ACC Battle: Duke vs. Clemson Re-Match

The Duke Blue Devils will have some work to do if they want to sweep their season series against the Clemson Tigers Saturday evening. Duke dismantled the Tigers back on January 3rd as they rolled to a convincing 21 point blowout. However, the Blue Devils have struggled on the road since that game, losing both at Georgia Tech (71-67), and Wednesday to an average N. Carolina St team (88-74),

The Clemson back-court of Demontez Stitt and Tanner Smith have been the strength of this Tigers attack. They both average double-digits offensively, and are lock-down defenders on the other end. What Duke lacks in athleticism, they make up for in shooting. This should translate well in the open court as the Devils like to shoot from everywhere. This will definitely be their best opportunity to score as Trevor Booker will be tough to contend with in the paint.

Booker leads the team in scoring (15.6 points per game), and rebounding (8.4 boards per game). Duke’s Kyle Singler has been productive on the offensive end, but is not known as a good defender. He will have to try to keep Booker away from the basket, and force the Clemson back-court to beat them in the paint. The Blue Devils struggled against the Wolfpack’s pressure defense on Wednesday, but will certainly have more freedom from the outside against a Tigers squad that has allowed many of their opponents to get off from behind the arc.

Expect a hard fought battle between two of the ACC conferences best teams. Clemson will be smart to try to slow down the pace of play, because they won’t be able to keep up with Duke in a track meet. Tune in Saturday night at 9 pm EST as these ranked ACC opponents try to gain momentum heading into the second half of the season.

Related posts:

1. ACC’s Best Battle: Georgia Tech vs. Duke
2. 7/10 Seed Match-Up: Clemson/ Missouri
3. Duke vs. North Carolina Fight for ACC Championship
4. NCAAB Top-10 Match-Up: Duke vs. Michigan St.
5. UAB vs. Clemson in Play-In Battle for 12 Seed

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