Get to Know the 2025 ACC Champs: Duke Basketball

A team that’s had its eye on a national title all season long finally gets the chance to make its goal a reality — the Duke basketball.

Duke won both the ACC regular season championship and the ACC Tournament title in Charlotte. The Blue Devils lost just one conference game all season long, and become the No. 1 team in the country by the AP Top 25 just before the Selection Show.

Now, the Blue Devils are hunting for their first national championship since 2015.

“Two championships down, one to go,” ACC Tournament MVP and Duke freshman, Kon Knueppel, said.

General Information

Team: Duke Blue Devils

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Record: 31-3, 19-1 ACC

Head Coach: Jon Scheyer (3rd season)

What to Know about Duke basketball:

If you ask anyone about Duke, the first thing they’ll tell you is Cooper Flagg. The soon-to-be No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft took the college basketball world by storm, becoming a consensus AP First Team All-American in his rookie season.

But he didn’t play much during the ACC Tournament. Flagg suffered an ankle injury in the first half of Duke’s quarterfinals game against Georgia Tech and missed the rest of the tournament. Head coach Jon Scheyer said Flagg missing the tournament was out of caution, and the Blue Devils announced Flagg will return for the first game.

Junior Maliq Brown also missed most of the ACC Tournament after he left the quarterfinals game with a shoulder redislocation. Scheyer didn’t have an update for when the forward would be available again after the tournament ended.

But outside of Duke’s two players, Knueppel exploded during the conference tournament, scoring 63 points in three games. He’s scored at least 10 points in nine consecutive games, dipping into single digits just six times this season.

Duke likes to play fast. The Blue Devils average about 29 made field goals per game — good for  82.7 points per contest. Name a basketball statistic, Duke has the edge over all of its opponents.

Defensively, the Blue Devils have score over 15 points off turnovers, forcing about 12 per game.

NCAA Tournament Prediction: National Championship Game

Seed: No. 1 in the East

The Blue Devils are built like a true national contender, and frankly, they have a pretty straightforward path to San Antonio.

Starting off in Raleigh, North Carolina essentially gives Duke a home game for its first two rounds — quite the advantage when the Blue Devils boast a 17-0 record at home. Technically Lenovo Center isn’t Duke’s home court, but it’s a 20 minute drive from campus.

From there, Duke’s biggest challenge likely won’t arise until the Elite Eight and Final Four. Most programs that the Blue Devils are likely to face will be undersized or doesn’t defend as quickly as Duke likes to run its offense. Upon making it to the Elite Eight, the Blue Devils’ physicality, particularly in the paint, will decide their future.

On paper, the Blue Devils have what it takes to play for an NCAA title in San Antonio. Even without Brown’s experience, Scheyer has built enough depth on his team that players that Patrick Ngongba and Khaman Maluach should fill in the hole.

And if the Blue Devils’ destiny is to face SEC powers to claim its first national championship in a decade — it’ll be a battle basketball fans won’t want to miss.

First game: vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s on March 21, 2:50 p.m. on CBS