Go Duke!!!
Discuss the game here.
Bob Green
Go Duke!!!
Let's get it Duke! 4 in 4 starts tomorrow, as well the first of 10 straight victories!
I know that the official start time is 2 p.m., but that's ridiculous -- the game will start 30 minutes after the noon game (Syracuse-Miami) and no way that's done in 1:30.
The "2 p.m." game Tuesday started at 2:41 p.m. Duke-Clemson might not be quite that late, but it will be closer to 2:30 than 2.
Radio says 14:30..
Id take win this, lose to Louisville and be healthy for the 6.. But for now, how do we beat Clemson? Lets hear from those smarter than me. Tigers coulda beat us the first time easily. A nail-biter loss as they have suffered so many times.
They are like a better Pittsburgh to me. Great SF/PF with Grantham and Blossomgame (all ACC). But where they are better is their PG of Shelton Mitchell and the inside toughness of Djitte and Elijah Thomas. Djitte is less skilled but more experienced of these two.. Thomas was a top 30+ recruit and is skilled but raw... He is getting better though and will be good in the next year or two. They are big and strong. They killed NC State on crucial O boards and missed several chippies on put backs or it would have been a 20 point win easy
But all that said, Djitte and Thomas don't worry me too much. We see FSU and UNC etc. Clemson isn't on that level inside. Its the forwards (especially good ) and then the guards where they are good. Shelton Mitchell is coming on strong. A key loss may be Avery holmes who twisted his ankle today though. Best three point threat and top three in minutes and points on clemson. That's a big loss. But its matchups... Shelton Mitchell is more the guy that gives us trouble - Holmes had one of his worst games vs Duke (2 points in 16 minutes). while Mitchell went off for 23! He is the faster type of guard we struggle with I think.. He was the high-scorer for Tigers w 23 last time in Cameron. Mitchell was 8-15 for 23 points while Blossomgame - future NBA and Clemson's star - was 3 of 12 for 7 points. I have a feeling we concentrated (Matt Jones?) on Blossomgam.
Does anyone recall if Jones covered Blossomgame? Were we just incapable of keeping Mitchell out of the lane? Clemson also shot 20 FTs to our 15 so they were getting in the lane I suspect?
Thoughts? Last point here for now - we were 11-26 from 3 and the Tigers were 2-9 from three (in Cameron)... and we won by 2 ... We better get ready. These guys are no joke.
Any ideas on how to slow down Clemson's guard Shelton Mitchell, who scored 23 against Duke in the first meeting and hit for 22 today? Over the last 8 games, he is averaging 16ppg on 58% shooting, both overall and from three point range(he's not a high volume three point shooter, averaging about 2.5 attempts per game). He seemed to get to the rim all too easily in the first matchup, in which Frank played ~15 minutes and Grayson sprained his ankle severely early in the game. Thanks! Let's go, Duke!
Oops, just saw gofurman's thoughts on Mitchell above.
The Clemson game earlier this year was about 36 hours after that massive game against UNC, and wedged between that and the UVa game. It was a classic trap game.
On top of that, Allen got hurt early and struggled mightily (especially on defense). We will be healthier, more energetic, and better prepared this time.
I would expect Jackson to start and guard Mitchell. Jones will guard Blossomgame. And we will win.
We beat Clemson 64-62 at home in CIS about a little over a month ago.
It was the "human nature" game, because according to Coach K, the team was going to have to fight through the inevitable physical and emotional fatigue from the UNCheat victory (less-than 48 hours prior) and gut out a victory.
Now it is Clemson coming off short rest, although their win was comfortable. They went eight players deep today, all getting double-digit minutes, and all but one over the twenty minute threshold (Elijah Thomas was the low man with 16 minutes).
I have zero clue what to expect in this game.
We will win this game. GO DUKE!!!!!
Yes. This season, Clemson ranks #1 in the CLI, or Courtesy Loser Index. This follows a long tradition of letting ACC opponents feel exhilarated by winning close games.
If you look further back in history, Lord Alden Baynes Clemson (1836-1889) was considered an expert in manners, and made it a point never to show up a host at tea parties and other solemn events. This is why Clemson never wins in Chapel Hill.
Right. I know we were 30+ hours from playing an emotional tough game v UNC. I know. I like to give credit where credit is due though. Believe me, I feel SURE The coaching staff was wanting a little more margin ... and we can say all this and that about we just played UNC etc but we shot very well from 3 against Clemson (never a guarantee rested or not) - we hit ELEVEN threes. That's great for a rested Duke team. Clemson went 2-9 from three I think. Some due to our D but no matter our D you can hit one or two more (Kennard banks one in occasionally . So I shouldn't have worded my post they could have won "easily". Perhaps I should have said they came in and pushed us hard - giving us the second best game in Cameron all year ! We won every other game by more than 2 (our margin over Clemson) w the exception of the loss to State.
Anyway, I was trying to get some actual discussion on the game which is usually common here but doesn't seem to be the case today. Maybe everyone is in NY.
I suspect Duke wins by 8 or something but as a true fan every opponent scares me.
FYI - one of the posts above did fail to mention a salient point. The poster noted accurately the Tigers went 8 deep today. However, They lost a starter in Avery Holmes to an ankle sprain - he did not return - so they are probably only 7 actual players deep tomorrow. As I said, Holmes is their best 3 shooter and gets top 3 minutes and top 3 points. That's a big loss for them.
I actually don't know whether Clemson matches up well with Duke or not. I'm going to want to see tomorrow's game before I come to any conclusions about that because the first game between the two teams doesn't tell us much due to the circumstances. Duke was up 11 at halftime and then wore down in the 2nd half, which one might expect since Duke was playing a game 36 hours after playing UNC.
I like Mitchell as a point guard, but I don't think he's all that quick. He did beat us like a drum in the 2nd half, but we were tired. Blossomgame's a really good player but we have a defender in Matt to put on him. So, we'll see. Maybe Clemson plays us close again -- they are a veteran team that doesn't want their season to end -- but maybe Duke wins comfortably because the matchup isn't bad.
I did not manage to start a TV coverage thread before the game thread, so if a mod wants to add any of this to the title or first post, they can do so.
ACC Network TV Stations:
http://www.theacc.com/news/2017-acct...network-game-5
Free, official, unrestricted stream:
http://www.theacc.com/game-center/57...b0dcabe018ef19
You should also be able to access the stream simply by visiting the ACC homepage at game time, which has the benefit of not having the other gamecenter stuff around it.
As a reminder, the new TV contract removed the Raycom exclusivity, so those of you in the ACC footprint can watch on ESPN or a local channel if your market picked up the ACC Network feed. The stream is also useful anywhere if you do not want to mess with logging in to WatchESPN.
Good point about Duke being up 11 at half and then wearing down. I completely agree w the 'wear down' factor... The counter (and I am just being a Devil advocate) is that we were at CIS. Now we are on neutral ground though NYC has been good to us
I hope we roll easily - I just like game discussion.
Did Mitchell not really beat us too much in the first half? Was it more as we wore down?