First place will be at stake in the Atlantic Coast Conference when No. 20 Clemson visits No. 4 Duke on Saturday afternoon at Durham, N.C.
Duke (22-2, 11-1 ACC) recovered from its last-second loss to rival North Carolina last weekend by winning 70-54 at Pitt on Tuesday night.
Clemson (20-5, 10-2) came back from last week’s West Coast trip and lost 76-66 to visiting Virginia Tech on Wednesday night. That stopped the Tigers’ four-game winning streak.
“A tall task,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of the matchup with Duke. “We’re one of those teams that we need most of our guys to play well.”
“We had a lot of guys, for the first time in a long time, not play well,” Brownell continued about the Virginia Tech game. “… We’ve got to shake it off and get our attitude back in a good place and be ready to compete. We’ve got to make sure we’re all on point and confident.”
Clemson is 6-0 in ACC road games. Last season, the Tigers handed Duke its only ACC loss with a 77-71 decision at home.
Duke sputtered at times on offense in the Pitt game, but Isaiah Evans hit five 3-point shots on his way to 21 points. Cameron Boozer’s 17 points and 10 rebounds gave him his 13th double-double.
The Blue Devils played without center Patrick Ngongba II, who was out with a wrist injury. With Ngongba not on the court, it puts more responsibility on Boozer in the lane, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
Guard Caleb Foster picked up some of the rebounding slack, grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.
“Whatever I could do to get boards and help the team out, helping the team win,” Foster said.
The status of Ngongba could be crucial going into the matchup with Clemson. It was a game-day decision when it was determined he wouldn’t play against Pitt.
“He got hurt in the Carolina game. He fell on his wrist,” Scheyer said. “We were holding on hope on whether he could play (Tuesday). I think that was incredibly unrealistic. He wasn’t close to being ready. … It’s hard to say (about Saturday).”
Scheyer mixed lineup combinations Tuesday, with Cayden Boozer and Darren Harris among those on the court to begin the second half.
“We were playing lineups anyway that we’ve never played before,” Scheyer said. “It was about finding a lineup that we could have a spark and have that defense and competitiveness.”
Clemson can be sturdy on the interior, so that could lead to problems for Duke if the Blue Devils aren’t at full strength.
Yet Brownell said he doesn’t mind going with a three-guard set-up, especially when Ace Buckner (16 points off the bench Wednesday) is rolling.
The Tigers will look for more offense from Dillon Hunter after he has managed a total of three points in the last three games combined. He’s 1 of 10 from the field in those games.
“He’s getting the ball in some decent spots,” said Brownell, who praised the guard’s impact on defense.
