CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke has been picked to win its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference championship and 25th overall, while Virginia sophomore forward Thijs De Ridder was tabbed as the conference's preseason player of the year on Tuesday.
The Blue Devils received 45 of the possible 48 first-place votes from the panel of media members.
Virginia was picked to finish second, followed by Louisville and Miami, with each school receiving one vote. North Carolina was predicted to finish fifth, followed by Clemson. Syracuse, under new coach Gerry McNamara was chosen to finish 11th.
The 23-year-old De Ridder, who helped Virginia reach the ACC title game a year ago before losing to Duke 74-70, averaged 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game as a freshman.
He received 30 first-place votes for preseason player of the year, while Duke's John Blackwell had 12.
De Ridder and Blackwell were joined on the first-team All-ACC preseason team by Louisville center Flory Budinga, a Kansas transfer and last year's Big 12 Conference defensive player of the year, Duke's Patrick Ngongba II and Miami's Shelton Henderson.
The second team All-ACC included Miami's Malik Reneau, Louisville's Jackson Shelstad, Virginia's Chance Mallory, Virginia Tech's Amani Hansberry and Duke's Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje.
Boumtje Boumtje was the overwhelming choice for ACC preseason rookie of the year with 34 votes. Also making the All-Rookie team were Miami's Caleb Gaskins, Duke's Cameron Williams and Deron Rippey, North Carolina's Maximo Adams and Clemson's Harris Reynolds.
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FILE - Duke players hold up the trophy after Duke's win over Virginia in an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the men's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., March 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
Barcelona survived a scare against Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. But Bayern Munich was stunned by a late equalizer from Viking in a 3-3 draw in Norway.
Arsenal rolled over Lille and it was more misery for Manchester United.
Barcelona's 100% start to the season was under threat down 1-0 to Galatasaray in Istanbul, but the Spanish champion rallied to a 4-1 win.
Bayern was in even more trouble against Viking, trailing 2-0 at halftime before Harry Kane turned the game around with two goals after the break. Luis Diaz looked to have completed the comeback, but a red card for Michael Olise and a 90th minute goal from Herman Haugen provided another twist.
Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win at home over Lille and Atletico Madrid piled more pressure on United coach Michael Carrick with a 2-0 win at the Metropolitano.
Inter Milan fell to a surprise 4-3 home loss to Club Brugge, and Villarreal beat Napoli 3-1.
Azerbaijani outsider Sabah claimed its first win in the league phase of the competition by beating Slavia Prague 2-0.
Second-half goals from Kaheem Parris and Joy-Lance Mickels secured the historic win in Baku. The club was only founded nine years ago.
Sporting Lisbon also sealed a 2-0 win at Lens through goals from Luis Suarez and Issa Doumbia.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, left, scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Inter Milan and Club Brugge in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Atletico Madrid's Pablo Barrios celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates scoring during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Viking and Bayern Munich in Stavanger, Norway, Tuesday Oct. 13, 2026. (Carina Johansen/NTB via AP)
Viking's Peter Christiansen, left, celebrates scoring during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Viking and Bayern Munich in Stavanger, Norway, Tuesday Oct. 13, 2026. (Carina Johansen/NTB via AP)
Barcelona's Joao Cancelo, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Galatasaray and Barcelona in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, front, attends a training session in Stavanger, Norway, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Viking Stavanger and FC Bayern Munich. (Lise Aserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Barcelona's Gabriel Jesus celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Getafe in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
From left, Barcelona's Jules Kounde, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, Barcelona's Anthony Gordon, Barcelona's Rodrigo celebrate after scoring during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Getafe in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
