ACC Tournament live updates: As Duke wins 23rd ACC title, it expects Flagg back for NCAAs
News & Observer writers Steve Wiseman and Luke DeCock, as well as Charlotte Observer writers Alex Zietlow and Scott Fowler, will be sending along notes and analysis from the Duke-Louisville ACC Tournament final in Charlotte. See those updates below. Refresh this link for updates.
Playing without league player of the year Cooper Flagg, No. 1-ranked Duke did what it did for most of the ACC season -- shove aside a league foe.
The Blue Devils captured the program’s 23rd ACC championship, rallying from a five-point halftime deficit to beat second-seeded Louisville, 73-62, in the ACC Tournament championship game at Spectrum Center.
Duke (31-3) won its second league title under coach Jon Scheyer, marking the first time in league history a coach has won the ACC twice in his first three seasons as a head coach.
Tyrese Proctor scored 19 points while Kon Knueppel added 18 and Sion James 15 for the Blue Devils, who won 22 of its 23 games against league teams this season.
Live updates from Spectrum Center
Second half
4:05: Playing in its 36th ACC Tournament final, Duke is closing in on its 23rd ACC men’s basketball championship with a 68-55 lead over No. 2 seed Louisville. The Blue Devils have held Louisville to 6 of 26 second-half shooting (23.1%). Duke’s leading scorers: Tyrese Proctor (18), Kon Knueppel (17) and Sion James (13).
7:56: While Duke continued to suffocate the Cardinals, the Blue Devils had things humming on offense over the first 12 minutes of the second half to take a 62-51 lead. Duke made 8 of its first 13 shots with Sion James scoring 10 points and Tyrese Proctor nine during the second half. Proctor leads Duke with 18 points while Kon Knueppel scored 14.
12:23: A calling card all season, Duke’s defense showed up big time to start the second half. Louisville made just 3 of its first 13 shots after halftime, making only 1 of 6 3-pointers, allowing Duke to build a 52-47 lead and causing Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey to burn a timeout. On the offensive end, Sion James scored 10 points during Duke’s second-half push to erase Louisville’s five-point halftime lead.
14:28: Late getting to the first media timeout of the second half as the battle continues. Duke and Louisville are tied at 45 in a nip-and-tuck fight for the league title. After leading by five at half, Louisville missed its first four shots of the second half and Duke surged back to catch the Cards. Sion James scored five consecutive points for the Blue Devils.
HALFTIME: The Cardinals lead the Blue Devils, 38-33, as the intermission of the ACC Tournament final arrives. Good ol’ fashioned physical, championship basketball, with a hero emerging in Terrence Edwards, who leads all scorers with 15 points. Duke’s leading scorer is Tyrese Proctor with 9, followed closely by Kon Knueppel with 8.
First half
22.9 seconds: Have a day, Terrence Edwards! The Louisville guard is getting whatever he wants, and his 15-point contribution is why the Cardinals lead, 38-33. Duke burn a timeout to get a good last shot.
3:38: We’re all tied up at 28 as the final first-half media timeout arrives. Kon Knueppel has 6 points on 2-of-4 shooting, but the two misses were wide-open 3s that he’ll make sooner rather than later. On the Louisville side, Terrence Edwards Jr. has played as advertised: 4-of-9 for 10 points — with two 3s and two assists. Both teams seem to feeling each other out. Both too, it seems, are feeling the effects of the down-to-the-wire and emotionally draining wins they earned on Friday night.
7:43: Under-8 media timeout. Duke still up over Louisville, 23-21. No foul trouble to report, outside of Louisville big man Noah Waterman, who has 2. Both teams are shooting at or above 50% from the field — the Cardinals are 9-of-16; the Blue Devils are 8-of-16. The difference, truly, is that four of those FG makes for Duke were from 3.
8:52: Noah Waterman, big man for Louisville, was called for a Flagrant 1 foul after he and Patrick Ngongba collided and ended with Ngongba on the hardwood. Ngongba missed his one free throw.
11:51: Under-12 timeout. Duke clings to a 17-15 lead, many thanks to Isaiah Evans’ pair of 3s and also a Tyrese Proctor 3 — one that caused him to toss up his arms after it swished through, a relief after a rough shooting tournament for the junior guard. Evans hasn’t shied away from Saturday’s moment at all: He’s 2-for-2 and has played solid defense whenever he’s switched onto Louisville leading scorer Chucky Hepburn. After his second 3, Evans insisted to head coach Jon Scheyer on running “slice,” a horns-action set that featured a hand-off from a big man to him and to let him cook. A Louisville switch prevented the action — but Scheyer gave him the reins nonetheless.
15:47: Duke leads, 8-7, as the first media timeout arrives in the 2025 ACC Tournament championship game. The Blue Devils are in pursuit of their 23rd title and their second in three years. Louisville opens the scoring with a Chucky Hepburn bucket, and Duke responds with 6 straight points. Hepburn has all 7 of the Cardinals’ points — in fact, he and Terrence Edwards Jr. are the only ones who’ve put up a shot thus far.
Will Cooper Flagg play in the NCAA Tournament? An update
As No. 1 Duke is battling No. 13 Louisville in Saturday’s ACC Tournament final in Charlotte without league player of the year Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils fully expect the star freshman to be back for the NCAA Tournament.
During an interview on CBS earlier Saturday, NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt said Duke and the ACC informed the committee the 6-9 forward’s ankle injury should not prevent him from playing next week. Gavitt provided the information in response to a question about if Flagg’s injury could impact Duke’s seeding.
Flagg, who leads Duke (30-3) in scoring (18.9 points), rebounding (7.5), assists (4.1), steals (1.5) and blocked shots (1.2) per game, sprained his left ankle early in the Blue Devils’ 78-70 quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech at the Spectrum Center on Thursday. Subsequent X-rays showed no broken bones and he was diagnosed with a sprained ankle. He’s not been in uniform for Duke’s 74-71 semifinal win over North Carolina or the championship game. Prior to the injury, Flagg had started every game for the Blue Devils this season.
Moment of silence before the game
On-court, the ACC held a moment of silence prior to the start of the championship contest. It did so for the victims of American Airlines Flight 5342, a flight that claimed the lives of 67 passengers in January after a military helicopter collided with a passenger jet over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
All four of the crew were Charlotte based: Captain Jonathan Campos, First Officer and Honorary Captain Samuel Lilly and flight attendants Danasia Elder and Ian Epstein.
Dick Vitale on the call
Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale arrived at the Spectrum Center on Saturday to call the ACC championship game. The 85-year-old Vitale, who has battled cancer for the past four years and has been declared cancer free, had not called a game since the 2023 Final Four before returning to call Clemson’s 77-71 win over Duke on Feb. 8 at Littlejohn Coliseum.
A week later, he made a return appearance at Cameron Indoor Stadium to call Duke’s 106-70 win over Stanford. During pregame that day, he rang a bell on the court to signify the successful end of his cancer treatments.
ACC tournament schedule
At Spectrum Center, Charlotte
Tuesday’s games
Game 1: No. 12 Notre Dame 55, No. 13 Pittsburgh 54
Game 2: No. 15 California 82, No. 10 Virginia Tech 73, 2OT
Game 3: No. 14 Syracuse 66, No. 11 Florida State 62
Wednesday’s games
Game 4: No. 8 Georgia Tech 66, No. 9 Virginia 60
Game 5: No. 5 UNC 76, No. 12 Notre Dame 56
Game 6: No. 7 Stanford 78, No. 15 Cal 73
Game 7: No. 6 SMU 73, No. 14 Syracuse 53
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 1 Duke 78, No. 8 Georgia Tech 70
Game 9: No. 5 North Carolina 68, No. 4 Wake Forest 59
Game 10: No. 2 Louisville 75, No. 7 Stanford 73
Game 11: No. 3 Clemson 57, No. 6 SMU 54
Friday’s semifinals
Game 12: No. 1 Duke 74, No. 5 North Carolina 71
Game 13: No. 2 Louisville 76, No. 3 Clemson 73
Saturday’s championship game
Game 14: No. 1 Duke (30-3) vs. No. 2 Louisville (27-6), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 8:07 PM with the headline "ACC Tournament live updates: As Duke wins 23rd ACC title, it expects Flagg back for NCAAs."