ACC Basketball in North Carolina: Saturday’s Preview and Predictions

The Atlantic Coast Conference looks like the best in basketball every so often. In other seasons, the ACC takes on criticism for not fielding enough strong squads. The conference's issue in 2026 is different from either typical scenario. The ACC is filled with talented lineups that can't hold a candle to its frontrunner. 

The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils are so outstanding that their league rivals look hapless by contrast. The 28-2 Blue Devils have won all but two of their games by double-digit margins since Jan. 10. Frosh phenom Cameron Boozer is first in the ACC and sixth in the nation in scoring average with 22.6 points per game. The probable top overall seed in March Madness will face one of the two programs responsible for the blemishes on that two-loss record when North Carolina pays a visit to Duke University on Saturday. 

It's easy to forget Saturday's other ACC tilts, but speculators should try to pay attention. Wake Forest will take on a 20-9 California club that would love to play its way into the NCAA Tournament. NC State and Stanford square off in another potentially fun contest prior to Duke and UNC's main event. AP writer Marshall Ohn, previewing Saturday night's bout for ABC 11, is looking forward to a "wild rematch." 

It's yet another magical Senior Night in Cameron. The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils take on the No. 17-ranked UNC Tar Heels, an opponent that many believe will always remain Duke's greatest hoops rival. Duke will be attempting to win its eighth consecutive contest at 6:30 p.m. EST this Saturday evening. 

Whether the Tar Heels are the Blue Devils' eternal nemesis or not, their 2025-26 lineup has given other teams hope that Duke can be beaten in March. UNC's frontcourt led a spectacular 71-68 upset win over Duke on Feb. 7, with forward Caleb Wilson and center Henri Veesaar combining for 36 points and 15 boards. Perhaps a bit hungover, the Tar Heels lost a pair of ACC road games in the 10 days that followed. But they've mounted a fresh four-game winning streak coming into the clash in Cameron this weekend.

Duke is performing like a well-oiled machine, too much for even Virginia to escape without a blowout loss at the end of February. The Italian guard Dame Sarr isn't a player who pundits thought would rival Caleb Foster in the Duke backcourt, but the agile freshman's 16 points and eight rebounds from Duke's 93-64 triumph against NC State on Monday showed that coach Jon Scheyer has yet another dynamic asset peaking at season's end. The Duke Blue Devils have won their last two home games against UNC.

North Carolina State will try to claw out of an untimely three-game losing skid when the 19-11 Stanford Cardinal visits the identically 19-11 Wolfpack on NC State's Senior Day in Raleigh at 2:15 p.m. EST Saturday. Stanford's threats to spoil NC State's annual ceremony include the freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, who's currently averaging more points per game than Boozer. Okorie is fifth in the NCAA at 22.7 PPG.

The ACC has arranged for some of North Carolina's teams to end the regular season with less-fierce rivalry games. NC State and Stanford do not have an early-season contest to chew on, having not met since last year's 74-73 triumph for Stanford in the schools' first-ever meeting on hardwood. It will be hard for NCSU to respond with anything but desperation, no matter how placid the matchup looks on paper. Another discouraging defeat to end the schedule could help to boot NC State out of March Madness.

NC State guard Quadir Copeland hopes to have a better day than against Duke, which held the 6-foot-6 junior to 3-of-10 from the field in the Blue Devils' 93-64 win over the Wolfpack on Monday. Stanford prevailed 86-78 against Notre Dame on Wednesday behind Okorie's 24 points and seven assists.

Wake Forest, which already expects the hardest possible path through the ACC Tournament, is searching desperately for the kind of spark that veteran guard Myles Colvin's squad flashed early in the season. It won't be easy against the superior Cal Golden Bears on Senior Day this Saturday at 4 p.m. EST.

Wake has improved on the court over the last two weeks, though largely to no avail in the win column. BC mounted a comeback to beat Wake 68-67 last Wednesday. The Demon Deacons battled back above the .500 mark when Colvin netted 32 points in an 88-83 victory over visiting Syracuse last weekend. UVA defeated Wake Forest 75-70 in a surprisingly tough contest for the No. 13 Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Cal comes off a disappointing 72-58 loss to Pittsburgh in which only the junior marksman Dai Dai Ames scored over 10 points for the host Bears. Cal and Wake haven't had a men's hoops contest since 1993.