With yet another ACC Championship and history-making night in their back pockets, the Duke Blue Devils have cemented themselves atop the national rankings with the NCAA Tournament right around the corner.
Despite losing two starters to injury and head coach Jon Scheyer having to play chess, instead of checkers, to win the back-to-back conference title, one moment from the championship game proved that Duke is right where it needs to be this March.
After a successful offensive possession for the Blue Devils (unsurprisingly), the five players on the court were back on defense, and then, without any cue or conversation, all five bent down to slap the ground out of excitement, camaraderie, and intensity.
The five-man floor snap, which was very possibly yet another historic moment for college hoops, was the perfect personification of this team's connectedness as the Big Dance rises over the horizon.
Blue Devils' rebuilt lineup isn't missing a step
Of course, with Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II missing the ACC Tournament, quite a few people were worried that Scheyer wouldn't be able to build a lineup ready for the postseason. Clearly, they were wrong.
Cameron Boozer, Isaiah Evans, Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, and Nikolas Khamenia became yet another unstoppable quintet for Duke, and their in-sync floor slapping was just the embodiment of that fact.
5-man floor slap ⁉️⁉️⁉️ pic.twitter.com/FHtZoxJZl3
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 15, 2026
While senior center Maliq Brown filled the starting role for Ngongba, Scheyer quickly substituted Khamenia onto the court in both the ACC Championship and semifinal matchups. The smaller lineup was as dominant as possible.
Against the Virginia Cavaliers in the conference title game, the Boozer brothers, Evans, Khamenia, and Sarr combined for 67 of Duke's 74 points. Brown and sophomore guard Darren Harris, who also came off the bench, combined for the final seven points.
Cayden Boozer, just like in the other two ACC Tournament games, continued his starting role at point guard, filling in for junior Caleb Foster. As the tournament progressed, so did Boozer and his 16-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance against UVA proved that he's ready for the Big Dance.