ACCT Preview: #1 Duke Blue Devils (30-2, 17-1 ACC) vs. #5 Clemson Tigers (24-9, 12-6 ACC)
Friday, March 13 • 9:30 p.m. ET
Spectrum Center (20,200) • Charlotte, NC • ACC Tournament Quarterfinal
TV: ESPN
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
The Blue Devils face the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.
Broadcast Information TV
TV ESPN2
Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien
Analyst Cory Alexander
Reporter Molly McGrath
Producer Kim Belton
Director Michael Griffin
Broadcast Information Radio
Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM check listing & SiriusXM app
History
Overall Duke leads, 116-34
In Durham, NC Duke leads, 67-4
at Cameron Indoor Stadium Duke leads, 64-4
In Clemson, SC Duke leads, 39-26
at Littlejohn Coliseum Duke leads, 26-21
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 10-4
Last Meeting @Duke 67, Clemson 54 (Feb. 14, 2026)
About Duke
Duke Jon Scheyer (Duke ‘10)
Career Record / at Duke 119-24 (4th) / same
vs. Clemson 2-2
ACC Tournament 73rd Appearance
Overall Record 114-47 (.708)
Tournament Titles 23 (last in 2025)
In Charlotte, NC (Titles) 25-8 (6 – last in 2025)
Clemson Tigers
Clemson enters Friday with a record of 24-9 and a conference record of 12-6. They are the 5th seed in the ACC Tournament and took down the Tar Heels last night 80-79. The Tigers are second in the league and 25th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 66.5 points per game. Clemson leads the ACC and ranks 26th in the nation in bench scoring with 29.9 points per game.
Nine Tigers average at least 5.6 points per game, topped by 6’7 senior forward RJ Godfrey with 11.8 points per outing. Clemson will be without their second leading scorer, center Carter Welling, who was injured in their first tournament game and ruled out for the postseason.
Last Time Out:
Nick Davidson (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mater Dei) scored 17 points and pulled in 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season and the twelfth of his career and lift Clemson over North Carolina 80-79 to advance to the semifinals in the ACC Tournament on Thursday night.
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils enter Friday with a 30-2 record and a conference record of 17-1. In their first tournament game, Duke escaped Florida State 80-79 to advance to the semifinals against Clemson. Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 15 Quad-1 wins, the most in the country. (Mar. 12) They have secured 11 top-25 victories, the most in the regular season in ACC history and tied for the most in a regular season in AP poll history. The Blue Devils are the top-rated defense in the nation and are one of only two teams ranked in the top five nationally in both offensive efficiency (128.1, 5th) and defensive efficiency (88.7, 1st) ratings. (KenPom). The Blue Devils lead the nation in scoring margin (+19.8) and rank third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.0 ppg).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s seventh-leading scorer with 22.8 points per game and tops the ACC in rebounding (10.2 rpg), is 10th in steals (1.5 spg), 12th in assists (4.1 apg), and fourth in field goal percentage (.578). Boozer has recorded at least 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists in all 32 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. (OptaSTATS) Isaiah Evans is averaging 15 points per game and is coming off of a career high in points with 32 in Duke’s quarterfinal game against Florida State. Duke is without the services of injured starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II.
Last Time Out:
No. 1-seed Duke rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half, defeating No. 8-seed Florida State, 80-79, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. The Blue Devils (30-2) trailed, 59-51, with 13 minutes remaining, but ripped off a 19-2 extended scoring run to flip momentum. The Seminoles (18-15) pulled within one on the final possession, but their shot at the buzzer fell off the rim.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 32 | 40.0 | 28.9 | 58.5 | .494 | 19.8 | 32.5 | .609 | 9.1 | 26.0 | .351 | 15.9 | 22.1 | .719 | 12.3 | 27.9 | 40.3 | 17.3 | 8.0 | 3.4 | 10.6 | 15.7 | 82.8 |
| Clemson | 33 | 40.3 | 25.6 | 56.1 | .457 | 17.4 | 32.1 | .543 | 8.2 | 24.0 | .343 | 15.0 | 20.8 | .724 | 9.3 | 25.2 | 34.5 | 12.8 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 9.5 | 16.0 | 74.5 |
Stats Comparison Conference
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 18 | 40.0 | 28.4 | 57.6 | .494 | 19.7 | 32.9 | .598 | 8.8 | 24.7 | .355 | 15.3 | 20.7 | .739 | 10.3 | 25.5 | 35.8 | 16.4 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 9.3 | 14.6 | 80.9 |
| Clemson | 18 | 40.3 | 24.6 | 53.6 | .459 | 16.6 | 30.4 | .546 | 7.9 | 23.1 | .344 | 13.7 | 19.1 | .715 | 6.1 | 22.4 | 28.5 | 11.7 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 9.2 | 16.1 | 70.7 |
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils
G Caleb Foster 6’5, 205lbs Jr.
G Isaiah Evans 6’6, 180lbs So.
G Dame Sarr 6’8, 190lbs Fr.
F Cameron Boozer 6’9, 250lbs Fr.
C Maliq Brown 6’9, 225lbs Sr.
Clemson Tigers
G Ace Buckner 6’3, 180lbs RsFr.
G Dillon Hunter 6’3, 195lbs Fr.
G Efrem “Butta” Johnson 6’4, 180lbs Sr.
F RJ Godfrey 6’7, 240lbs Sr.
F Jake Wahlin 6’10, 210lbs Jr.
Final Thoughts
Obviously this is not the same Duke team that beat Clemson during the regular season; they are missing a couple of key pieces. I do think there are things that the Blue Devils can do to put themselves in a better situation than they found themselves in at times last night. It’s the unforced errors that they have to clean up. Some of it was understandable; when you are playing unconventional lineups and guys that haven’t spent a lot of time playing together, you are more than likely going to turn the ball over more. If Duke can clean that up, they can give themselves a chance to win. They also need to do a much better job from the charity stripe—shooting sub-65% for the game is an untenable stat for a team with aspirations beyond the ACC Tournament. FSU banked 18 points off of Duke turnovers, and Duke left 9 free throws in the garbage when they could have been able to use those points to put some separation and allow for some rest for guys who are already having to log heavy minutes. Shot selection will also be a factor in this game. Duke shot some 3’s that were wholly unnecessary. When you have Cam Boozer, I would much rather live with him taking a tough 2 than non-shooters for Duke jacking up 3’s. Granted, you have to shoot them when you are open, but knowing time, score and situation is important towards determining the value of that shot.
- Cut down on turnovers
- hit free throws
- shot selection
- stay out of foul trouble