Duke Basketball Makes ACC History With Latest Ranked Victory

Never before since the ACC was founded 73 years ago had one of the conference's programs recorded double-digit wins over ranked opponents in a single season. But that changed on Saturday afternoon via Duke basketball's 77-51 victory over the visiting No. 11-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

And it marked the second such win in the span of eight days for Jon Scheyer and his Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC), who climbed to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll last week after tallying a 68-63 victory over the then-No. 1 Michigan Wolverines in Washington, D.C., the previous Saturday.

Duke is now sitting at 10-2 versus ranked opponents this season. And the two losses — 82-81 versus the then-No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Dec. 20 and 71-68 versus the then-No. 14 UNC Tar Heels on Feb. 7 — were by a combined four points.

Duke Basketball Aiming for Outright ACC Crown

By putting the Cavaliers in their place on Saturday, the Blue Devils secured the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament and at least a share of the conference's regular season title. That said, as Jon Scheyer noted during the opening statement to his postgame press conference, his fourth Duke basketball team is far from feeling satisfied with what all it has accomplished thus far this season.

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and guard Caleb Foster — Feb 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster (1) gestures to head coach Jon Scheyer during the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke won 77-51. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

"I am really proud of our team because I think we beat a really good team in Virginia today," Scheyer said. "I'm a big fan of what [Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom] has done with his group, the identity that they have and how they play. To hold them to 51 points says a lot about our defense. I thought our guys had great determination. They came out ready and just kept on pushing in those inflection points.

"I couldn't be more proud to be able to win a share of the ACC, especially in this day and age where it is not necessarily a balanced schedule all the time. It's just a different day and age. We won't take this for granted. With that said, we don't like shares. We have more work that we want to do, but I'm just proud of all nine guys that played and impacted the game...We have to turn around quickly to be ready for Monday."

Duke basketball forward Cameron Boozer versus the Virginia Cavaliers — Feb 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) drives to the basket as Virginia Cavaliers forward Devin Tillis (11) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke won 77-51. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images | Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils are set to face a road test against the unranked NC State Wolfpack in that penultimate regular season contest. Duke and NC State square off in the Lenovo Center at 7 p.m. ET Monday (ESPN).

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