No. 9 Duke’s triumph over No. 2 Auburn cannot save the ACC-SEC Challenge for their conference

No. 9 Duke picked up its biggest win of the season on Wednesday, handing No. 2 Auburn its first loss. That was the extent of the good for the ACC.

The Blue Devils emerged victorious 84-78 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but their conference was eliminated from the ACC-SEC Challenge with a terrible 14-2 loss in the event’s second year. The conference recorded just one win on each game night.

For a while, it looked like Duke was on its way to another loss. The Blue Devils had no chance and fell behind 13-2 to open the game. Their defensive performance improved after a Jon Scheyer timeout and ended the first half with a 41-23 run.

That double-digit lead narrowed to just two points at one point in the second half, but Auburn failed to close the gap. Although the Auburn rotation was dominated by upperclassmen, the difference was that a young Duke team played cleaner basketball, only committing a total of three turnovers the entire game.

Cooper Flagg, projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, led Duke with 22 points plus 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, but equally influential was freshman Isaiah Evans. Rivals’ No. 14 overall recruit in the Class of 2024 got his first real minutes of the season and made the most of it, scoring 18 points off the bench on 6 of 9 shooting (6 of 8 from 3-point range).

It was a much-needed win for Duke, which suffered losses to No. 4 Kentucky and No. 1 Kansas earlier in the season. With the ACC clearly not going to hold the prestige it has had in previous years, a big non-conference win will be hugely important for the Blue Devils to remain among the national elite as conference play ensues.

Now let’s move on to the other games.

The ACC/SEC Challenge was a bloodbath for the ACC

The decision came at the end of the first night when the SEC was eliminated 9-1. Oddly enough, the only loss was No. 4 Kentucky to unranked Clemson, but every other game was a show of force for the SEC or lack thereof for the ACC. All but two of the SEC’s wins were by double digits.

The second night didn’t start any better. No. 13 Florida blew up Virginia. The No. 10 Alabama boat entered the No. 20 UNC race. Mississippi, fresh off a 10-point loss to Butler, defeated No. 18 Pittsburgh by 33 points. Two more losses followed and then Auburn-Duke.

The only positive for the ACC: The two wins were against top 5 teams.

Here is the full scoreboard:

• South Carolina 73, Boston College 51

• Notre Dame 48, Georgia 69

• Arkansas 76, Miami 73

• cal. 93, Missouri 98

• Syracuse 70, No. 3 Tennessee 96

• No. 23 Ole Miss 86, Louisville 63

• Florida State 75, LSU 85

• Georgia Tech 61, Oklahoma 76

• Wake Forest 44, Texas A&M 57

• No. 4 Kentucky 66, Clemson 70

• Virginia 69, No. 13 Florida 87

• No. 10 Alabama 94, No. 20 UNC 79

• No. 18 Pittsburgh 57, Mississippi State 90

• Vanderbilt 80Virginia Tech 64

• Texas 63NC State 59

• No. 2 Auburn 78, No. 9 Duke 84

That won’t help any ACC team come Selection Sunday.

Over the last year or so, the ACC has overcome a number of challenges as it tries to hold its conference together and prevent the Big Ten and SEC from moving the Power 4 to Power 2 after already shrinking the Power 5. The last two days have won That doesn’t help one of college athletics’ most historic conferences fall behind.