Duke is coming off one of its most dominant seasons in recent years. The Blue Devils finished 28-3 throughout the regular season and are the AP’s top-ranked team in the country heading into the conference championship.
Given their dominance, Duke is also the first seed in the ACC Tournament, which begins on Tuesday. However, after receiving two byes, they will not play until Thursday in the quarterfinals.
To little surprise, the Blue Devils are big favorites to win the tournament, the ACC championship, and a little. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, this may not be as easy as anticipated.
According to 247Sports’ Grant Hughes, Duke will be upset by Clemson for the second time this season in the ACC Championship Game.
The ACC Tournament bracket has been devoid of huge upsets, but that will change Saturday night in the Championship game. Duke is probably the nation’s hottest team and a legitimate Final Four contender, but the Tigers’ veteran big men are a tough matchup for the Blue Devils’ young inside presence. Clemson dominated Duke in the second half of their 77-71 home victory on February 8. The Tigers beat the Blue Devils 42-30 in the second half, while Jon Scheyer’s team hit 50% from three (12-of-20) and had fewer than ten turnovers. Brad Brownell guides Clemson to its first ACC Tournament championship in program history.
Hughes sees the Blue Devils facing the Tar Heels in Game 12 of the quarterfinals. If Duke wins, it will be the first time since 2002 that both teams have gone 3-0 in the same season against each other.
With Clemson as a three-seed and their first game in the quarterfinals, Hughes predicts them meeting SMU in Game 11 as a heavy favorite. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs by ten in the regular season.
Only one of Duke’s three losses this season came against an ACC opponent, Clemson on February 8. That was also the Blue Devils’ only road loss this season, and their last loss overall. Though the tournament will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, if they reach the final game on March 15, they risk being defeated by the Tigers once more, endangering their prospects of getting a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If Clemson even makes it to the conference championship game, it will be a historic achievement. The Tigers have never reached the ACC Championship Game, only making it to the semifinals four times (2011, 2014, 2018, and 2023). Duke, on the other side, has won the ACC championship 27 times, the most recent coming in 2023.
