CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Duke affirmed that, even after a pair of key injuries, it’s the ACC’s top team. Virginia showed it’s not far off from the No. 1 team in the nation, elevating expectations as both clubs head into the NCAA Tournament.

Isaiah Evans scored 20 points, including a pair of game clinching free throws with 12.3 seconds left, and Cayden Boozer added 16 as the No. 1 Blue Devils backed up their regular-season title with an ACC tournament championship Saturday, topping UVA 74-70.

“The first two games we were dominating. We were playing our game,” Virginia forward Thijs DeRidder told Cville Right Now. “In some parts in this game, we weren’t playing our game. We just have to learn from the mistakes we made.”

Malik Thomas scored 18 points and Sam Lewis added 17 for the Cavaliers, who got six points, eight rebounds and nine blocks from Ugo Onyenso. Onyenso blocked a tournament-record 21 shots in Virginia’s three games in Charlotte. Onyenso and Lewis earned first-team all-tournament honors, while Thomas and DeRidder made the second team. 

Virginia, in the title game for the first time since 2023, was making its 11 all-time title game appearance. It has not won an ACC crown since 2018. But despite taking a lopsided loss at Duke on Feb. 28, the Cavaliers brought belief and momentum into Saturday’s matchup.

“We had the confidence that we were going to beat them,” Devin Tillis told Cville Right Now. “We came up a little bit short tonight, and that stings.”

The teams were tied 63-63 with 5:36 to play after a 3-point play by Thomas, and 66-66 with 3:04 left after Thijs DeRidder hit one of two free throws.

Isaiah Evans missed a 3-pointer with 2:55 left, but Cayden Boozer came in for the offensive rebound and bucket to put the Blue Devils up 68-66 with 2:49 to play. 

Evans sank a pair of free throws with 1:59 left to extend to 70-66.

A basket inside by Onyenso made it 70-68 with 1:40 remaining. 

Cameron Boozer missed a pair of free throws with 1:15 left to keep Virginia’s hopes alive.

But 15 seconds later, Thomas missed the front end of a one-and-one. 

Evans free throws with 12.3 to go clinched the victory.

“Our guys stood tall,” UVA coach Ryan Odom said. “We obviously didn’t win. Duke made the plays that they needed to make down the stretch to finish it out. I thought we had a good opportunity there when it was tied, but it just didn’t go our way today.”

When Duke drilled UVA 77-51 on Feb. 28, it took a 15-point lead to the locker room at halftime. Saturday night, the Blue Devils clung to a one-shot margin, ahead 38-36 at the break. 

In the regular-season meeting, Duke hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, going 8 for 13. But Saturday night in Charlotte, the Blue Devils hit just one of their first eight attempts from 3. They finished the half 3 for 11 from beyond the arc.

Virginia looked to push the tempo in the first half, getting both teams into some sloppy up-and-down play. The Cavaliers and Blue Devils each committed six turnovers in the first half. 

“I think we did a better job of matching their physicality this time around,” guard Dallin Hall said. “We obviously hit some more shots; that always helps. I thought we just executed the game plan a lot better. There was things on the offensive and defensive end that we really wanted to hone in on, and we did a good job of doing that throughout the game.”

Virginia authored impressive wins over North Carolina State in the quarterfinals Thursday and Miami in the semifinals Friday.

Now, these Cavaliers await their NCAA Tournament seeding and draw. Most experts projected Virginia to be a 4-seed going into Saturday night’s game.

“This is a tough tournament. It’s hard to play three days in a row and play really well three days in a row,” Odom said. “I think both teams weren’t at necessarily their best, but they were competing against one another at a really high level. That’s hard to do.”