Duke A Slight One-Point Favorite Over Clemson In Top-25 battle

Sports News - January 23rd, 2010 - Written By Bryan

Two of the top teams in the ACC collide, when the Duke Blue Devils hit the road to face the Clemson Tigers in a match up of Top-25 teams. Both teams are looking to rebound from losses in each of their last games. Clemson is reeling from a road loss to Georgia Tech 66-64, while Duke was run off the court by N.C State 88-74.

Duke comes to this contest with a 15-3 overall record, and a 3-2 record in conference play. The seventh ranked team in the country had one of their poorest performances in their last game against N.C State, as they lost to the Wolf Pack for the first time since the 2007 season. The Blue Devils lost to an un-ranked team for just the second time in the last 21 games. Duke continues to struggle on the road in conference play, losing six of their last eight ACC road match ups.

Surprisingly, it has been the defense that has been the Achilles heel for the the Blue Devils. Against N.C State, the team surrendered 88 points, as the Wolf Pack shot nearly 60 percent from the floor.

The inept play by the Blue Devils did not go unnoticed by Duke coach Mike Krzyewski, as he praised the Wolf Pack for their performance.

"They were terrific," Krzyzewski said in an interview after the loss. "We could've had a week off and we wouldn't have beaten them tonight, but I wish we would've come with more energy than we came with tonight. They came with superb energy and you want to be in a game where both teams are playing at that level. We could never match their level of play."

Duke will have to come out with much more energy against Clemson. The two teams last matched up on January 3rd, which Duke won 74-53. In that contest, the Blue Devils won both the offensive and defensive battles. Guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith led the team with 22 points each. The defense played spectacular in the first half, limiting Clemson to just 12 first-half points. The defense was very aggressive, as they held the Tigers to 5-30 shooting during the first 20 minutes of play.

The team has performed well overall against ranked opponents this season, accumulating a record of 3-1. Wins over Connecticut, Gonzaga, and Clemson has propelled the team to their ranking.

On the other side of the court, Clemson lost a tightly contested game to Georgia Teach, in a clash of Top-25 teams. The Tigers were plagued once more by a poor shooting performance. For the fourth time this season, Clemson was held to under 40 percent from the floor. The team is 0-4 when shooting under 40 percent on the year.

The defense for the Tigers has played well all season, and that was evident in the match up against Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, they were one stop short of taking the game to an extra period.

"Our guys don't have anything to hang their heads about," Tigers head coach Oliver Purnell said after the game. "They came on the road in the ACC against a hot team and we put ourselves in position to win."

The Tigers will look towards small forward Trevor Booker for a good performance against Duke on Saturday night. Booker leads the team in scoring with 16 points per game. He led the team with 19 points against Georgia Tech. The Tigers have three players averaging double-digits on offense. Booker, Demontez Stitt and Tanner Smith complete the trio for Clemson. These three players are cornerstone on offense for the Tigers, but the need to increase their shooting percentage if they are to have a chance a upending Duke.

Duke has been installed as a slight one-point favorite to defeat the Tigers, according to the College Basketball Betting Lines at BetUs. Tip off for this Top-25 ACC match up is at 9PM EST and can be seen on ESPN.