Mar 15, 2026
3 min read
In Saturday night's ACC Championship Game, No. 2 Virginia fell 74-70 to top-ranked Duke at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Autor: Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In the ACC Championship Game for the ages, No. 2 seed Virginia stayed tied with No. 1 seed Duke.1, the nation's top team, for most of the way and tied 66-66 with three minutes to play.
The competing slogans "Let's Go, Hoos!"and "Let's go, Duke!"the volume turned up inside Spectrum Center as fans held their breath awaiting a tense finish late Saturday night.
The two best teams in the conference did not disappoint.With 5.8 seconds to play, it was a two-point game, with the Cavaliers trailing the Blue Devils.But UVA couldn't steal and had to foul, and two free throws by Cameron Boozer with 3.9 seconds left capped the scoring in the Devils' 74-70 win.
"It was a tough game," Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said."I think people know that Virginia is pretty good, but I don't think everybody does. So they tested us in every way."
Ryan Odom, in his first year as UVA head coach, said his players "stepped up. We obviously didn't win. Duke made the plays they needed to finish the game. I thought we had a good chance when the game was tied and it didn't work out today... We're very disappointed right now, but we're looking forward to seeing what happens."
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced Sunday night, and Virginia (29-5), ranked 10th nationally, is expected to be no worse than the No. 4 seed.
"We have more basketball to play, so we have to learn from this," said guard Malik Thomas, who led the Hoos with 18 points, "We have to go home, rest our bodies, and then learn from our mistakes, learn what it takes to win the game."
Point guard Dallin Hall said the Wahoos are "lucky that now we can keep playing for something even bigger. But for him to come this close and let it go, it definitely hurts. I have to take it and learn from it."
They left their mark 👊#GoHoos pic.tvitter.com/FKcfLknaha
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 15, 2026
Duke (32-2), which has won two straight ACC championships, is a lock to be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA.
Losing such a close game to the Blue Devils is "a little disappointing," UVA forward Devin Tillis said, "but I think there's a little bit of luck involved, because we know we can play anybody in the country. I think the first time we played them, we were a little disappointed playing at Cameron Indoor [Stadium].
In that game, on February 28th in Durham, N.Y., the Cavaliers never lost to the Blue Devils 77-51.There were 16 turnovers during the game.
"I think this time we were ready," Tillis said."We know we can compete and we have to have them on the floor. I think it showed a little bit tonight, but I still think there are more things our team can do."
In the game, UVA was 14-16 from the line.However, with 51 seconds left and Virginia leading 70-68, Thomas missed the front line of a one-on-one, and Duke took the lead.
If the Hoos were to win the ACC title, the tournament MVP award would have gone to Ugonna Onyenso.In three games in Charlotte, Virginia, the 7-footer had a record 21 blocks, breaking the mark of 14 set by Tim Duncan, who played for Odom's father, Dave, in 1995 at Wake Forest.
Onyenso was proud of his achievement, "but at the end of the day we didn't win," he said."Blocking shots is what I do and I'm really good at it. Opportunities like this help me show that I'm still good if I'm playing against the best players in the league."
20 blocks and counting 📈@UVAMensHoops Ugonna Onyenso breaks ACC Tournament record, surpassing Tim Duncan's 14 in 1995.pic.twitter.com/kbuqyz4sPS
— ACC men's basketball (@accmbb) March 15, 2026
A transfer from Kansas State, Onyenso blocked eight shots against NC State in the quarterfinals, four against Miami in the semifinals and nine against Duke.
"He took our team to another level," said junior swingman Sam Lewis, who made 7 of 11 shots Saturday, including a three-pointer, and scored 17 points.
Onyenso, known as Ugo, "was a monster today," Ryan Odom said after the championship game."He was absolutely amazing."
Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, the ACC Player of the Year, wouldn't argue with that assessment.He was just 3-of-17 from the floor against UVA, largely due to Onyenso's defensive presence. The 6-foot-9 No. 33 blocked Boozer's five shots.
Boozer said, "I was really upset, but I gave him the key points first. He's a good defender, he's a good shooter. I think there's a lot to learn in this game, but I just want to keep attacking, keep attacking, measuring, finding more ways to score."
Boozer totaled eight assists and eight rebounds, both game highs, and five of those boards came offensively.The Blue Devils' dominance on the glass hurt the Cavaliers more than anything else in the title game.Duke grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and 41 total.Virginia finished with 31 boards.
"In games like this, I think it comes down to 50-50 balls," Thomas said, "and we didn't come up with it. We lost the rebounding battle. And I think that decided the game."
