The Duke men’s basketball team is the preseason ACC favorite.
The Blue Devils were selected as the top team in the 2026-27 ACC preseason media poll, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon. Duke got 45 out of 48 first-place votes in the poll. Virginia (second), Louisville (third) and Miami (fourth) all received one first-place vote each as North Carolina rounded out the top-5 of the poll in the first season of the Michael Malone era in Chapel Hill.
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NC State and first-year coach Justin Gainey were voted to finish eighth in the conference, just trailing Clemson (sixth) and Florida State (seventh).
Duke, though, earned a ton of accolades. The Blue Devils had three players of the 2026-27 Preseason All-ACC First and Second teams — the most of any team in the conference. Guard John Blackwell and forward Patrick Ngongba II were voted to the conference’s first team, with freshman big Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje earning a spot on the second team. Boumtje Boumtje was named the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year with 34 out of 48 total votes.
Blackwell finished second in the ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting with 12 votes, an honor that went to Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder.
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Neither the Tar Heels nor the Wolfpack earned any spots on the first or second teams, but UNC freshman forward Maximo Adams did get three votes for the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year award — another award that featured a lot of Duke, with Cameron Williams earning four votes and Deron Rippey earning one.
The Blue Devils went 35-3 last season, advancing to the Elite Eight before falling to UConn on a game-winning 3 by then-Huskies freshman Braylon Mullins — completing the comeback after Duke led by 15 points at halftime.
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Here’s a look at the full 2026 ACC Preseason Poll.
1. Duke (45), 861
2. Virginia (1), 778
3. Louisville (1), 758
4. Miami (1), 753
5. North Carolina, 658
6. Clemson, 623
7. Florida State, 519
8. NC State, 502
9. Virginia Tech, 489
10. SMU, 443
11. Syracuse, 353
12. Pitt, 323
13. Stanford, 267
14. Wake Forest, 234
15. California, 225
16. Notre Dame, 153
17. Boston College, 150
18. Georgia Tech, 119
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 48
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 47
John Blackwell, Duke, 44
Shelton Henderson, Miami, 44
Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 42
Malik Reneau, Miami, 30
Jackson Shelstad, Louisville, 24
Chance Mallory, Virginia, 23
Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech, 21
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke, 21
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 30 votes
John Blackwell, Duke, 12
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 3
Malik Reneau, Miami, 2
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke, 1
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Duke, 34 votes
Caleb Gaskins, Miami, 5
Cameron Williams, Duke, 4
Maximo Adams, North Carolina, 3
Harris Reynolds, Clemson, 1
Deron Rippey, Duke, 1