ACC Record in March Madness 2026: Duke’s Collapse Against UConn Knocks Out League’s Final Team

After being the only ACC team to reach the final weekend, Duke suffered a brutal collapse in the Elite Eight.

Cameron Boozer and Duke were eliminated after a ferocious Elite Eight comeback by UConn. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Duke was lucky to still be dancing after a close call against No. 16 Siena in the first-round. The Blue Devils failed to put together full 40-minute performances against No. 9 TCU or No. 5 St. John’s. And after a dominant first half against No. 2 UConn, the ACC’s last remaining Final Four hopeful was sent home on a miracle three by Braylon Mullins.

After a light few years, the ACC was well represented in 2026, with eight teams in the field—the most for the league since 2018. Duke is joined by No. 3 Virginia and No. 7 Miami (Fla.).

No. 6 North Carolina, No, 8 Clemson and a pair of No. 11 seeds, NC State and SMU, round out the group, though the Tar Heels are already out after suffering a Thursday upset, the Tigers lost to Iowa Friday and neither the Wolfpack nor the Mustangs made it out of the First Four. Louisville joined the growing list of losing ACC programs on Saturday, when they were competitive against No. 3 Michigan State but never quite challenged down the stretch.

The eight teams were evenly dispersed throughout the bracket, with two ACC teams appearing in each region, led by the Blue Devils occupying the top spot in the East Region.

Louisville got out to an impressive lead against USF on Thursday and held off a Bulls comeback attempt, but could not get over the hump against Michigan State Saturday.. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

ACC record in NCAA tournament entering after the Elite Eight

Duke held a 19-point lead over UConn, but saw the Huskies chip away at it throughout the second half, until a big defensive play by Silas Demery Jr. set up a heroic shot by Mullins to put the Huskies up 73–72 with just 0.3 seconds left. After a desperate heave, the comeback was official, and the ACC’s final team was eliminated, stamping the league’s record in the NCAA tournament at 6–8.

No. 1 Duke got off to an inauspicious start in March Madness, needing a comeback to beat No. 16 Siena. The Saints thoroughly outplayed Cameron Boozer & Co. for most of the game, but Gerry McNamara’s depleted roster ran out of steam late and Duke survived, 71–65. They were sluggish once again in the second round against the Horned Frogs, leading just 38–34 at the half and briefly surrendering the lead early in the second. That’s when Jon Scheyer’s team turned it on, outscoring TCU 43–24 after halftime to cruise to a comfortable 81–58 win. The Sweet 16 game against St. John’s may have been the Blue Devils’ best of the tournament so far, but the Red Storm were within two points with less than 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Duke ultimately won 80–75 to reach the Elite Eight, where they were defeated Sunday.

The No. 11 Wolfpack fell to Texas in a dramatic Tuesday night game in Dayton, 68–66, surrendering a Tramon Mark jumper in the game’s waning moments to lose the game. No. 11 SMU wasn’t as close on Wednesday in the First Four, as Miami (Ohio) took out any frustrations about those who questioned whether they deserved to make the tournament against the Ponies, who fell 89–79.

No. 6 Louisville got the ACC in the win column with a solid win over American champion USF, a No. 11 seed. The Cardinals built a big early lead, and survived a furious late run by the Bulls to win 83–79. They could not quite make it to the Sweet 16, falling to a dangerous Michigan State team on Saturday, 77–69 despite 21 points from Ryan Conwell against Sparty.

The Blue Devils may have survived their first-round mid-major test, but their rivals, No. 6 North Carolina, did not. This time it was No. 11 VCU which made a historic 19-point comeback to knock off the Tar Heels, 82–78.

No. 3 Virginia got a real scare from No. 14 Wright State, and for much of the game it looked like some really nasty history for the Hoos might be repeating itself. Instead, they pulled away thanks to Jacari White’s heroic 26-point outing off the bench to clinch their first NCAA tournament victory since the 2019 national title game. The Hoos played a tight second-round matchup with Tennessee but ultimately fell 79–72.

No. 7 Miami added a fourth win to the ACC’s ledger in Friday night’s first-round games. The Hurricanes pulled away late in a back-and-forth contest with No. 10 Missouri, led by a 24-point outing by Malik Reneau and a stat-stuffing performance by Tre Donaldson, who scored 17 points and added eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. A strong first season for coach Jai Lucas came to an end on Sunday, as No. 2 Purdue proved to be too much for the Hurricanes, with Fletcher Loyer scoring 24 points for the Boilermakers on just seven attempts from the field in a 79–69 win.

Which ACC teams are still alive?

No ACC teams will play in the Final Four after Duke’s elimination by UConn.

The Big Ten sends two teams to Indianapolis—No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Illinois. They’ll face No. 1 Arizona and the No. 2 Huskies, respectively.

ACC March Madness schedule

All eight ACC teams have been eliminated from the NCAA tournament and thus have no games left on the schedule. The full men’s NCAA tournament schedule and TV lineup is available here. Here is how the Final Four is shaping up:

Game	Date	Time (ET)	Location	Channel
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois	Saturday, April 4	6:09 p.m.	Indianapolis	TBS
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona	Saturday, April 4	~8:30 p.m.	Indianapolis	TBS

Henri Veesaar and North Carolina basketball were on the wrong end of a historic comeback by VCU on Thursday. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Biggest wins and most disappointing losses

The most impressive early win was probably Louisville’s against a very strong USF team. Even without star guard Mikel Brown Jr., who is out for at least the first weekend of March Madness, the Cardinals jumped all over the Bulls, and held on to survive their charge in the second half. However, the most important for the league was Duke avoiding a defeat at the hands of 16-seeded Siena ... though the Tar Heels faithful and other rival fans probably wouldn’t have minded seeing it. The Blue Devils’ second-half against a scrappy TCU team was also legitimately impressive, even if their first half seemed to reveal some of the same limitations that the Saints took advantage of two days prior.

North Carolina, meanwhile, suffered the most disappointing loss early in the tournament, given the toss-up nature of the First Four. The Tar Heels were down star freshman Caleb Wilson, one of the nation’s best forwards, but there’s no excuse for a 19-point blown lead. UNC won’t mind being outdone by Duke in this category, with the Elite Eight collapse against UConn.

How the ACC compares to other conferences in the 2026 NCAA tournament

With a 6–8 record, the ACC finishes as the only Power 5 league below .500 in March Madness.

The Big Ten leads the way at 19–7, while the SEC is also finished in the tournament and ends at 14–10. The Big 12 has performed fairly well at 10–7, represented by Arizona in Indianapolis. The Big East is 6–2, with UConn the last team standing entering the Final Four.

No mid-major programs made the Sweet 16 this March.

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