No. 4 Duke edges No. 5 Virginia as preseason ACC favorite

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Fourth-ranked Duke edged fifth-ranked Virginia as Atlantic Coast Conference favorite, while North Carolina's Luke Maye is preseason player of the year.

The league released picks Thursday after voting from media members attending Wednesday's media day.

The Blue Devils earned 52 of 121 first-place votes in a league with a national-best seven teams in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. Reigning champion Virginia was second with 47, followed by the eighth-ranked Tar Heels, 16th-ranked Syracuse, 15th-ranked Virginia Tech, 22nd-ranked Clemson and 17th-ranked Florida State.

Next came North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh.

Duke's R.J. Barrett was picked as freshman of the year. He joined Maye on the all-ACC first team with Syracuse's Tyus Battle, Virginia's Kyle Guy and Boston College's Ky Bowman.