Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett Combine for 38 in Duke's Blowout Win over Clemson

After a successful run during the nonconference part of their schedule, the Duke Blue Devils opened ACC play with an impressive 87-68 victory over a solid Clemson Tigers team at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

Duke's last game was on Dec. 20 against No. 11 Texas Tech. The two-week layoff didn't seem to impact head coach Mike Krzyzewski's team much.

Zion Williamson set the pace for Duke with his third straight double-double. The freshman sensation had 25 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. RJ Barrett had a difficult shooting night, finishing with 13 points by going 5-of-14. He made up for it with nine rebounds and four assists.

Clemson senior Marcquise Reed had a strong performance with 15 points and eight assists in defeat.

Lack of Perimeter Shooting Won't Hurt Blue Devils' Title Pursuit

For all the talent Duke has on the roster, this team fits into an old-school style of basketball that looks very different from what we are used to seeing in 2018-19.

In an era defined by three-point shooting, the Blue Devils entered Saturday tied for 256th in the nation with a 32.4 percent success rate from behind the arc. Jack White, who went 4-of-6 from three on Saturday, and Alex O'Connell are their only players hitting at least 36 percent of their attempts this season.

For most teams, this would be an Achilles' heel that would knock them out of any serious national championship conversations. In Duke's case, it's a blip on the radar for a team that is so well-rounded it doesn't need the three-point shot to win.

As an example, Molly Geary of Sports Illustrated offered these stats from Duke's 89-87 loss against Gonzaga on Nov. 21:

"The Blue Devils are so talented that an off perimeter night isn't going to cost them against most opponents—not when R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Co. can get out in transition and power their way to the rim as well as they do. Gonzaga was able to win because it held Duke to 44.1% shooting inside the arc, the only time through 10 games that the Blue Devils failed to hit at least 55% of their twos ... and by limiting Duke's looks on the perimeter, where it attempted a season-low 13 threes."

Despite those numbers, Gonzaga only won by two points in a game it shot 52.3 percent overall and made 10 of 19 three-point attempts.

Duke can get away with its lack of outside shooting because how many teams in the country are capable of preventing Williamson from doing this:

The Blue Devils' superstar freshman executed a fast-break dunk that would have been good enough to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in some years:

Second-chance points are a significant piece of the Blue Devils' offensive output. Entering Saturday, they averaged 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, fifth in the nation.

Krzyzewski also has his team playing hard on defense. They had an off-night shooting the basketball against Texas Tech yet still won by 11 because they only gave up three points over the final six minutes of the second half.

The Blue Devils boast the perfect combination of size, speed, athleticism and depth that their one weakness barely stands out because everything else they do overwhelms their opponents.

Duke has established itself as the nation's best to this point and a deserving favorite to win the national title, even at this early stage of the 2018-19 season.

What's Next?

Clemson will play its second straight ACC road game Wednesday at Syracuse. Duke will go on the road to play Wake Forest at LJVM Coliseum on Tuesday.