ACC Hoops: Clemson Stuns #2 Duke, 77-71

The Duke Blue Devils’ (20-3, 12-1 ACC) 16 game win streak came to a crashing halt Saturday night at the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. The Tigers (19-5, 11-2 ACC) used an incredibly hot shooting hand to give the Devils their first ACC loss of the season, 77-71. This is the Tigers 5th consecutive win over an AP Top 5 team previously taking out #4 Kentucky 70-66 in early December.

Cooper Flagg started the game slow, and seemed to be missing his usual “pop” only scoring 4 points in the first half. The Devils were led by Tyrese Proctor who could not miss in the first period scoring 18. Flagg scored 2 of his 4 points in the final minute off a steal and a breakaway dunk that gave the Devils their 41-35 halftime lead. 

The second half featured the Tigers takeover. Clemson overtook the Devil’s lead at the 12 minute mark with a Chase Hunter lay up that gave the Tigers a 51-49 lead. The rest of the game was a battle worthy of the top two teams in the ACC vying for the elusive Regular Season Championship. The Tigers found an unlikely hero in their 7 foot center Viktor Lakhin who scored 22 points on the night and was a menace on the defensive end. Ian Schieffein came up with clutch senior moments, including the game tying three at the 13 minute mark, and finished the game with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Flagg found his form, and cramps in the second half exploding for 14 of his 18 points including three three pointers in the final 5 minutes of the back and forth battle to keep the Blue Devils in the game. Duke found itself in an unfamiliar situation, one they have not seen since November: a tied game with under a minute to go. The Tigers had plenty of practice this week in end-game scenarios, having the ball and a chance to win in regulation and all three overtimes against Georgia Tech Wednesday. Chase Hunter missed a three point basket in all three overtimes, but got his revenge Saturday night. Hunter made the go-ahead lay up with 38 seconds left the ultimately gave Tigers the victory.

The Blue Devils, alluding to their games against Kentucky and Kansas, gave the ball to Flagg in the final seconds of a one score game. Flagg did not attempt his patented spin move in traffic that leads to a turnover, but instead drove the paint. Much like the Kansas and Kentucky game, Flagg found the one wet spot on the floor and was sent sprawling to his back and was called for the travel. The Tigers went on to make their free throws, and were joined by the Clemson faithful at halfcourt celebrating another top 5 victory.

The Blue Devils were led in scoring by Tyrese Proctor with 23 points and went 4-8 from the 3 point line. Kon Knueppel added 14 points, most of them in the first half. The Devils only got 5 points from their bench as Mason Gillis missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed illness. 

Next Up:

The Blue Devils catch a reprieve. They head home and take on the California Golden Bears (12-12, 5-8 ACC), and welcome Jayln Blakes back to Cameron as the Stanford Cardinal (16-8, 8-5 ACC) come to Cameron in need of a big time win.

The Tigers have a quick turnaround as they welcome the UNC Tar Heels (14-10, 7-5 ACC) into Littlejohn. The Heels are coming off a big win against Pitt and need more resume stuffers to make the NCAA Tournament.