Score Predictions for the ACC Championship

Get ready folks, because we have an absolute showdown on our hands for the 2026 ACC Championship tonight in Charlotte! It’s №1 Duke against №2 Virginia, and honestly, it doesn’t get much better than this top-two matchup. Duke went back to looking absolutely dominant last night. They’re riding a big winning streak and looking for back-to-back titles, while the Cavaliers have been playing fantastic under their new coaching regime. While Duke crushed them earlier this season, Virginia is looking for revenge and a chance to play spoiler, setting up a nail-biter that’s going to be a must-watch 8:30 p.m. ET tip on ESPN. Let’s find out who we think is cutting down the nets.

Jared Buck: Duke 78, Virginia 71

Look, Duke should handle business against UVA again tonight in the ACC Championship. Why? Because they just absolutely wrecked them 77–51 a couple of weeks ago. I don’t believe this matchup is anywhere near as lopsided as that game turned out to be, but Cameron Boozer is basically unstoppable right now. He’s dropping double-doubles with ease, and they’ve got serious shooters like Isaiah Evans to pop off from three.

Even with a few guys injured, Duke has a top-tier defense. They’ve won six straight and are feeling extremely confident, while Virginia is looking at a 1–32 all-time record against №1 teams, yikes. This game will depend on Cayden Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia. If Duke gets the same production out of them that they had vs. Clemson, then Duke will win without much sweat. However, if they struggle, Virginia can and most likely will pull off this upset. I’m going to trust that they produce one more night.

Talmadge Williamson: Duke 79, Virginia 69

We are on to the most elite of conference title games, the ACC Championship. We have the top two teams in Duke, who won 73–61 over Clemson, facing off against a Virginia team who took down Miami 84–62. Duke won the only matchup of the year in dominating fashion 77–51, holding Virginia to its lowest total score of the entire season with a stifling defensive performance, forcing Virginia to shoot a measly 29 percent.

This will be a huge game on Championship Saturday for most other conferences and a chance for Duke to lock the first overall seed in the NCAA Tournament while repeating as ACC Tournament Champions. However, there stands a team that wants revenge and to prove they can compete against the best, even if it means facing a Duke team that’s not 100 percent. Virginia plans on playing spoiler and winning their first ACC title since 2019.

The big task for Virginia here is can they shoot and keep up with Duke, who doesn’t look like they have lost a beat on offense and have shown they can still dominate on defense. Although Isaiah Evans shot 1–8 from the field, the Boozer brothers carried Duke. The Blue Devils also have had a surprisingly great tournament from Nikolas Khamenia, who is playing great on defense for this Duke team, while also adding 14 points last night.

I’ve just got to go with Duke here. The talent of the guards and the size of Duke is too much to overcome. Even their guards can grab offensive rebounds and they should be able to slow down this Virginia team from three with their elite perimeter defense. Give me Cameron Boozer to win ACC Tournament MVP with a MVP-sealing performance tonight, scoring 26 points and adding 12 rebounds.