Duke Upsets Top-Ranked Michigan 68-63 in Washington D.C. Showdown

Third-ranked Duke defeated the nation's top team Michigan 68-63 in a highly anticipated matchup in Washington D.C. Cameron Boozer led the Blue Devils with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Duke dominated the boards to secure the victory.

Third-ranked Duke delivered a statement victory Saturday night, defeating the nation’s number one team Michigan 68-63 in a highly anticipated neutral-site battle in Washington D.C.

Cameron Boozer paced the Blue Devils’ attack with 18 points while controlling the glass with a game-leading 10 rebounds. Duke (25-2) received strong support from Isaiah Evans who contributed 14 points, followed by Caleb Foster with 12 and Patrick Ngongba II adding 11. Boozer also facilitated the offense effectively, dishing out a game-high seven assists as the Blue Devils dominated the rebounding battle 41-28.

For Michigan (25-2), Yaxel Lendeborg provided the offensive spark with 21 points, including 16 in the opening half. Morez Johnson Jr. chipped in 13 points while Aday Mara was perfect from the floor, converting all four field goal attempts for 10 points despite foul difficulties. However, the Wolverines struggled with their shooting touch, connecting on just 40% of their field goals and managing only 6-of-25 attempts from beyond the arc. The loss snapped Michigan’s 11-game winning streak.

The matchup drew significant attention, with the NCAA Tournament selection committee earlier that day identifying Michigan and Duke as the top two overall seeds in their bracket preview. A crowd of 20,537 witnessed the contest, marking the season’s largest attendance for a neutral-site game.

In other Top 25 action, fourth-ranked Arizona stunned second-ranked Houston 73-66 on the road, with reserve Anthony Dell’Orso matching his season-best 22 points. The victory gave Arizona (25-2, 12-2 Big 12) sole possession of the conference lead while handing Houston (23-4, 11-3) their first home defeat of the season.

Fifth-ranked UConn bounced back from a recent setback, defeating Villanova 73-63 in Philadelphia. Alex Karaban scored eight of his 12 points after halftime as the Huskies (25-3, 15-2 Big East) received balanced scoring from all five starters.

In a major upset, 23rd-ranked BYU knocked off sixth-ranked Iowa State 79-69 behind AJ Dybantsa’s outstanding performance of 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The Cougars improved to 11-2 at home in Provo, Utah.

Unranked Cincinnati delivered the day’s biggest shock, routing eighth-ranked Kansas 84-68 in Lawrence. Moustapha Thiam led the Bearcats with 28 points and eight rebounds in what became the most lopsided loss to an unranked opponent during Bill Self’s 23-year tenure with the Jayhawks.

Ninth-ranked Nebraska got back on track with an 87-64 victory over Penn State, powered by Pryce Sandfort’s career-high 33 points. Sandfort connected on a personal-best eight three-pointers, extending his school record for threes in a season to 98.

UCLA provided the day’s most dramatic finish, with Donovan Dent driving the length of the court for a game-winning layup as time expired in overtime to defeat 10th-ranked Illinois 95-94. Dent finished with 14 points and a career-high 15 assists for the Bruins.

Other notable results included 11th-ranked Gonzaga holding off Pacific 71-62 behind Graham Ike’s 20 points, which extended his streak of 20-point games to nine consecutive contests, breaking a school record. Twelfth-ranked Florida continued their hot streak with a 94-75 victory over Ole Miss for their seventh straight win, while 13th-ranked Texas Tech bounced back from adversity to rout Kansas State 100-72.

Fourteenth-ranked Virginia extended their winning streak to eight games with an 86-83 victory over Miami, sealed by Chance Mallory’s three free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining. Sixteenth-ranked North Carolina got 19 points from Henri Veesaar in his return to defeat Syracuse 77-64.

Seventeenth-ranked St. John’s continued their impressive run, extending their winning streak to 13 games with an 81-52 domination of Creighton. The Red Storm now lead the Big East Conference and are riding their longest winning streak since 1985.

In upset victories by unranked teams, Tennessee knocked off 19th-ranked Vanderbilt 69-65 behind 17 points from Ja’Kobi Gillespie, while 20th-ranked Arkansas overcame an early deficit to defeat Missouri 94-86.

Twenty-first-ranked Louisville bounced back from a difficult loss earlier in the week, defeating Georgia Tech 87-70 in a dominant home performance. Finally, 25th-ranked Alabama completed the day’s action with a 90-83 victory over LSU, extending their winning streak to six games.