ACC Hoops: #1 Duke wins ACC Tournament with 73-62 victory over Louisville

Charlotte NC: The Duke Blue Devils are leaving Charlotte as the ACC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, their first double championship since the early 2000’s . The Blue Devils rode another hot game from the Tournament MVP Kon Knueppel to take down the #2 seed Louisville Cardinals 73-62. For the second consecutive game, the Blue Devils played without star freshman Cooper Flagg and defensive standout Maliq Brown. Isaiah Evans earned his second straight start in his high school hometown.

After a back and forth first half, the Lousiville Cardinals were able to pull away from the Blue Devils to take a 38-33 lead into the break. Terrance Edwards was on fire for the Cardinals scoring 15 first half points. 

The Devils started the second half with 5-0 run fueled by a Kon Knueppel layin and Tyrese Proctor three pointer. Proctor entered the Championship without making a three in Charlotte going 0-5 for the previous 2 games. The second half remained close and the BLue Devils finally took the lead for good on a Patrick Ngonga free throw and a Sion James three pointer. The Devils maintained a lead of double digits over the last 10 minutes of the game to secure the Championship.

Terrence Edwards remained hot for the remainder of the game finishing with 29 points behind 5 three pointers. The only other double digit scorer for the Cardinals was Chucky Hepburn with 14 points. The Cardinals only played 7 players with both Edwards and Hepburn playing the entire 40 minutes and J’Vonne Hadley played 38.

Tyrese Proctor led the Blue Devils with 19 points on a career high 6 made three pointers. He was 1-5 from the free throw line making his last after a drought of the last two games. Tournament MVP Kon Knueppel scored 18 and had 8 rebounds. Sion James added a crucial 14 points and was the steadying factor for the entire game. Patrick Ngongba had another stellar game coming off the bench in relief of Khaman Maluach in place of Maliq Brown scoring 7 points and 3 blocks. 

The Devils had three players make the All-Tournament team. Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel made the First Team, Tyrese Proctor made the second. The Blue Devils won their 23rd ACC Tournament Championship including 2 of the last 3 in Jon Scheyer’s first 3 years as a head coach. The Blue Devils ended one of the most dominant seasons in ACC history, winning 22 total ACC games including 13 games by 20+ points. The Blue Devils also finished a “Royal Sweep” by defeating rival North Carolina 3 times during the season.

The Devils will be in consideration with Auburn, as they have all year, for the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils finished the year with a 31-1 overall record including a 84-78 win over the Auburn Tigers in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Tigers have lost 3 of their last 4 and will not be playing in the SEC Championship. The Blue Devils have earned the top seed and will be playing close at home in Raleigh in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament next week. Their potential opponents will be announced Sunday evening around 6.