Duke-Clemson Preview: Blue Devils Look to Regain Familiar Stride Against Tigers

Duke travels to Clemson on Wednesday to face an impressive Tigers squad, which enters the game with a 17-2 record. The Tigers’ pair of losses came to fellow two-loss teams Wake Forest and North Carolina.

Thanks to Georgia Tech, which earned its lone ACC win Saturday versus Wake Forest, Duke regains control of the conference standings. Now the Blue Devils are 5-1 in conference play with a one-loss lead over North Carolina.

That being said, Duke enters Wednesday’s game at Clemson coming off a difficult loss at Wake Forest on Jan. 28, followed by a 79-54 win against Virginia on Sunday.

In terms of the big picture, Duke is seeking a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as the right to play its first two tournament games in Greensboro, N.C., one of eight subregional sites and a virtual home environment for Duke. 

Within the scope of the Clemson game, however, Duke needs to re-establish its relentless tone that allowed Duke to race to a second consecutive 18-1 start.

Specifically, Duke needs to regain its defensive swagger. In the loss at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils allowed Wake Forest to shoot 47.8 percent in the first half en route to a two-point loss.

Clemson, meanwhile, is a decent offensive team. The Tigers are third in offensive field goal percentage and fourth in scoring offense in the ACC, but second-to-last in free throw percentage.

In order to win the game Wednesday, Duke must limit opportunities for Clemson to shoot a lot of free throws. If the Tigers manage only single-digit free throw attempts, combined with their poor percentage, this will give Duke a great advantage in the game.

To retain the lead in the ACC standings, Duke must also find a consistent third scorer behind Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson.

Singler has been steady for the Blue Devils all season in terms of scoring output, while Henderson is surging as of late with four 20-point games in his last seven, with point totals of 19, 17, and 18 in the other three.

A handful of players are capable of fulfilling this role: Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek, Nolan Smith, and Greg Paulus. Each player has issues that seemingly prevent him from doing so.

Scheyer's issue is inconsistency. Zoubek lacks talent that would keep him on the floor long enough to be productive. Smith isn’t aggressive enough. And Paulus doesn’t garner enough minutes because of his new role.

Duke must also recognize that it isn’t potent enough offensively to rely on three-pointers in order to win. To support its routinely stout defensively efforts, Duke must find ways to increase its offensive efficiency.

In its two losses, at Michigan and at Wake Forest, Duke shot just 21 and 18 percent from three-point range, respectively, not to mention only 21 percent in its win versus Michigan.

If Duke is to clinch the ACC regular season title and then advance further in the NCAA Tournament than the last two seasons, these percentages must increase.

This Wednesday, Duke has an excellent opportunity to improve in these areas against a quality opponent, Clemson. The Tigers are the caliber of any power conference champion and any eventual Sweet 16 participant.

As Duke struggled with the interior length of Wake Forest, expect that to continue as the Tigers are equally gifted inside. Clemson ranks seventh in the country in blocked shots per game.

The Tigers are also ranked in the top 15 in both steals per game and turnover margin. At times, Duke has struggled this season with pesky defensive teams that force unnecessary turnovers.

In order to beat Clemson, Duke must channel its efforts to break the Tigers of their success in these categories. This means using extra caution on offense so that Duke reduces its turnovers, shoots a better percentage from three-point range, and avoids nosy shot-blockers at the rim.

Certainly, the Clemson faithful will create a tough road environment for Duke.

Wednesday’s game is a chance for Duke not only to retain its lead in the ACC standings, but to earn a very respectful road win.

A win against Clemson will provide Duke with the confidence to fuel its mission to become the ACC regular season champion.

With a win, Duke can also gain the conviction that it is capable, again, of winning an ACC road game against a great opponent in Clemson after suffering a heartbreaking loss at Wake Forest exactly a week ago.

Further, a victory at Clemson can provide the Blue Devils the will to win once more as well as the swagger necessary to complete an NCAA Tournament turnaround from the last two seasons.

The game at Clemson is a tremendous test for Duke. The Tigers have proven to be quite resilient this season. Their résumé speaks for itself with road wins against likely NCAA Tournament participants Illinois and Virginia Tech.

Duke is seeking not only to beat Clemson, but also to overcome issues to propel itself further in the NCAA Tournament, where the program is looking to move past its recent struggles.