There are just four players in the nation -- two from power conferences -- averaging better than 50 percent from the field, better than 40 percent from three-point range and making 7.0+ field goals per game -- Duke's Matthew Hurt and Iowa's Luka Garza … Hurt is shooting .560 from the field, .437 from behind the arc, and averaging 7.2 made field goals per game, while Garza's numbers are .553/.450/8.9 … Hurt has scored 12+ points in 21 of 22 games this season, while shooting .400+ from the field in 21 of 22 games. He has made five or more field goals in all but two games.

HIGH MARKS FOR MARK
Freshman center Mark Williams enters the ACC Tournament averaging 16.0 points and shooting .763 (29of-38) over Duke's last four games, which includes a career-high 20 points at Georgia Tech and a pair of 18-point efforts vs. Syracuse and North Carolina … His 16.0 points over the last four games are second on the team to Matthew Hurt's 19.5 … The freshman's season turned in late January after not appearing in the Jan. 23 game Louisville. He played the first nine games, averaging 5.8 minutes and scoring 1.4 points … In the 12 games since, Williams owns the team's best field goal percentage (.676), is fourth on the team in scoring (9.6), second in rebounds (5.4) and has 26 of the team's 59 blocks in that span … He hit just six field goals over his first nine game, and has connected on 50-of-74 (.676) over the last 12 contests … Twenty-six of his 30 blocks have come in that span … He leads Duke with 27 of the team's 47 dunks this season -- 48 percent of his made field goals this season are dunks.

#GoDuke