Sports
No. 1 Duke hosts No. 11 Virginia in ACC main event
Feb 24, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) drives as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Cole Certa (5) defends during the second half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images The rate of showdowns for No. 1 Duke isn’t waning as the second-to-last weekend of the regular season arrives.
The Blue Devils will face No. 11 Virginia in a battle for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
“Every conference win that you can get is a big one,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
If Duke (26-2, 14-1 ACC) wins, it clinches the top seed for the ACC tournament. Streaking Virginia (25-3, 13-2) can pull even in the standings with a win.
“I think the big key is how we continue to get better,” Scheyer said. “I think that’s a big thing for us. Just not staying the same. We call it winning the details. How can we win the details, win in the margins, where we’re better in two and a half weeks than we are right now?”
The tuneups for this matchup were impressive from both teams.
Duke went to Notre Dame and slammed the Fighting Irish 100-56 on Tuesday. At the same time, the Cavaliers stretched their winning streak to nine games by drilling visiting NC State 90-61.
“We’re just going to do what we always do, and that’s get ready for the next one,” Virginia coach Ryan Odom said. “We know the challenge that lies ahead there. The No. 1 team in the country, extremely well coached, extremely talented and together and tough.”
Duke received the No. 1 national ranking this week for the first time this season. That’s a nice tag, but there are more important goals at the moment for the Blue Devils.
“We’re playing for something bigger and we’ve got to keep growing,” freshman forward Cameron Boozer said. “Good win (Tuesday), big game Saturday. We’re taking steps in the right direction, for sure.”
Duke scored a season-high 54 first-half points in the Notre Dame game. Even with Duke reaching the 100-point mark in its last two ACC outings, Scheyer said the emphasis needs to be what the Blue Devils can do defensively.
“We have to continue to have that edge on the defensive end,” he said, “and then we have to continue to be able to work and fight for great shots against defenses that are going to make it hard for us.”
Boozer’s 22.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game are huge lifts for the Blue Devils. Virginia will try to clog the lane with 7-footers Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso, who combined for 12 blocked shots in Tuesday’s game.
The improvement angle is one that is embraced by Virginia’s players as well.
“I think we’re starting to get better at the right time, which is really important,” Cavaliers guard Dallin Hall said. “We just want to keep (improving) every day, stacking days.”
Virginia is more balanced offensively than Duke, with Thijs De Ridder averaging a team-high 16.0 points per game. He also gathers a team-best 6.3 rebounds.
Virginia is 8-1 on the road but hasn’t won in Durham since 2022. This will be Odom’s first clash with the Blue Devils since taking over the Cavaliers.
“We’re going to have to play our best to have a chance to win,” Odom said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
East-leading Nashville might be without Sam Surridge at Atlanta
Apr 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Fire FC defender Jack Elliott (3), defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi (4) and Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge (9) battle for control of the ball during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images If Nashville SC intend to extend their lead atop the MLS Eastern Conference standings with a win against host Atlanta United on Saturday night, they might have to do it without their leading scorer for a second straight match.
Sam Surridge was sidelined with a hamstring injury on Tuesday when Nashville (5-1-1, 16 points) defeated Liga MX side Club America 1-0 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal tie and secured passage to the semifinals. The Englishman, tied atop the MLS leaderboard with seven goals, is questionable for Saturday.
“He’s made some good progress … and so, right now, it’s just (him having to) clear a few hurdles with medical and performance to see if we can get him ready for (Atlanta),” Nashville head coach BJ Callaghan said.
Though Atlanta (1-5-1, 4 points) ranks near the bottom of the East, Callaghan does not take the latest chapter in the clubs’ Southeastern derby lightly.
“It doesn’t matter where anybody is on the table. The table doesn’t really matter this early in the season, anyway,” Callaghan said. “They’re going to bring out their best. We’ve had good games in the past (during) the history of both clubs, so the expectation is going to be nothing short of that.”
Atlanta United defeated Chattanooga FC 3-1 on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32, snapping a three-match losing streak across all competitions (0-2-1).
Atlanta has won just once in MLS play, but it can gain momentum with a positive result against Nashville in front of a home crowd.
“The poor results are something we can resolve before the World Cup break, but it’s also important to confidence and the emotional state of the team,” Atlanta head coach Tata Martino said through an interpreter. “What we also have to work on is not just trying to solve the results, but (improving the) confidence and emotional state of the team.”
The Five Stripes will be without Miguel Almiron (knee irritation) for up to two weeks after he felt leg discomfort during the match against Chattanooga. Steven Alzate (adductor) will be unavailable as well.
Nashville and Atlanta are deadlocked at 4-4-5 in their 13 previous regular-season matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
FC Cincinnati back home, vying for turnaround vs. streaking Fire
Apr 11, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander (10) chases after a loose ball against Toronto FC during the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images A massive opportunity to right the ship awaits FC Cincinnati Saturday night when they host the Chicago Fire.
Cincinnati (2-4-1, 7 points) has struggled mightily since winning its season opener. It has been plagued by a sluggish offense and a suspect defense, with its minus-6 goal differential tied for third-worst in the Eastern Conference. To be fair, a 6-1 drubbing on March 15 at New England represents most of that goal differential.
“It’s been inconsistent,” head coach Pat Noonan said about his team’s performance. “We just need to be more consistent with our play, home and away. We just need to be better all-around in our play, wherever we’re playing.”
Kevin Denkey will not play for Cincinnati Saturday night. He is suspended after a red card in Cincinnati’s previous match, a 1-1 draw against Toronto on April 11. Denkey leads Cincinnati with two goals, but it feels far removed from when he and Evander combined for 33 MLS goals for Cincinnati in 2025.
FC Cincinnati are 2-1-0 at home in MLS regular-season competition, and this is their first home match since March 22. They will play four home matches in the next five weeks.
Chicago (4-2-1, 13 points), currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, is off to a strong start in building on its long-awaited return to the MLS Cup playoffs a year ago.
“Since the beginning of the season, we have always shown that we have something to prove this year,” midfielder Mauricio Pineda said. “That’s what really keeps us driving: approaching every game with the mentality to win.”
The Fire are on a three-match winning streak, and this is their only road match in a six-match span stretching from April 4 through May 9.
Hugo Cuypers leads the Fire with four goals, with Jonathan Bamba next at two goals.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series 7-4-3 and swept the series in 2025. The teams will play their return match on May 2 in Chicago.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Revolution bid to stay perfect at home vs. Crew
Apr 4, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution defender Mamadou Fofana (2) reacts with defender Brayan Ceballos (3) after scoring a goal during the second half against CF Montréal at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images The New England Revolution set out to continue their dominant home form when they host the Columbus Crew on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
The home/away splits are as stark as they come for New England (3-3-0, 9 points). The Revolution have been outscored 8-2 while going 0-3-0 on the road, but are 3-0-0 with a 10-1 goal differential on their own field.
New England hasn’t allowed a goal in either of its last two home matches, which defender Mamadou Fofana felt was due to a strong effort from the entire lineup.
“We are a team. So it’s (from) the defense up to the striker … To win the game with a clean sheet, it is perfect,” Fofana said.
The offensive credit has also been spread around, as New England’s 12 goals have come from nine different players. Brayan Ceballos, Peyton Miller and Alhassan Yusuf share the team lead with two goals apiece.
By contrast, five of the Crew’s nine goals this season were scored by striker Wessam Abou Ali, who sustained a season-ending torn ACL in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Orlando City.
“When you don’t have Wes … we don’t need to change everything, but of course we need to find other ways to get more out of more players,” Columbus coach Henrik Rydstrom said.
Diego Rossi has three goals for Columbus (1-3-3, 6 points), and Max Arfsten is the only other Crew player to score.
Abou Ali’s injury is an unwelcome obstacle for a team that seemed to be finding its form. The Crew were winless (0-3-2) in their first five matches before recording a 3-1 road win over Atlanta United on April 4 and then overcoming the loss of Abou Ali to salvage the draw with Orlando.
Forward Jamal Thiare left Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup match with an apparent leg injury and is questionable for Saturday.
The Crew are 8-2-6 in their last 16 matches with the Revolution (regular season plus playoffs) and 3-0-2 in their last five trips to Foxborough.
–Field Level Media
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