ACC Is Changing, But Duke Isn’t Going Anywhere

The Duke Blue Devils Basketball program dominated the ACC by a huge margin last season. They will look to do the same this season and be better in a lot of different areas. They will go into the season as favorites in the ACC, and they will have a great team to do more damage against any opponent they face.

Oct 3, 2025; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer smiles during the Countdown to Craziness at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer wants to lead this team to another ACC Championship. That is one of the goals this season. But more importantly, he is looking to win it all for the first time as the Duke head coach. He has been chasing that since day one of taking the Duke job. He knew that it was not going to be easy, but it was something he continued to pursue.

The ACC has looked different over the last few years. With all the changes that are going on in this conference. More moves could happen, but one thing we know for sure is that Duke is here to stay and looking to remain on top for a long time.

frere — Oct 3, 2025; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils Associate Head Coach Chris Carrawell shoots the ball during the Countdown to Craziness at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

State of the League

"The trend had not been positive for a couple of years, but ACC fans (and leadership) can only hope that last year’s miserable ACC season was as low as it can go," said Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated.

Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils fan sports a logo on his head for the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Championship game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

"The ACC got just four teams into the NCAA tournament and needed a Selection Sunday surprise to fit in that fourth team. Perhaps more alarming was just how uncompetitive large swaths of the league looked. Eight of the ACC’s 18 teams finished outside of KenPom’s top 100, a line of demarcation that should indicate a five-alarm fire for just about any high-major team."

Duke Projected to Finish First

rvee — Oct 8, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke head coach Jon Scheyer answers questions from the media at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

1. Duke

Cooper Flagg was absolutely brilliant last season for Duke, but the Blue Devils have what could be the best freshman in the country yet again in Cameron Boozer. He’s a double-double machine capable of carrying this Duke team back to the Final Four and maybe all the way to a national championship … after all, he won four state titles in high school and three AAU national championships. The talent around him with three to four other potential first-round picks isn’t so bad either.

Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during a break in the second half of a game against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

It is going to be interesting to see how this team improves from the beginning of the season to the end. There are going to be some growing pains with the young players, but they will lead this team.

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