Duke tops ACC preseason basketball poll, with Virginia second and Louisville third
Duke received 45 first-place votes in the ACC men’s basketball preseason poll, ahead of Virginia, Louisville and Miami. Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder was named preseason player of the year, while Duke’s Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje earned rookie of the year honors.
cbssports.comDuke named No.1 in ACC basketball 2026-27 preseason poll: Virginia, Clemson overrated; Miami underrated
sports.yahoo.comLouisville picked 3rd in ACC men’s basketball preseason poll
Duke leads the poll
Duke topped the ACC’s 2026-27 preseason media poll with 861 points and 45 first-place votes. Virginia finished second with 778 points, followed by Louisville with 758 and Miami with 753; each received one first-place vote.
North Carolina was fifth, followed by Clemson, Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech and SMU to complete the top 10.
Preseason player honors
Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder was voted preseason ACC player of the year with 30 votes, ahead of Duke’s John Blackwell with 12. Duke freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje received 34 votes to win preseason rookie of the year honors.
De Ridder and Blackwell were joined on the preseason All-ACC first team by Louisville’s Flory Bidunga, Miami’s Shelton Henderson and Duke’s Patrick Ngongba II.
Roster changes shape the contenders
Duke returns Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Dame Sarr and Ngongba, while adding former Wisconsin player Blackwell and a freshman class led by Boumtje Boumtje. Louisville added former Kansas big man Bidunga, while Miami brought in former Villanova guard Acaden Lewis and Georgia big man Somto Cyril.
North Carolina enters the season under Michael Malone, who has not previously been a college head coach. Sixth-ranked Clemson announced Tuesday that Zac Foster had torn the ACL in the same knee injured last December and was out indefinitely.
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