No. 4 Duke Celebrate Senior Night With Clemson In ACC Showdown

The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils close out their home slate this evening, as they welcome the Clemson Tigers to Durham for an ACC showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Tigers have played tight defense for the most part this season, but have taken it to a new level over the course of the last week or so, holding Miami- Florida and Wake Forest to just 59 and 49 points, respectively. On the year, the numbers are impressive, allowing just 60.0 ppg, on a mere .401 shooting. It's pretty much out of necessity, as the Tigers lack any real teeth at the offensive end. Clemson is shooting a pedestrian .443 from the field this year, leading to just 67.8 ppg. The squad is paced by a trio of scoring threats, headlined by versatile guard Demontez Stitt, who is averaging 14.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Jerai Grant (12.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Andre Young (10.9 ppg) provide limited offensive depth. The Tigers completely shut down the Demon Deacons in the first half, allowing just seven field goals, while taking a 13-point lead into the break. It would hold up, as Clemson earned a 14-point victory at home. Stitt and Grant led the way with 14 points apiece. Devin Booker recorded a double-double with 10 points and the same number of rebounds, while Tanner Smith finished with nine points.

Duke turned the ball over just five times and held Virginia Tech to a mere .391 shooting, but somehow ended up losing to the Hokies in Blacksburg this past weekend. The Blue Devils had their own problems offensively, shooting .397 from the field, while putting up a season-low 60 points. Kyle Singler led the team with 22 points, followed closely by Nolan Smith's 18, but the bench did next to nothing, scoring just nine points total. The performance at Virginia Tech was certainly not the norm for the Blue Devils, who remain a dangerous squad at both ends of the floor. The team is averaging 82.1 ppg, while limiting the opposition to just 63.9. Smith and Singler are the go-to- guys for Coach K. A National Player of the Year candidate, Smith leads the ACC in scoring (21.3 ppg) and ranks second in assists (5.2 apg). Singler is not your average secondary scorer, putting up a hefty 17.4 ppg, while grabbing 6.5 rpg. Players like Seth Curry (8.7 ppg), Andre Dawkins (8.5 ppg) and Mason Plumlee (7.3 ppg, team-high 8.8 rpg) have made bigger contributions with the loss of talented freshman Kyrie Irving (17.4 ppg) to a foot injury early on.