CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 1 Duke took home its 23rd ACC Tournament title on Saturday, March 15, defeating No. 13 Louisville, 73-62, at the Spectrum Center.

Tyrese Proctor drilled a career-high six three-pointers to help lead the Blue Devils (31-3) in a strong second half, which included a defensive effort that limited Louisville to just 24 points following the intermission.

Kon Knueppelwas named ACC Tournament MVP, averaging 21 points per game in Duke’s three games in Charlotte, while shooting 18-of-37 (.486) from the field overall. Knueppel is the 22nd Duke MVP in ACC Tournament history, the most in league history.

Knueppel was joined on the All-Tournament First Team by his classmate Khaman Maluach and Proctor garnered All-Tournament Second Team recognition.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Louisville scored on its first offensive trip down the floor but a put-back slam from Khaman Maluach seconds later quickly got Duke on the board as well. Another dunk by Maluach, followed by two free throws by Kon Knueppel, put Duke in front by four, 6-2, after three minutes of play.
• Isaiah Evanshit Duke’s first three-pointer of the night, putting the Blue Devils ahead by four, 11-7. Louisville scored five quick points in response, but Evans drained his second triple as the shot clock expired on the next possession. Duke held a two-point edge, 17-15, at the under-12 timeout.
• The Cardinals tied the score at 23 with a fast-break layup as the clock ticked under seven minutes. The two teams traded three-pointers, with Proctor hitting his third of the game, to keep the game deadlocked, 28-28, heading into the final media break of the first frame.
• Louisville’s largest lead of the first half, 38-33, came with a floater at the 34-second mark of the first half and the score remained the same as the two teams entered the locker rooms.
• Duke’s defense began the second half with a stop and Proctor drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to pull Duke back within two. Knueppel tied the contest with a layup, giving the freshman 10 points. A three-pointer by Sion Jameskept the game tied, 45-45, five minutes into the second half.
• Patrick Ngongba II connected on two free throws with 13:15 on the clock, pushing Duke back in front, 49-47. A James triple from the corner made it a quick seven-point burst by the Blue Devils and forced a Louisville timeout with Duke in front, 52-47. Proctor’s fifth triple and a Knueppel layup extended the scoring run to 12 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game.
• Proctor set a new career high for made three-pointers, with his sixth of the game, to increase Duke’s advantage to 11, 60-49. Duke’s defense held Louisville with a made field goal for near five minutes before the Cardinals snapped the skid with a three-pointer with 5:36 on the clock. Louisville called timeout after the basket, trailing by nine, 64-55.
• With the clock under two minutes, Duke remained ahead by double-digits, 68-57. Duke closed out the title from the charity stripe, en route to the eventual 73-62 victory.

NOTES

• Duke won its 23rd ACC Tournament championship on Saturday night, playing in its 36th all-time ACC title game, holding a 23-13 record in those games.
• Six of those titles have come when playing in Charlotte (2025, 2019, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1992).
• The Blue Devils have been crowned tournament champions twice in three seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer (2025, 2023).
• Scheyer is now 6-1 in the ACC Tournament at the helm of the program.
• Saturday marked Duke’s fifth trip in the last eight ACC Tournament championship games, posting a 4-1 record in title contests since 2017, with crowns in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025.
• The 2024-25 Blue Devils captured the ACC Tournament title and the outright regular-season conference championship, the first time a Duke squad has accomplished both since 2005-06.
• Both Duke men’s and women’s basketball took home the ACC Tournament trophy this season, marking the first Duke basketball sweep since the 2010-11 season.
• After entering halftime trailing by five, 38-33, Duke held Louisville to just 24 points in the second half, the lowest second-half output by the Cardinals this season and tied for the lowest total in any half for Louisville, matching its first-half effort against West Virginia on Nov. 28.
• Louisville shot 55.2% from the field and 41.7% from behind the arc in the first half, but Duke limited the Cardinals to 25.7% shooting from the field and 14.3% from long distance after intermission.
• Duke picked up its 31st win of the season, improving to 31-3 overall for the campaign. Since the start of the 2000 season, Duke has now registered 10 campaigns with at least 31 wins.
• Duke will enter the NCAA Tournament with at least 31 wins for the first time since the 1998-99 season and for just the third time in program history.
• Saturday night marked the eighth game played between the two teams on a neutral court – Duke improved to 6-2 in those contests, including three wins in the ACC Tournament (2021, 2017, 2025).
• The Blue Devils have won 10 of the last 13 meetings with Louisville, including seven straight, and leads the all-time series, 16-9.
• Duke is now 24-8 when playing ACC Tournament games in Charlotte, N.C.
• Louisville entered the contest ranked third in the ACC for scoring margin (10.3), with Duke winning the game by 11.
• Duke’s defense limited the Cardinals to 62 points, 17.1 below their season average of 79.1 points per game.
• Kon Knueppel was named ACC Tournament MVP, averaging 21 points per game in Duke’s three contests in Charlotte, while shooting 18-of-37 (.486) from the field overall.
• Knueppel is the 22nd Duke MVP in ACC Tournament history, the most in league history.
• The freshman scored 18 points on 6-of-12 (.500) from the field, while also going a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
• Knueppel matched his career high on the glass, grabbing eight caroms, while adding three assists and two steals.
• Tyrese Proctor sank a career-high six three-pointers against Louisville, finishing the game with a team-high 19 points. The junior also dished two assists and tallied a steal and rebound.
• Proctor averaged 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game during the championship run, earning All-Tournament Second Team recognition.
• Sion James finished one shy of his season high, scoring 15 points, fueled by a perfect 2-for-2 from deep and 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
• The graduate also brought in six boards and dished two helpers.
• Khaman Maluach collected a game-high 10 rebounds, scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and rejected two shot attempts.
• The freshman center averaged 11.7 points, 9.3 boards and 2.7 blocks per game during the ACC Tournament to earn All-Tournament First Team honors.
• Patrick Ngongba IIscored seven points and blocked three shots, a new career high.
• Isaiah Evans chipped in six points with an assist and a steal.
• Mason Gillis posted 23 key minutes off the bench, finishing the game with a plus/minus of +12.

QUOTES

• “Great game.  Really proud of our team to win this ACC championship.  To win an outright regular season and then to win in the tournament is special.  A ton of credit to Pat (Kelsey) and his team.  They’re tough.  They played both ends of the ball.  They’re disciplined.  They’re experienced.  Give (Terrence) Edwards a ton of credit for the shots that he was making tonight, and to weather that storm, I don’t know if it’s necessarily bad defense on a lot of those.  I just thought we came out in the second half and were just so tough, played together, and for us to be tested the last three games the way that we have, I think we’re going to learn a ton from it, and it gives us extra motivation and lessons to move forward. But I’m just proud of these guys.  They deserve it.  Both of the guys to my left have done a great job.  Obviously, Kon (Knueppel) won MVP.  He, throughout the entire tournament, was so solid, made so many winning plays, and then Khaman (Maluach), the way he protects, rebounds, and then his scoring punch has been a great addition, as well. Really proud of both these guys.” – Duke head coach Jon Scheyer
• “We just came out and played Duke defense.  We went into the locker room at halftime. We regrouped together, and we came back out, and we knew we had to get stops and rebounds, and that’s what we did.” – Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach
• “We’re a very good team.  We knew we had to step up with Maliq (Brown) and Cooper (Flagg), who were out, who are, obviously, super, super important players for us.  But I thought everybody contributed and everybody pitched in, and we didn’t need any Superman performances or anything like that.  Everybody just stepped up and added to the team.” – Duke freshman guard/forward Kon Knueppel

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