No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Virginia Meet as Top ACC Teams

Saturday, February 28

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia

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Duke Men's Basketball at Notre Dame - 2026

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Virginia Meet as Top ACC Teams

2/27/2026 7:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Opening Tip

The top two teams in the ACC, No. 1 Duke and No. 11 Virginia, face off at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 28, at noon on ESPN.
Dave O'Brien, Cory Alexander and Molly McGrath will call the action on ESPN. David Shumate and John Roth team up for the broadcast on the Blue Devil Sports Network.
Duke makes its record 148th appearance atop the weekly Associated Press top-25 poll.
The Blue Devils have won 30 consecutive home games, including 17 straight against conference opponents, while posting a 61-3 (.953) home record under Jon Scheyer.
Saturday is Scheyer's 600th game representing Duke as a player and coach (475-124).
Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 11 Quad-1 wins. (Feb. 25)
Duke has secured nine top-25 victories with wins over No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU and No. 25 Kansas.
Duke has won 36 of its last 38 games against conference opponents.
The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation. (KenPom)
Duke is one of just two teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.6, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.1, 1st) ratings. (KenPom)
The Blue Devils rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (62.9 ppg).
The Blue Devils lead the ACC and are fifth nationally in scoring margin (+20.1).
Duke tops the conference and ranks seventh in the country in rebounding margin (+10.4).
Cameron Boozer is the nation's sixth-leading scorer with 22.7 points per game, and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.1 rpg), is eighth in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg) and third in field goal percentage (.583).
Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 28 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men's or women's) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS)
Isaiah Evans ranks second in the ACC in free-throw percentage (.888), and is the ACC's 11th-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 16.7 points per league game.
Darren Harris scored a career-high 16 points off the bench at Notre Dame.

About the Virginia Cavaliers

The Blue Devils hold a 126-54 series advantage over the Cavaliers, including a 60-11 margin in Durham.
Duke has won 10 of the last 14 meetings with Virginia, including a victory (59-49) in the 2023 ACC Tournament Championship game and a win (73-48) in Durham in 2024.
The Cavaliers have won nine straight with their only losses to Butler, Virginia Tech (3OT) and North Carolina.
Virginia leads the ACC in total rebounds (41.3) and offensive rebounds (13.8) - 10th and 13th in the nation, respectively - and ranks third in the ACC in rebound margin (+8.8).
The Cavaliers have the best three-point percentage defense in the league (30.0%) and the second-best field goal percentage defense (39.3%).
Dallin Hall owns the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the ACC (3.16) with 117 assists (4.2 apg) and 37 turnovers.
Thijs De Ridder tops four Cavaliers scoring in double figures with 16.0 points per contest, adding 6.3 boards per game.
Ugonna Onyenso tops the ACC with 73 blocks (2.6 bpg).

On This Date - Feb. 28

Duke is 22-12 overall on Feb. 28, having won seven of the last nine on this date since 2009, including three in-a-row.
This will be the sixth meeting between the Blue Devils and Cavaliers on Feb. 28, with Duke holding a 3-2 advantage.
In home games on this date, Duke is 10-2 with four straight wins.
On this date two years ago, the Blue Devils beat Louisville, 84-59, inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke has a 4-3 record on Feb. 28 when both teams are ranked.

Last Time Out

Top-ranked Duke turned in a dominant all-around performance Tuesday evening as the Blue Devils finished the contest with six players in double figures en route to a commanding 100-56 victory over Notre Dame at a sold out Purcell Pavilion.
Freshman Cameron Boozer led the charge with his 16th double-double of the season, scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Boozer shot 5-of-8 from the field and a career-best 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore Darren Harris was next in line with a collegiate-best 16 points – 12 of which came after the half.
Junior Caleb Foster and sophomore Patrick Ngongba II each chipped in 13 points, with classmate Isaiah Evans and rookie Cayden Boozer rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10.
The victory was the Blue Devils' first time scoring 100 points in a regulation ACC road game since 1999, and the 44-point difference marked the largest margin of defeat for Notre Dame at home since 1898.
Duke scored a season-best 54 first half points against Notre Dame, two more than the 52 put up against Howard (11/23/25).
The Blue Devils' 34 made free throws and 38 attempts were both season highs.
The Fighting Irish entered Tuesday's game averaging 74.4 points per game, but were held to 56, 18.4 below their season average. Duke's defense has held all but two of their 28 opponents below their scoring average.
Duke began Saturday's game holding its opponents to 63.1 points per game, the third-best scoring defense in the country. Notre Dame was held to under that average, scoring just 56 points.
The Fighting Irish entered the contest shooting 44.9 percent overall from the field, but Duke's defensive limited the Fighting Irish to 19-of-52 (36.5 percent).
Entering Tuesday night, Duke topped the ACC and ranked seventh nationally for rebounding margin (+10.0). The Blue Devils outrebounded Notre Dame by 22 caroms (49-27) and have finished with a positive margin on the glass in 24 games this season. Duke has finished with a double-digit margin on the glass in 15 games this season. Tuesday marked the seventh time this season the Blue Devils have achieved a rebounding advantage of 20 boards or more.
Duke began the game leading the league, and ranked seventh nationally, for scoring margin (+19.3). The Blue Devils defeated Notre Dame by 44 points, outpacing their season average for scoring margin. The margin of victory is Duke's largest over Notre Dame, 10 points more than the previous mark (34) from Feb. 15, 2020. The loss is also the Fighting Irish's largest at Purcell Pavilion all-time and their worst home loss since 1898.
The Blue Devils finished with 100 points – the fourth time this season Duke has reached triple digits.

Duke at No. 1 in Top-25 Polls

On Feb. 23, after defeating top-ranked Michigan, Duke jumped two spots to the top of the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches top-25 polls.
The Blue Devils have now been ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation (AP poll) for 148 weeks, more than any other program in the country.
Saturday will be Duke's 294th game played as the No. 1-ranked team, topping UCLA's 257 games for the best total all-time (since 1949), with the Blue Devils posting a 251-42 record.
Since 1998, the Blue Devils have played 191 games as the top-ranked team, more than twice as many as the next best tally (84 by North Carolina).
Last season, Duke moved to the top of both the AP and Coaches polls on March 10, 2025, and remained in the top spot on March 17, 2025, after winning three games in Charlotte to capture the ACC Tournament title, right through to the Final Four.
The No. 1 ranking on March 10, 2025, was the first time the Blue Devils were positioned atop the Associated Press poll since Nov. 29, 2021.

Blue Devils Efficient at Both Ends of the Floor

Duke is one of only two teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.6, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.1, 1st) ratings, according to KenPom.com.
The Blue Devils are the nation's No. 1-rated team, according to KenPom, with an overall rating of 38.45. Michigan, who the Blue Devils defeated, is second at 38.39. (through games played on Feb. 26)
The 2024-25 Blue Devils achieved the best offensive efficiency rating (130.1) in the history of KenPom (since 1996-97 season).
In 2024-25, Duke registered the second-highest overall rating (39.29) in KenPom history, trailing only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils (43.01).
Last season, Duke was the only team in the country ranked among the top-five in both offensive (130.1, 1st) and defensive (90.8, 5th) adjusted efficiency (KenPom).
Duke has boasted a top-20 defense in all four seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer: 16th (93.9) in 2022-23; 16th (95.2) in 2023-24; 5th (90.8) in 2024-25; and currently 1st (89.1) in 2025-26.

Tracking Blue Devil Deflections

Through 28 games, the Blue Devils have accumulated 497 deflections, an average of 17.8 per game.
Duke amassed a season-best 32 deflections versus Niagara (Nov. 21), topping the previous high of 30 against Indiana State (Nov. 14).
Maliq Brown, described as a "defensive menace" by head coach Jon Scheyer, tops Duke with 150 deflections (5.4 avg.).
Brown, who was selected to the 2023-24 ACC All-Defensive Team after leading the league with 71 steals as a sophomore at Syracuse, recorded 12 deflections against Niagara (Nov. 21), the most by a Blue Devil this season.
Brown has the best steal percentage (5.09%) in the ACC and ranks fifth nationally (second among major conferences), according to KenPom (percentage of possessions a player records a steal while on the court).
Brown joined teammate Cameron Boozer as one of 15 players selected to the 2025-26 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award watch list, announced Feb. 27.

Cleaning the Glass

Duke tops the conference and ranks seventh in the country in rebounding margin (+10.4), outrebounding its opposition by an average of 40.0 to 29.6 boards per game.
The Blue Devils have outrebounded their opponent in 24 games this season.
Duke has outrebounded seven opponents by 20 or more boards, including a season-best rebound margin of +34 (55-21) against Lipscomb, +22 (49-27) at Notre Dame, and a +21 (47-26) versus Louisville.
Duke has limited three opponents to two points or less in second-chance points, including a pair of shutouts (Lipscomb, Georgia Tech).

Strength of Schedule

Duke has secured nine top-25 victories with wins over No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 15 Florida, No. 20 Louisville (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 SMU and No. 25 Kansas.
Duke has played 13 Quad-1 games, based on the NCAA's NET rankings (Feb. 26), with a 11-2 record in those contests. The Blue Devils' 11 Quad-1 wins are the second-most in the country.
Eight ACC teams are among the top 40 of the NCAA's NET rankings (as of Feb. 26). Duke (1), Virginia (13), Louisville (16), North Carolina (27) and NC State (28) rank among the top 30.
Four ACC teams are ranked in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll (Feb. 23): No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Virginia, No. 18 North Carolina and No. 24 Louisville.
Duke's 2025-26 non-conference lineup features eight opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Texas (Nov. 4; Charlotte, N.C.), Kansas (Nov. 18; New York, N.Y.), Arkansas (Nov. 27; Chicago), Florida (Dec. 2; Durham), Michigan State (Dec. 6; East Lansing, Mich.), Lipscomb (Dec. 16; Durham), Texas Tech (Dec. 20; New York, N.Y.) and Michigan (Feb. 21; Washington, D.C.). Of those teams, five advanced to the Sweet 16, with three reaching the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils play 10 games against teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25: No. 2 Florida, No. 6 Louisville (twice), No. 8 Michigan, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Kansas, No. 24 NC State and No. 25 North Carolina (twice).

Measurable Results

Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball over the past two seasons at 61-6. (College Basketball Report)
Since Thanksgiving 2024, the Blue Devils have achieved a record of 57-4 (.934).
Duke has won 36 of its last 38 games against conference opponents.
The Blue Devils have confronted double-digit deficits in four outings this season, including their largest deficits at Louisville (12) and versus SMU (11), and have rallied to win all four games.
During the past three seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke has sustained just one double-digit defeat — in the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight.
In that stretch, the Blue Devils have produced 67 double-figure victories, including 45 wins by 20-plus points, 23 by 30-plus and eight by 40-plus.

The Blue Devils Have Won 85% of Games at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Duke has posted an all-time record of 991-174 (.851) at Cameron Indoor Stadium, including a 61-3 (.953) record under head coach Jon Scheyer with unblemished home records in 2022-23 (16-0) and 2024-25 (17-0).
The Blue Devils have won 30 consecutive home games.
Duke has won more games at its current home venue than any team in college basketball.
Now in its 87th season as the home of the Blue Devils, Duke has averaged 11.1 wins since the venue opened Jan. 6, 1940 -- a 36-27 win over Princeton.

Sellout Streak Still Staying Strong

Duke has sold out 554 consecutive games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The last time Duke did not have a sellout at home was on Nov. 16, 1990, against Boston College.
The sellout figure is the longest current streak (by time) in either men's college basketball or the NBA.
Duke's record at Cameron during the sellout streak is 505-49 (.912).

Cameron Boozer's Historic Campaign

Cameron Boozer is the first Duke freshman to score 35 points or more twice - amassing 35 points versus Indiana State (Nov. 14) and tallying 35 points again versus Arkansas (Nov. 27).
The freshman forward became the first NCAA Division I or NBA player in the last 30 seasons to have an eight-game span with more than 175 points, 75 rebounds and 25 assists, 10 or fewer turnovers, and an undefeated record - doing so in Duke's first eight games. (OptaSTATS)
Boozer became the first ACC player with at least 100 points, 50 rebounds and 20 assists in a five-game span since Craig Smith of Boston College in March 2006. The freshman forward accomplished that standard in his first five college contests. (Nov. 19)
Boozer is the only Division I player in the last 30 seasons to collect at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 40 assists through his first 11 career games. (Dec. 17; OptaSTATS)
Boozer amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, connecting on 13-of-16 field goals in a win over Indiana State on Nov. 14, becoming the first major conference freshman to reach 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no more than one turnover since Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2003 (ESPN), and joined Zion Williamson (2019) and Christian Laettner (1990) as the third Duke player in the past 45 years to score at least 35 points in a double-double performance.
Boozer's nine assists against Florida State were the most by a Blue Devil in the past three seasons (10 assists by Tyrese Proctor against Pitt in the 2023 ACC Tournament).
Boozer needed just 16 career games to record 300+ points, 150+ rebounds and 50+ assists. That is the second fewest needed by any player this century, as LSU's Ben Simmons reached those figures in 15 games 10 years ago in 2015-16. (Stats Perform)
Boozer became the first Blue Devil to score 30 points in consecutive games since RJ Barrett in February 2019.
Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 28 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men's or women's) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS)
The Miami native has amassed 25 points or more in 10 games, including 35 points against No. 22 Arkansas, 35 points versus Indiana State, 32 points against Wake Forest, 30 points at Stanford and 29 points against No. 15 Florida.
Boozer's 32-point performance versus Wake Forest (Jan. 24) was his 10th game scoring 25 points or more, which ranks third among Duke freshmen all time.
Boozer has led all players in points, rebounds and assists in six games this season, breaking a tie with Tim Duncan (5, 1996-97) for the most by an ACC player in a season over the last 30 seasons.
Boozer has been voted ACC Player of the Week four times (Nov. 17, Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Jan. 19) and ACC Rookie of the Week nine times (Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26, Feb. 23).
The freshman forward is currently the nation's sixth-leading scorer with 22.7 points per game, ranks 11th nationally with 10.1 rebounds per contest and is tied for sixth with 16 double-doubles, which is tied for the second-most by a Duke freshman.
Among ACC statistical leaders, Boozer leads the league in rebounding (10.1 rpg), and ranks second in scoring (22.7 ppg), eighth in steals (1.7 spg), 13th in assists (4.0 apg) and third in field goal percentage (.583).

Other Notables

Duke has a record of 67-3 (.957) when committing 15 or fewer fouls under head coach Jon Scheyer, compared to 48-21 (.691) when the Blue Devils have 16 or more fouls. (@EvanMiya)
Maliq Brown is 10th in the nation and second in the ACC in 2-point field goal percentage (73.3%), having made 55-of-75 shots inside the arc.
Veteran Blue Devil Caleb Foster has proven to be a road warrior this season, establishing new career-highs in points (20 at Louisville), rebounds (8 at Pittsburgh) and assists (8 vs. Arkansas in Chicago) all away from the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans are the first Duke teammates to each have 350+ points in the team's first 25 games of a season since Tre Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. in 2019-20.
Duke has registered 31 kill shots (scoring run of 10+ points) this season, while surrendering just six by the opposition.
Duke's 11-0 start was the best unbeaten open to a season since the 2017-18 campaign, and its 21-1 record was the best start to a season since 2007-08 (22-1).
The Blue Devils' 17 straight ACC regular-season victories (Feb. 12, 2025-Feb. 3, 2026) is the third-longest ACC winning streak in program history and the longest since 2000.
Duke's eight consecutive ACC road wins (Feb. 12, 2025-Feb. 3, 2026) tied for the third-longest ACC road winning streak in program history.
The 55-point margin of victory over Army West Point (Nov. 11, 2025) was Duke's largest road win in program history.
The 100-56 win at Notre Dame (Feb. 24) was the Blue Devils' first time scoring 100 points in a regulation ACC road game since 1999, and the 44-point difference marked the largest margin of defeat for Notre Dame at home since 1898.
Duke posted a record of 36-3 (.923) in 2025, to tie the ACC record for most wins in a calendar year, equaling the 1992 Blue Devils (36-2) and North Carolina in 2008 (36-3).

Duke is Most-Watched Men's College Basketball Team

Duke is the most-watched men's college basketball team this season, according to Nielsen (as of Feb. 8).
No. 4 Duke's 80-71 victory over No. 22 Arkansas at the United Center on Thanksgiving Day averaged 6.813 million viewers for CBS Sports, becoming the most-watched regular-season college basketball game on any network since the 1992-93 season, according to Nielsen. The previous high came on Feb. 21, 1993, when Purdue faced Indiana on CBS (7.225 million).
Duke's victory over top-ranked Michigan on Feb. 21, averaged 4.3 million viewers, peaking at 5.4 million, as ESPN's most-watched game in seven years, and ESPN's seventh most-watched game on record.
The Duke versus North Carolina game on Feb. 7, averaged 3.51 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched regular-season college basketball game in four years. The contest peaked at 4.8 million viewers, representing a 53% increase over the 2025 matchup.

The 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils

Entering the 2025-26 campaign under fourth-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke returns six players from a squad that finished 35-4 overall last season, capturing the program's 23rd ACC Tournament title, 21st ACC regular-season crown and advancing to its 18th Final Four.
The 2025-26 Duke squad returns just 20% of its offensive production from last season, as all five 2024-25 starters, representing the team's top five scorers, were selected in the NBA Draft.
The 2025-26 Blue Devils welcomed the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class - the seventh top-ranked recruiting class for Duke since Scheyer joined the coaching staff.
The Blue Devils are the second-tallest team in the country, trailing Illinois (80.0") - with an average height of 79.4 inches. (KenPom)
Duke is one of the youngest teams in the nation with an average of 0.89 years of Division I experience, according to KenPom.com, which ranks 308th out of 365.

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