No. 1 Duke Clinches ACC Top Seed in 77-51 Win Over No. 11 Virginia

Saturday, February 28

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

27-2,15-1ACC

Virginia

25-4,13-3ACC

Virginia

Duke

No. 1 Duke Clinches ACC Top Seed in 77-51 Win Over No. 11 Virginia

2/28/2026 2:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Duke Quotes (PDF)Opponent Quotes (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – A strong three-point shooting first half helped No. 1 Duke defeat No. 11 Virginia, 77-51, on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With the victory, the Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC) clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season title and will be the No. 1-seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Duke's defense held the Cavaliers (25-4, 13-3 ACC) to just 51 points, 31.3 points below their season average of 82.3 points per game and a season-low offensive output. Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 19 points, fueled by four triples in the first half, including three before the game's first media timeout.

Cameron Boozer joined Evans in double-figures with 18 points, while finishing one rebound off another double-double, grabbing nine boards. Patrick Ngongba II rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points. Caleb Foster paced the Blue Devils in assists with a game-high six, while also grabbing six rebounds.

As a team, Duke shot 12-of-24 from deep, including 8-of-13 (.615) in the first half, the team's best three-point percentage in a first half this season.

The victory over Virginia represents the Blue Devils' 10th win over a top-25 foe this season, making Duke the first team in the history of the ACC to win at least 10 regular-season games against ranked opponents.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both defenses forced stops on their respective first possession, before Isaiah Evans opened the scoring with a three-pointer on Duke's second trip down the floor. The sophomore drilled his second triple just over a minute later and added his third right before the first media timeout.
Duke's defense held Virginia without a field goal for over five minutes, as the Cavaliers started just 2-of-10 from the field through the first eight minutes of action.
Evans knocked down his fourth trifecta and Virginia's scoring drought reached nearly five minutes as Duke took an 18-7 lead with 10:35 on the clock.
Darren Harris connected on a pair of triples to put Duke back in front by double-digits, 25-12, with six minutes before halftime. Dame Sarr forced a Virginia timeout with a transition trifecta of his own, growing the Blue Devils' lead to 16 points, 28-12.
Duke remained in control through the final five minutes of the first half, entering the break with a 15-point lead, 41-26.
After being held without a made shot in the first half, Cameron Boozer quickly made a three-pointer to start Duke's scoring in the second half. A fast-break dunk from Evans at the 14:08 mark moved Duke's lead over 20, 53-32, and gave the sophomore 19 points for the contest.
Virginia's defense limited Duke to a stretch of over three minutes without a make, narrowing the margin to 16, 57-41, but Boozer snapped the drought with a layup. Sarr slammed home a fast-break dunk shortly before the under-eight media timeout, which Duke entered with a 20-point advantage, 63-43.
The Blue Devils logged their 32nd kill shot of the season with an 11-0 run, to move the lead to 27, 70-43, with just under five minutes remaining. Duke's defense held Virginia to 2-of-14 shooting from the field in the game's final 10 minutes, securing the 77-51 victory.

NOTES

With the win, Duke clinched at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship and will be the top seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.
- The Blue Devils have finished the regular season with at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship in back-to-back seasons for the first time since winning five straight in 1996-2001.
Duke has won 37 of their last 39 games against conference opponents.
The Blue Devils have won 31 consecutive home games, including 18 straight against conference opponents, while posting a 62-3 (.954) home record under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Across the last two seasons, Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball, at 62-6 (.912)
- Since Thanksgiving 2024, the Blue Devils have achieved a record of 58-4 (.935).
Saturday marked Scheyer's 600th game representing Duke between his time as a player and a coach.
- The Blue Devils are 476-124 in those games.
Duke tallied its 10th ranked victory of the season and is 10-2 against top-25 foes this season.
- The Blue Devils had already secured ranked victories 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 is the first team in the history of the ACC to win at least 10 regular-season games against ranked opponents.
The Blue Devils lead the all-time series against Virginia, 127-54, including a 61-11 advantage in Durham.
- Duke has won 11 of the last 15 meetings with Virginia.
Duke is 23-12 when playing on Feb. 28.
- The Blue Devils have won eight of the last 10 games on this date since 2009, including four straight victories.
Saturday's game was Duke's 294th played when ranked No. 1 in the country, ahead of UCLA's 257 for the best total all-time (since 1949).
- Duke is 252-42 when ranked No. 1 in the country.
- Since 1998, the Blue Devils have played 192 games as the top-ranked team, more than twice as many as the next best tally (84 by North Carolina), with a record of 162-30 in those contests.
Duke shot 8-of-13 (.615) from beyond the arc in the first half, setting a new team benchmark for first-half shooting percentage from deep this season.
The Cavaliers entered Saturday's game averaging 82.3 points per game, but were held to just 51, 31.3 below their season average.
- Duke's defense has held all but two of their 29 opponents below their scoring average.
- The 51 points scored by Virginia set a new season low for the Cavaliers, which was previously 61 points in a win at Florida State.
The Blue Devils held the Cavaliers to 16-of-55 (.291) overall from the field, Virginia's first game shooting under 30 percent since Nov. 21, 2024.
Duke began Saturday's game holding its opponents to 62.9 points per game, the third-best scoring defense in the country.
- Virginia was held to under that average, scoring just 51 points.
Entering Saturday, Duke topped the ACC and ranked seventh nationally for rebounding margin (+10.4).
- The Blue Devils outrebounded Virginia by eight (37-29) and have finished with a positive margin on the glass in 25 games this season.
- Virginia led the ACC in total rebounds (41.3) and offensive rebounds (13.8) entering the game on Saturday, but the Blue Devils' rebounding efforts limited the Cavaliers under both of those season averages, with 29 total rebounds and just nine offensive boards.
Duke began the game leading the league, and ranked fifth nationally, for scoring margin (+20.1).
- The Blue Devils defeated Virginia by 26 points, outpacing their season average for scoring margin.
As a team, Duke shot 13-of-14 (.929) from the free-throw line, its best percentage from the charity stripe this season.
Isaiah Evans scored a game-high 19 points, fueled by three triples before the first media timeout of the contest.
- The sophomore finished the game 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, his third outing in Duke's last six games with at least four triples.
- When Evans makes at least three 3-pointers, Duke is 14-0 this season and 25-0 the last two seasons.
- Evans matched his season high for assists with three. The sophomore has tallied at least three helpers in eight games this season.
Cameron Boozer also reached double-figures, scoring 18 points.
- The freshman ended the contest one rebound shy of a double-double, bringing in nine boards, and added four dimes.
- Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 29 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)
Caleb Foster contributed across the stat sheet, tallying a game-high six assists, six rebounds and five points.
Maliq Brown tallied seven points, five rebounds and a game-high three steals.
- Brown has now registered three or more steals in seven games this season – tied for the team-high with Cameron Boozer – and 23 games in his career.

QUOTES

"I am really proud of our team because I think we beat a really good team in Virginia today. I'm a big fan of what Coach [Ryan] Odom has done with his group, the identity that they have and how they play. To hold them to 51 points says a lot about our defense. I thought our guys had great determination. They came out ready, and just kept on pushing in those inflection points. I couldn't be more proud to be able to win a share the ACC, especially in this day and age where it is not necessarily a balanced schedule all the time; it's just a different day and age. We won't take this for granted. With that said, we don't like shares. We have more work that we want to do, but I'm just proud of all nine guys that played and impacted the game. Darren Harris, the job he did coming in, gave us a lift. Our starting group gave us a really good start. I thought Maliq [Brown's] activity made a big difference in the game. Proud of our guys." - Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
"We definitely came out with a championship mentality. We knew what was on the line today, to win the [ACC] regular season. Great team win. Our message [before the game] was to just go out there and guard [Virginia]. I feel like that's what we did to start the game. With like 5:40 left in the first half, they had like 12 points, so I think that's what we did." - Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer

UP NEXT

No. 1 Duke (27-2, 15-1 ACC) travels to NC State (19-10, 10-6 ACC) on Monday, March 2.
The Blue Devils and Wolfpack tip off at the Lenovo Center at 7 p.m., broadcast live on ESPN.

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