CHARLOTTE
Florida State gave Duke a scare in the ACC Tournament.
Clemson did not.
The No. 1 Blue Devils will play for a second straight ACC championship Saturday after downing the Tigers, 73-61, in the semifinals at the Spectrum Center
A night after coming within an FSU buzzer-beater of losing, the Devils had much of the heavy lifting done by halftime against the Tigers, taking a 41-22 lead after limiting Clemson to 22.2% shooting.
Duke was well on its way to the title game, where the tournament’s top seed will face second-seeded Virginia at 8:30 p.m.
Duke guard Dame Sarr (7) drives to the basket against Clemson guard Efrem Johnson (4) in the first half on Friday, March 13, 2026, during the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
The Blue Devils (31-2) had both Boozer brothers have big games. That’s expected from Cameron Boozer, who had 24 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, again taking some serious pounding.
Cayden Boozer had some shaky moments in the FSU game but some big plays late.. He followed up with 16 points and a solid floor game as the Blue Devils again adjusted to tournament life on the court without injured starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II.
“It’s been great to see him catch a rhythm,” Cam Boozer said of his brother. “We need him to step up, especially with Pat and Caleb being out. So he’s just going to continue to be aggressive, play free and make plays for others.”
With Duke’s Maliq Brown again in early foul trouble, freshman Nikolas Khamenia was off the bench quickly had one of his best all-around games, matching his season high with 14 points. That helped offset an off shooting game by Isaiah Evans, who had 6 points on 1-for-9 shooting — missing all seven of his 3-point shots — but hustled for 10 rebounds.
“I thought our defense was terrific,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “And Nik, man, what a job he did coming in and giving us energy, offense, defense. He did everything for us.”
The final seconds of the first half Friday were telling. First, Duke moved the ball with some zip in its halfcourt offense, then had Khamenia drain a 3-pointer. Khamenia lifted up three fingers as he backpedaled down court, then got a hand in the face of Clemson’s Efrem Johnson, who airballed his 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded.
Clemson’s Nick Davidson (11) defends Duke’s Nikolas Khamenia II (14) during the first half of Duke’s game against Clemson in the semifinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, March 13, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
As Duke headed to its locker room, the first to congratulate an ebullient Khamenia were Foster and Ngongba, forced to be vocal supporters from the bench this week rather than on the court because of their foot injuries.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell could only stand, hands on hips, much of the night as the Blue Devils had their way. It hurt that Clemson (24-10) had 6-11 forward Carter Welling go out with an ACL injury in the tournament opener against Wake Forest, but the Tigers were outmanned at every position, in size and talent.
“They have great length, great closing speed,” Brownell said of the Devils. “Brown is the (ACC) defensive player of the year and Boozer is really smart. They’re very well-schooled and we’re just not quite as dynamic to be able to affect that right now.”
Case in point: FSU shot 52% and had 11 made 3’s in the quarterfinal game not decided until Robert McCray V’s missed 3-pointer at the final buzzer allowed Duke to escape, 80-79. Clemson closed at 32.7% for the game.
The Tigers tried to regroup at the break and looked to attack the basket more the second half, pulling within 43-29 early. There was life on the Clemson bench. Some hope.
But Khamenia drove for a 3-point play. Cam Boozer drained a 3-pointer. The Duke lead was back to 20.
Duke’s Cameron Boozer (12) is defended by Clemson’s Nick Davidson (11) during the first half of Duke’s game against Clemson in the semifinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, March 13, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
The Tigers made another move later in the half, pulling within 55-43 with less than 10 minutes left. Evans had two points off an offensive rebound, then Boozer went to the line after being hacked and somehow getting off baseline 15-footer that nearly fell.
After Dame Sarr’s 3-pointer pushed Duke ahead 60-46, Duke’s Scheyer used a timeout. But Brownell did most of the talking on the Clemson end of the court, loudly asking for better defensive focus and not mincing words.
With their fouls mounting after some quick whistles, the Devils went zone at times in the second half. Clemson’s also had some late 3-pointers drop to trim the final margin — and enough to have Brownell second-guessing his game planning.
Carlos Boozer, the father of Duke players Cayden Boozer (2) and Cameron Boozer (12) cheers on his sons, after Cayden drew a foul and made a basket in the first half against Clemson on Friday, March 13, 2026, during the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Robert Willett [email protected]
For Clemson, the energy level did not wane but Duke had too many answers. RJ Godfrey had 18 points for the Tigers and was one of three players rotating in trying to slow Cam Boozer defensively.
The Tigers (24-10), who were 34th in the NET rankings, now await their assignment in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils figure to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, and Scheyer said Ngongba was “trending in the right direction” of being able to play.
Looking to Saturday, when someone wins and cuts down the nets at the Spectrum Center, the Blue Devils and Cavaliers played once this season – in Durham. The Devils came away with a 77-51 victory as Virginia shot 29% from the field and went 7-for-35 on 3-pointers.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom summed it up succinctly after the game: “This is a competitive sport.. You punch people and they punch us. They punched us a lot more than we punched them today.”
Duke’s Cameron Boozer (12) talks with his twin bother Cayden Boozer (2) during the second half of Duke’s 73-61 victory over Clemson in the semifinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, March 13, 2026. Ethan Hyman [email protected]
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 11:49 PM.
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Chip Alexander
The News & Observer
In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.
