Duke tabbed to win third straight ACC title, Virginia's De Ridder named preseason player of year

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-14 · by The Associated Press

Quick Summary

Duke is projected to win the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship for a third consecutive year, receiving 45 out of 48 possible first-place votes from media members. Thijs De Ridder, a sophomore forward at Virginia, was named the ACC's preseason player of the year after averaging 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as a freshman last season. The article highlights Duke and Virginia as strong contenders but also mentions other teams like Louisville and Miami within the top four predictions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-14, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Duke was picked to win its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship in 2026, with 45 out of 48 first-place votes from media members. The Blue Devils are predicted to secure their 25th ACC title overall. Virginia's sophomore forward Thijs De Ridder was named the conference’s preseason player of the year, receiving 30 first-place votes. He averaged 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game last season and helped lead Virginia to the ACC title game before losing to Duke in the final by a score of 74-70. The first-team All-ACC preseason team also includes Duke's John Blackwell, Louisville’s Flory Budinga (an ex-Kansas player), and Miami players Shelton Henderson and Malik Reneau.

Written for “College Basketball Preseason Predictions” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 College Basketball Preseason Predictions
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Cite this article

The Associated Press. (2026, October 13). Duke tabbed to win third straight ACC title, Virginia's De Ridder named preseason player of year. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/duke-tabbed-to-win-third-straight-acc-title-virginia-s-de-ridder-named-preseason-player-of-year/article_d22fb5f0-c6b7-5ec5-bcee-2f200a1a5400.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 6831 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)
2026-10-08
News Clarification for Oct. 8
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-10-05
Entertainment Correction for Oct. 5
2026-10-03
Tennessee's prisons chief is resigning after failed execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-28
Organizations call for Action to End the Deaths of Indigenous People in Custody
2026-09-27
Police memorial recognizes six officers killed in the line of duty in 2026
2026-09-27
UPDATE: WSP to host Power & Energy-focused investor event virtually only
2026-09-26
News Clarification for Sept. 27
2026-09-26
Former federal public servant seeks better pensions for injured workers
2026-09-25
News Corrections for Sept. 25
2026-09-25
She has not been charged. But the Project South allegations have branded her with a 'scarlet letter'
2026-09-24
Correction
2026-09-23
MULTIMEDIA UPDATE: Smith+Nephew launches the new EVOS™ PELVIC Plating System at the 2026 Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) Annual Meeting, expanding the EVOS Plating Platform for pelvic and acetabular fracture management
2026-09-22
Costa Rican man complained of lack of care for diabetes before his death in ICE custody, family says
2026-09-22
Judges' grilling of accused men leads to sex assault and dangerous driving cases being overturned
2026-09-20
Jura Energy Corporation Provides Clarification Regarding Media Reports Concerning Its Petroleum Rights in Pakistan
2026-09-19
New details emerge about Toronto's guns-for-hire and the 'crash-out mission" that sparked the Project South investigation
2026-09-17
UPDATE: Osisko Critical Minerals Corporation Announces C$100 Million Private Placement of Special Warrants
2026-09-17
Alabama set to execute man for pawn shop killings months after his nitrogen gas execution blocked
2026-09-04
Orca Corrects Q3 Quarterly Dividend Announcement

Who wrote this

The Associated Press
1145 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Harry Kane predicted his teammate will be “gutted” to be suspended when Bayern faces Arsenal next week.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Bayern's Michael Olise sent off for 2 yellow cards within seconds in Champions League
🔮 North Carolina was predicted to finish fifth, followed by Clemson.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Duke tabbed to win third straight ACC title, Virginia's De Ridder named preseason player of year
🔮 “Damage that will continue to remind me of the sport that I love many years down the road.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Georgia Tech senior linebacker Kyle Efford retires due to accumulation of injuries in his career
🔮 Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway says he’s willing to pay up to $2.6 million this year toward the program’s revenue-sharing total in order to field a competitive team.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Memphis coach Penny Hardaway willing to spend up to $2.6 million of his own money to pay for roster
🔮 Jesperi Kotkaniemi figures to take Staal’s spot in the lineup, with the Hurricanes expected to call up a forward from the minors.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Hurricanes captain and reigning playoff MVP Jordan Staal is out 1-2 months with a torn calf muscle
🔮 The chair of English football’s regulatory body said Tuesday he would resign if there were any political interference over potential sanctions for Manchester City.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Man City charges: Any political interference and I’ll quit, says regulator
🔮 MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid captain Jorge “Koke” Resurrección will not play in the Champions League game against Manchester United on Tuesday after his mother died.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Atletico captain Koke to miss Champions League game vs. Man United after his mother's death
🔮 Melnikova would have been the defending champion in the women’s all-around in Rotterdam for the week-long worlds that are a team qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Olympic champs among 3 Russian gymnasts denied visas for worlds in the Netherlands
🔮 Spalletti will miss this weekend’s home game against Lazio, while Pisacane will sit out Monday’s trip to Monza.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Juventus coach Spalletti and Cagliari’s Pisacane hit with 1-match bans after heated clash
🔮 “It’s been a while since we lost, so I think that’s a good thing, and I know the guys will come back and respond tomorrow,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Chase DeLauter and José Ramírez lead the Guardians to a 7-3 win over the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by The Associated Press
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway willing to spend up to $2.6 million of his own money to pay for roster
2026-10-13 · Toronto Star
Georgia Tech senior linebacker Kyle Efford retires due to accumulation of injuries in his career
2026-10-13 · Toronto Star
Bayern's Michael Olise sent off for 2 yellow cards within seconds in Champions League
2026-10-13 · Toronto Star
Man City charges: Any political interference and I’ll quit, says regulator
2026-10-13 · Al Jazeera
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 1145 articles by The Associated Press →

Topics

Clemson Duke Louisville Miami Virginia

Subjects

Duke ORG · 6× Miami GPE · 4× Virginia ORG · 4× Louisville ORG · 3× ACC ORG · 2× Clemson ORG · 2× De Ridder PERSON · 2× Atlantic Coast Conference ORG · 1× CHARLOTTE GPE · 1× N.C. GPE · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 North Carolina was predicted to finish fifth, followed by Clemson.
2026-10-14 · Toronto Star
Duke tabbed to win third straight ACC title, Virginia's De Ridder named preseason player of year · assertive framing

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

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. asserted
Ridder → pick → Tuesday
The Blue Devils received 45 of the possible 48 first-place votes from the panel of media members. asserted
Devils → receive → members
Virginia was picked to finish second, followed by Louisville and Miami, with each school receiving one vote. asserted
school → pick → vote
North Carolina was predicted to finish fifth, followed by Clemson. asserted
Carolina → predict → Clemson
Syracuse, under new coach Gerry McNamara was chosen to finish 11th. asserted
Syracuse → choose → McNamara
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. asserted
Virginia → help → freshman
He received 30 first-place votes for preseason player of the year, while Duke’s John Blackwell had 12. asserted
Blackwell → receive → 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. asserted
Ridder → join → year
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. asserted
team → include → Reneau
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. asserted
Gaskins → make → team
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 14 Oct 2026