Mar 7, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA;Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) drives to the basket as North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jarin Stevenson (15) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Duke Blue Devils won 76-61. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Duke Awarded Long Break Before Postseason Action

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Hugh Straine | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 8:00 PM ET

The Duke Blue Devils ended their 2025-26 regular season with a 29-2 overall record and a 17-1 record in ACC play. The Blue Devils are currently the No. 1 overall projected seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25, the No. 1 team in the NCAA NET Rankings, and the No. 1 team at KenPom.

Duke capped off its dominant regular season slate with a 76-61 victory over No. 17 North Carolina (24-7, 12-6 ACC) at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. UNC was without star freshman forward Caleb Wilson, who was ruled out for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign last Friday.

Watch Today's Episode Below

However, the Blue Devils are now dealing with significant injuries themselves, as sophomore center Patrick Ngongba and junior guard Caleb Foster are both expected to miss the entirety of the ACC Tournament, both dealing with foot injuries. The hope is that both will be ready for the NCAA Tournament.

Nonetheless, Duke heads into postseason play as the team to beat in college basketball. It finished the regular season with a 15-2 record in Quadrant 1 games, a 20-2 record across the first two quadrants, a 15-0 record at home, and an 11-2 record against AP Top 25 teams.

The Blue Devils earned the outright ACC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the second season in a row.

Despite some serious injury concerns around the team, it's fairly difficult to see another program taking the Blue Devils down in the ACC Tournament, given how it ran through the rest of the conference towards the back half of league play.

Duke ended the season on an eight-game win streak, winning those games by an average margin of 23.1 points. The Blue Devils' only loss in ACC play came off a buzzer-beater three in Chapel Hill to the Tar Heels.

Blue Devils Awarded Long Break Before Postseason Action

The Blue Devils earned the double-bye, as the top four seeds in the ACC Tournament do. The conference tournament begins on March 10, but Duke will not suit up until March 12. Duke will face the winner of 8-seed Florida State (17-14, 10-8 ACC) and 9-seed California (21-10, 9-9 ACC) in the Quarterfinals.

North Carolina earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, meaning if both squads win their first game, they will meet up in the ACC Tournament Semifinals for the second season in a row.

This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: