Back on the road for two games over the next three days, No. 7 Duke battles Clemson Thursday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Blue Devils, who remain in a first place tie in the ACC and hold the tiebreaker over the three teams within a half game, cap a stretch of five of their past six on the road Saturday at Boston College. The BC game also marks Duke’s fourth game over an eight-day period. The game is the 146th in the series, which Duke leads 113-32, including 25-19 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Blue Devils won the earlier meeting in Durham, 71-69, on Jan. 25.
Duke had a five-game win streak snapped, 69-68, to Virginia Monday night. The Blue Devils’ four defeats this season have come by nine total points, including two by one point and one in overtime.
About Duke
- Sophomore Mark Williams, a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, leads the ACC and is 10th nationally in blocks (3.13). Williams is 43-of-56 (.768) from the field and averaging 13.1 points and 8.0 rebounds over Duke’s last eight games.
- Six-time ACC Freshman of the Week Paolo Banchero, the ACC’s lone representative on the late-season watch list for the Wooden Award, has nine 20-point efforts this season — seven coming against power conference opponents — six in ACC play — in addition to 21 points vs. Gonzaga.
- After missing three games with a lower leg injury, freshman Trevor Keels returned at Notre Dame and has scored in double figures in each of the last two — 11 at North Carolina and 12 vs. Virginia. Duke is 13-1 this season when Keels scores in double digits.
- Over the last four games, graduate student Theo John is shooting 9-of-10 from the field and averaging 5.0 rebounds with 19 points and five blocked shots.
- Sophomore Jeremy Roach has a 5-to-1 assist/turnover ratio over the last eight. He is second in the ACC and 17th nationally this season (2.84).
- Surging freshman AJ Griffin averaged 20.7 points and shot 9-of13 from three-point range over Duke’s last three road wins — at Louisville, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
- Junior Wendell Moore Jr., is one of the nation’s premier perimeter defenders, regularly drawing the opponent’s best offensive match up. This season, opponents are shooting just .315 from the field and .241 from three-point range with Moore as the primary defender
- Duke leads the ACC in three-point percentage defense (.297; 26th nationally) and is second in field goal percentage defense (.403). Opponents are shooting just .276 from three since Jan. 1 — the second-best defense by any power conference team in that span.
- Duke enters the game with the nation’s fourth best assist/turnover ratio of 1.62. The Blue Devils also rank top 20 nationally in field goal shooting (.485, ranked 17th in the NCAA) and assists (17.5, lead the ACC and ranked ninth in the NCAA).
About Clemson
- Clemson is 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the ACC. The Tigers have dropped two straight, including Tuesday’s 79-77 setback to North Carolina that saw the Tar Heels claim the lead in the closing seconds.
- PJ Hall leads four Tigers averaging in double figures with 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds. David Collins is third in scoring (11.0), but leads the team on the boards (6.9) while shooting a team-best .523 from the field.
- The Tigers are the ACC’s third best three-point shooting team at .380 for the year, led by Al-Amir Dawes’ .409 percentage, which also ranks third in the league.
- PJ Hall is one of the most improved players in the ACC this season. Hall is +11.8 in PPG, +4.0 in RPG, +1.6 in APGand +1.0 block per game. Hall has increased his 3-point shooting by nearly 20.0 percent and despite the increased work load is shooting 48.8 percent this season, including a 52.5 effective field goal percentage.
- Hall netted a career-high 24 points against North Carolina (Feb. 8). He has three double-doubles, three 22-point games and one 20-point game. He has grabbed a career-best eight boards four times this season.
- In conference play, Hall is averaging 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. He is shooting 48.2 percent from the field.
- Clemson is third in the ACC and is 18th nationally in 3-point shooting: 38.2 percent (189-for-495).
- Al-Amir Dawes netted 18 points against Georgia Tech (Feb. 5), his 19th game scoring at least 15 points in his career and his 33rd double-digit scoring game.
- Hunter Tyson suffered a broken clavicle in the first half against Florida State (Feb. 2) and currently does not have a timetable for a return.
Duke vs Clemson
- Duke and Clemson are meeting for the 146th time in a series that dates to the 1925-26 season, with the Blue Devils leading 113-32.
- Thursday’s game is a make up of a game originally scheduled for Dec. 29, but postponed by Duke’s health & safety protocols.
- In Clemson, the Blue Devils lead the series 38-24, including 25-19 at Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Coach K achieved a pair of his milestone victories over Clemson – No. 100 overall came February 24, 1982 in triple overtime, 73-72, and No. 600 at Duke came January 3, 2004, 73-54.
How to Watch
Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ACCN (Mike Couzens, Debbie Antonelli)
Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Blue Devils Sports Network (David Shumate, John Roth)
Per Release
