It turns out that Duke men’s basketball is more than freshman sensation Cooper Flagg.
Without the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Blue Devils defeated Louisville 73-62 in the ACC tournament championship game on Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Duke overcame a five-point first-half deficit to outscore the Cardinals 40-24 in the second half.
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Tyrese Proctor led Duke with 19 points on six 3-pointers, a new career-high. Kon Knueppel added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Sion James finished with 15 points.
The Blue Devils limited Louisville to 25.7% shooting in the second half, despite a 29-point effort from Terrence Edwards Jr. Chucky Hepburn was limited to 14 points on 5 of 16 shooting.
Duke has won a league-best 23 conference tournament championships, including two in the last three seasons. The Cardinals, who joined the ACC in 2014, have never won an ACC tournament. Duke leads the all-time series 17-9 vs. Louisville, including seven consecutive wins.
Duke and Louisville each earned double-byes in the tournament after finishing as the top two teams in the conference during the regular season. The Blue Devils defeated Georgia Tech (78-70) and North Carolina (74-71), while the Cardinals have wins over Stanford (75-73) and No. 10 Clemson (76-73) to advance to the championship.
The Blue Devils have won a league-best 22 conference tournament championships, including in 2023. The Cardinals, which joined the ACC in 2014, have never won an ACC tournament.
Check out all the scores, updates and highlights from the Duke-Louisville ACC basketball tournament championship game:
Duke vs Louisville score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Duke vs Louisville live updates
Final: Duke 73, Louisville 62
Duke wins ACC tournament championship
Duke is the ACC tournament champion for the 23rd time in program history. The Blue Devils outscored Louisville 40-24 in the second half to pull out a 73-62 win despite being without freshman sensation Cooper Flagg.
With the win and Auburn’s loss to Tennessee in the SEC tournament semifinal, the Blue Devils could have clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke is dominating without Cooper Flagg
Cooper Flagg might be the best player in the nation. But his absence has not stopped the Blue Devils from dominating the second half of the ACC championship game. Duke leads 68-55 with 4:05 left at the final media timeout.
Duke has outscored Louisville 35-17 in the second half. The Cardinals are shooting 6 of 26 (23.1%) in the second half.
Duke in complete control of ACC championship game
The Blue Devils hold an 11-point lead at 62-51 with 7:56 left at the under-8 media timeout. After allowing Louisville to shoot 55% from the field in the first half, the Cardinals have been limited to 23.8% in the second half.
Tyrese Proctor has three second-half 3-pointers and six for the game, which is a career high. He leads Duke with 18 points. Terrence Edwards continues to lead all scorers with 24 points. The rest of the Cardinals have only 27 points.
Duke on 12-0 run, lead by double digits
Tyrese Proctor is finding his stroke and now the Duke run is at 12-0. The Blue Devils hold the largest lead of the game at 57-47 with 11:08 left in the game.
Duke is shooting 9 of 20 from 3-point range and has hit four in the second half.
Duke retakes control of ACC championship game
The Blue Devils have their biggest lead of the game at 52-47 with 12:23 left in the game following a 7-0 run. Sion James hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to five and force a Louisville timeout. James is up to 13 points, with 10 coming in the second half.
Duke has outscored Louisville 19-9 in the second half.
Sion James ties the game at 45
With 14:28 left in the championship game, it’s tied 45-45 after Sion James hits a 3-pointer. Louisville’s five-point halftime lead is gone. The game has now featured eight lead changes and seven ties.
Halftime: Louisville 38, Duke 33
Louisville leads Duke at halftime of ACC tournament championship game
The Cardinals ended the first half on a 7-0 run and holds a 38-33 halftime lead. Terrence Edwards Jr. has 15 points to lead all scorers on 6 of 12 shooting and is 3 of 5 from 3-point range. The Cardinals are shooting 55.2% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range.
Duke is shooting 42.9% from the field and ended the first half on a scoring drought of two minutes and 15 seconds. Despite leading for 12 minutes of the first half, the Blue Devils’ largest lead was just two points.
Louisville takes largest lead of first half
A 7-0 run by Louisville forces Duke to call a timeout with 22 seconds remaining in the half. The Cardinals have their largest lead of the game at 38-33. Terrence Edwards Jr. is up to 15 points.
Terrence Edwards Jr. ties game with 3-pointer
Louisville’s Terrence Edwards hits a 3-pointer to even the score 28-28. We have reached the under-4 media timeout with both teams playing each other even so far.
Edwards has a game-high 10 points. Tyrese Proctor leads the Blue Devils with nine points, all of them coming on 3-pointers. Both teams have shot a combined five free throws through the first 16-plus minutes.
Duke leading for most of first half
Duke has continued to lead for much of the first half and holds a 23-21 lead with 7:43 left in the first half at the under-8 timeout. Duke is shooting 50% from the field, while Louisville is shooting 56.3%. The Cardinals have turned the ball over six times, however.
Noah Waterman called for a flagrant-1 foul
Louisville’s Noah Waterman is called for a flagrant foul after running into Patrick Ngongba. The foul on Waterman was elevated after a review.
Duke maintains lead over Louisville
Noah Waterman called for a flagrant-one foul
Louisville’s Noah Waterman is called for a flagrant foul after running into Patrick Ngongba. The foul on Waterman was elevated after a review.
Isaiah Evans has knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and the Blue Devils lead 17-15 at the under-12 media timeout with 11:51 left in the first half. Hepburn still leads the way with seven points for Louisville.
The Cardinals have already turned the ball over three times and allowed five points off them. Louisville is shooting 60% from the field early on, while Duke is at 50%.
Duke jumps out to an early lead
Duke leads 8-7 at the first media timeout with 15:47 left in the first half. Khaman Maluach has a pair of dunks for the Blue Devils. Chucky Hepburn has all seven points so far for the Cardinals.
Pregame
Starting lineups for Duke, Louisville in ACC tournament championship game
Here’s a look at the starting lineups for both Duke and Louisville in the ACC tournament championship game:
Duke
G: Isaiah Evans
G: Tyrese Proctor
G: Kon Knueppel
G: Sion James
C: Khaman Maluach
Louisville:
G: J’Vonne Hadley
G: Terrence Edwards Jr.
G: Chucky Hepburn
F: James Scott
F: Noah Waterman
Cooper Flagg injury update
Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg is out for today’s ACC championship game after sustaining an ankle injury against Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals. Duke is hopeful, however, that Flagg will be healthy for the NCAA tournament, as NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports.
‘What we understand from communication with Duke and the ACC is that Cooper Flagg will be available for the NCAA Tournament,’ Gavitt said to CBS. ‘So, don’t expect that to impact their seeding. He is not the only significant injury we are tracking. … player availability is always a concern and a consideration.’
Duke vs Louisville time today
Date: Saturday, March 15
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Spectrum Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
The 2025 men’s ACC basketball tournament championship game between the Blue Devils and Cardinals will be played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, March 15.
What channel is Duke vs Louisville game on today?
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming options: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)
The 2025 men’s ACC tournament championship game between Duke and Louisville will be broadcast on ESPN. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Duke vs Louisville history
Series record: Duke leads, 16-9
Duke’s last win: Dec. 8, 2024 (76-65)
Louisville’s last win: Feb. 27, 2021 (80-73)
Duke vs Louisville predictions
‘The Cardinals are experiencing a revival, but the Blue Devils are the standard this season. Duke will once again show off its depth before climbing the ladder to celebrate a championship.’
Duke vs Louisville basketball betting odds
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Saturday, March 15:
Spread: Duke (-6.5)
Over/under: 147.5
Moneyline: Duke (-275) | Louisville (+220)
Duke men’s basketball schedule 2024-25
Here’s a look at Duke’s last five results. To view the Blue Devils’ full 2024-25 schedule, click here.
Saturday, March 1: No. 2 Duke 100, Florida State 65
Monday, March 3: No. 2 Duke 93, Wake Forest 60
Saturday, March 8: No. 2 Duke 82, North Carolina 69
Thursday, March 13: No. 1 Duke 78, Georgia Tech 70 (ACC Tournament)
Friday, March 14: No. 1 Duke 74, North Carolina 71 (ACC Tournament)
Louisville men’s basketball schedule 2024-25
Saturday, March 1: No. 17 Louisville 79, Pitt 68
Wednesday, March 5: No. 13 Louisville 85, Cal 68
Saturday, March 8: No. 13 Louisville 68, Stanford 48
Thursday, March 13: No. 13 Louisville 75, Stanford 73 (ACC Tournament)
Friday, March 14: No. 13 Louisville 76, No. 10 Clemson 73 (ACC Tournament)
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