Everyone knew that Duke would have some sort of letdown against Clemson and Duke nearly gave it away. After holding the Tigers to 18 points at the half and building a double-digit lead – Clemson came all the way back. Duke seemed once again out of sorts and had a distinct lack of energy. This Duke team has had a habit this year of making the game harder than it has to be with live ball turnovers and mistakes that a team of this talent level shouldn’t make. Duke would have that sort of second half.
Instead of clamping down on a what looked like hapless Clemson team Duke gave them life down the stretch and Clemson made a game of what could have easily been a blowout. With 4.3 seconds left Clemson had a chance to tie or win the game but a fumbled attempt at a long 3 from Shelton Mitchell ended the game. Duke wins by 2 64 – 62.
Once again Duke was saved my sophomore Luke Kennard who scored 25 and really gave Duke a spark one Clemson took the lead. Kennard was the only Blue Devil to score in double figures with the next highest player was freshman Jayson Tatum with 9. Clemson was paced by Shelton Mitchell with 23 points and Elijah Thomas also added 15 points.
The Pluses:
13 assists by Duke
42.3% shooting from 3
The Minuses:
Allowing the Clemson run
Losing the rebound battle
too many live ball turnovers leading to fast break points for Clemson
