February 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) greets fans after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke won 77-51. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Image No. 1 Duke has accomplished a lot over the past few weeks and achieved even more Monday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This is where the Blue Devils face North Carolina State in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Duke, which has already secured a top seed in the ACC tournament, could clinch the outright regular-season league title with a road win.
“We’re not going to take this for granted,” Duke coach John Sheyer said. “But we don’t like the stakes (of the championship). There are more things we want to do.”
Duke (27-2, 15-1 ACC) needs one win against No. 18 North Carolina on Monday or in the regular-season finale at home to clinch the outright ACC title.
The Blue Devils defeated No. 2 Virginia (No. 11) 77-51 on Saturday.
ACC performance is a nice perk, but it’s not something the Blue Devils place too much emphasis on.
“We barely talked about it,” Scheyer said. “It’s not because it’s not important, it’s because this group doesn’t need motivation to play hard. I think that’s the job of a group like them. This is just the next step, and at the next step they have a chance to win an ACC Championship.”
NC State (19-10, 10-6) suffered another shock last week, losing road games to Virginia and Notre Dame. The Wolfpack sit in sixth place in the ACC, but are just one game behind North Carolina and Clemson and have tiebreakers on both teams when determining seeding for the conference tournament.
NC State has defeated nationally ranked Clemson and North Carolina this winter, so another conquest could bolster its postseason credentials. But the latest results are what could lead to potentially unsettling times.
“We lost four of five,” Wolfpack coach Will Wade said. “We really gave up two of our four losses. We played most of the game, controlled the game almost the whole game (Saturday at Notre Dame Cathedral) and just gave it away.”
Wade said the Wolfpack should be in fighting mode for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, even if most expect it to be done safely on the field. This latest setback may put some forecasts on hold.
“It’s a pretty big indictment on me and our guys on preparing,” Wade said, referring to the result against Notre Dame. “I’m really, really disappointed.”
NC State is on the decline for the third time in a row in two games of the season, but has avoided a three-game losing streak.
Duke is unlikely to be caught up in what happened in the Virginia game as its next assignment against its nearby rival.
“We’ve done it a couple of times (Saturday through Monday) and this is what March (tournaments) will be like,” Blue Devils freshman forward Cameron Boozer said. “It’s a quick turnaround, but it’s what it is. We’ll be fine.”
Boozer has scored at least 14 points in every game this season.
NC State may have serious concerns because Musa Sagnia, a 6-foot-10 reserve who would normally be expected to battle Duke’s interior strength, did not return from Saturday’s overtime loss to Notre Dame with a right ankle injury.
The Wolfpack are 4-3 in ACC home games this season. They also host Stanford in Saturday’s regular season finale.
–Field level media
