Clemson Preview

Saturday, January 19
6:00PM
ESPN
Clemson Tigers (14-3) v. Duke (14-1)

Clemson (ranked #23 in the latest ESPN poll) will be one of Duke's toughest tests to date. Last year, Clemson lost to Duke in heartbreaking, controversial fashion in one of the most bizarre sequences I've ever seen. Up 66-61 with 10 seconds left, Duke had the game locked up. They let up what seemed to be a meaningless layup to make it 66-63. Then, the McRoberts factor kicked in. He threw the ball away, right to Vernon Hamilton, and he sunk a cold-blooded 3-pointer to tie the game and stun the Cameron faithful.

Since the clock operator was as stunned as we were that McRoberts threw the ball away recklessly, he was slow to start the clock. Then, inexplicably, the officials put 4.4 seconds back on the clock even though when Hamilton caught the pass there was 5.0 seconds left. The rest is history...Inbounds to Sheyer, Sheyer hits McClure in stride and McClure lays it in at the buzzer.

Clemson missed the tournament last year after starting 17-0. That game may have kept the Tigers out of the NCAA Tournament. So, Clemson will be ready to go to exact some revenge on the Dukies for a loss that shouldn't have been a loss.

Like Pittsburgh, Clemson has a strength that is Duke's biggest weakness: the low post. Trevor Booker and James Mays are as good as it gets down in the low post and you can bet that Clemson's game plan will be to expose Duke's lack of size and rebounding down low.

Duke has outrebounded its first two ACC opponents, Virginia and FSU, but they were both teams that were also undersized. Clemson should have the rebounding edge so it will be imperative for the Duke guards to crash the boards. The good thing about Clemson is that although their greatest strength is in the post, they have a good trio of guards: KC Rivers, freshman Terrence Oglesby, and Cliff Hammonds, all of which can hit the 3 if you pack in the defense down low.

Clemson comes into the game 14-3 with two of the losses to North Carolina (at the buzzer in OT) and previously unbeaten Ole Miss by 3 points. The Charlotte loss after the UNC game is quite troubling since it was at home but overall this has a number of good wins: @Miss St, @Depaul, a 30 point blowout @ Alabama, and two straight ACC wins against FSU (in a 2OT thriller) and a blowout at the hands of the listless Wolfpack of NC State.

Duke is coming off a tremendous, gut-check win against Florida State but even in the win, there were a number of disturbing trends that need to be halted before Saturday. 20 Turnovers in comparison to only 10 assists as a team, in 20 combined minutes, David McClure and Lance Thomas accounted for 0 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 Turnovers, and 7-27 from 3-point range.

The game plan for Duke is simple: Rebound, Rebound, Rebound and Push, Push, Push...If they do that effectively, they can spread the floor and shoot a ton of three pointers. Why? Let's face it: Duke's half-court offense is absolutely dreadful. They don't have any guys that can create their own shots with the exception of Gerald Henderson. I think Henderson realizes this and he tends to force too many shots because of this. I would like to see Duke use a few more pick and pops using Singler because Kyle has shown the ability to hit the big 3.

Quick Sidebar: Duke is starting to remind me of the Villanova team from a few years ago. Go with 4 guards, crash the boards, spread the floor, and allow your perimeter to dictate the course of the game. Now, Villanova's 4 guards were excellent, with 3 of them: Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, and Allen "Carl Krauser permanently blinded me" Ray being able to get their own shot at will. Still, the mentality looks to be the same. Anything you get out of the 5-spot is gravy and hope that your perimeter can go crazy and rebound just enough to win...

To me, this is the toughest game Duke has played this year. I know it's at home but this is against an experienced team, with a short memory from last year, and a very mature front court. Pitt was relatively inexperienced in the front court and they ate Duke up in the 2nd Half so Duke will need to channel some toughness...

Prediction: Duke 81 Clemson 79