Duke Wins ACC Title Amid Key Injuries: Can They Win Hurt? + Women’s NCAA Tournament Top 16 Seeds Take Shape

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex break down the top 16 seeds in the Women’s NCAA Tournament and analyze Duke's NCAA Tournament chances without Ngongba II and Foster.

The Saturday night championship game of the 2026 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 14 in Charlotte and featured the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball against the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball. Duke defeated 74-70. Duke was led by Isaiah Evans, who scored 20 points, while Cameron Boozer sealed the victory with two clutch free throws in the final seconds. The win gave Duke its second straight ACC tournament title under head coach Jon Scheyer and added another championship to the program’s long history in the conference. Both teams were already expected to make the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, so the game also helped determine their seeding heading into March Madness. Duke won this tournament championship without the services of two starters, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II. Assuming both miss the NCAA Tournament, how much does the potential absence of both Foster and Ngongba II affect Duke's chances?

The seeding for both the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament is determined through a process called bracketology, where the NCAA selection committees rank teams based on their performance during the season. In the women’s tournament, the four No. 1 seeds are the UConn Huskies women's basketball, UCLA Bruins women's basketball, Texas Longhorns women's basketball, and South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball. UConn earned the overall No. 1 seed after completing an undefeated regular season and entering the tournament on a long winning streak. Did the NCAA selection committees get it right? Was anyone ranked incorrectly?