Duke's second-half surge pushes Blue Devils past Louisville for 23rd ACC championship

Alex Zietlow, The Charlotte Observer on Mar 15, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Late in the second half, Louisville schemed open the matchup it wanted: The Cardinals’ unrelenting guard Terrence Edwards Jr. one-on-one against Duke’s 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach.

A speedster against a big. Louisville’s unstoppable force Saturday on the perimeter, on an island, in need of a key bucket to keep the ACC Tournament final within reach as the game neared its end.

But as the Cardinals’ guard and leader-of-all-scorers Saturday rose up for a layup, Maluach swatted the chance away and mean-mugged to the crowd. Louisville had done everything right — but in the end, no matter who played, no matter who guarded who, it was Duke that stood tallest on Saturday, as it had all season.

The Blue Devils defeated Louisville, 73-62, in Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The win came with National Player of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg and the team’s second-best defender, Maliq Brown, on the bench. It came 24 hours after a gritty win over North Carolina, one that a lesser team would’ve had a hangover from.

And it came decisively — after a 15-2 second-half run — similar to the rest of the season.

Duke will enter the NCAA Tournament sitting at 30-3 on the year having won every trophy it could. Their 36th ACC Tournament championship appearance ended in a 23rd title, as well as head coach Jon Scheyer’s second ACC championship in three years.

The Blue Devils were led by Tyrese Proctor, who bounced back after a few rough shooting nights to end with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Kon Knueppel added 18 points, and Sion James added 15. The team shot 44% from the field, 37% from 3 and shot 24 free throws — all outpacing the Cardinals.

Edwards led Louisville with 29 points — including 15 in the first half — and Defensive Player of the Year Chucky Hepburn added 14.

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