CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor entered Saturday night’s 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game 0-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc in his previous two tournament games.
 
That didn’t keep him from letting it fly.
 
Proctor made six 3-pointers and scored 19 points, while tournament MVP Kon Knueppel added 18 points and No. 1 Duke defeated 13th-ranked Louisville 73-62 to clinch its second ACC championship in three seasons under Jon Scheyer.
 
“He’s been playing great defense,” Scheyer said. “The shots haven’t been falling for him lately, but we knew it was only a matter of time because he’s a killer.”
 
It was Duke’s 23rd ACC title overall — the most of any team in conference history — and five more than rival North Carolina, who the Blue Devils knocked off 74-71 in a semifinal thriller on Friday, March 15. The Blue Devils also won the ACC regular-season title.
 
“Two down and one to go,” Knueppel said, referring to the upcoming NCAA Tournament in which the Blue Devils are a lock to be the No. 1 overall seed.
 
Sion James added 15 points for Duke (31-3), which played its final two tournament games without 2025 ACC Player and Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown due to injuries.
 
“Every game this season, everyone standing behind me stepped and tonight was no different,” Scheyer said. “So many guys made winning plays and that has been the story of this team.”
 
Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 29 points on five 3-pointers for Louisville (27-7), which was playing in its first ACC championship game since joining the league in 2014. The Cardinals went 18-2 in conference play during the regular season under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey after going 5-37 vs. ACC foes in the previous two seasons.
 
Kelsey praised his team for “leaving everything on the floor” over the past three days.
 
“In the last three months this team has lost twice,” Kelsey said. “So I feel strongly in my heart that the best is yet to come. ... We are excited to find out (during selection Sunday) where we are going and who are playing.”
 
Added Edwards: “We are far from done.”
 
There were nine lead changes, and neither team led by more than five before Duke broke the game open with a 12-0 run midway through the second half behind a 3 from Proctor in transition to build a 57-47 lead.
 
“We have a special group,” Scheyer said. “They are connected. They show incredible fight and incredible heart and that is what they did tonight.”
 
Takeaways
Louisville: Hepburn has been the team’s offensive catalyst this season, but Edwards’ recent play gives the Cardinals the needed scoring punch that could takes them deep into the NCAA Tournament. Edwards has averaged 24.8 points over the last six games. “He’s been on a tear, for sure,” Kelsey said.
 
Duke: The Blue Devils defense in the tournament was outstanding. They held Louisville to 9-of-35 shooting in the second half to pull away.
 
Key Moment
Patrick Ngongba II’s spinning drive along the baseline and two free throws on the ensuing drive gave Duke a 13-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
 
Key Stat
Proctor entered the game 6-of-29 from beyond the arc over his last seven games.
 
Of Note

• Duke won its league-record 23rd ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament title and the second under third-year head coach Jon Scheyer.
• The Blue Devils have now won four of the last eight ACC Tournaments that have been completed, including 2017, 2019 and 2023.
• Saturday was Duke’s ACC-record 36th appearance in the ACC Championship Game.
• The Blue Devils improved to 113-47 all-time in the ACC Tournament. Duke is also 24-8 all-time in ACC Tournament games played in Charlotte.
• Saturday’s contest was the first No. 1 seed vs. No. 2 seed matchup in the ACC Tournament since No. 1 North Carolina beat No. 2 Virginia in 2016.
• The Blue Devils have won 27 of their last 28 games.
• Kon Knueppel becomes the eighth freshman to receive the Everett Case Award as the tournament’s most valuable player, joining UNC’s Phil Ford (1975), UNC’s Sam Perkins (1981), UNC’s Jerry Stackhouse (1994), Duke’s Jason Williams (2000), UNC’s Brandan Wright (2007), Duke’s Zion Williamson (2019) and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (2023).
• Throughout the 14 games of the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, the games were decided by an average of just 7.4 points, setting a new record for the closest ACC Tournament in the 14-game format.
• Neither team led by more than five points until the 11:59 mark of the second half.
• Khaman Maluach led Duke with 10 rebounds in addition to his eight points.
• Duke was led in scoring by Tyrese Proctor with 19 points, while tournament MVP Kon Knueppel added 18.
• Louisville’s Terrence Edwards Jr. was the game’s leading scorer, logging 29 points on 12-of-29 shooting.

 
All-Tournament Team
First Team
Kon Knueppel, Duke (MVP)
Khaman Maluach, Duke
Terrence Edwards Jr., Louisville
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Andrej Stojakovic, California
 
Second Team
Chase Hunter, Clemson
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Duncan Powell, Georgia Tech
Ven-Allen Lubin, North Carolina