Both No. 7 Duke and Clemson stumbled the last time out, but one has Final Four potential and the other can only hope to spring an upset or two in the ACC tournament. Duke is playing to send Coach K out with another NCAA title, a powerful motivator.
No. 7 Duke at Clemson
Thursday, 8 pm ET
TV: ACC Network
Record: Duke 19-4, 9-3 ACC; Clemson 12-11, 4-8 ACC
Spread: Duke -6.5
Over/Under: 142.5
Moneyline: Duke -300; Clemson +240
Injuries/unavailable: Clemson F Hunter Tyson (broken clavicle) will miss his third straight game.
Series history: Duke has won 12 of the last 17 after Clemson broke the Blue Devils’ 22-game winning streak in 2008. Clemson is 4-3 in the last seven at home.
A look at Duke
The talented if young Blue Devils are capable of sending coach Mike Krzyzewski out with his sixth national championship.
You could look it up — Duke (+1000) is BetMGM’s fifth choice to win it all.
All five starters — three are freshmen — are included in at least one 2022 NBA mock draft, and freshman 6-10 forward Paolo Banchero is projected as a top-five pick by most.
Paolo Banchero was held to 9 points, snapping his streak of 22 consecutive games with 10 points. It was the 5th-longest streak by a Duke player to begin their career under Coach K. pic.twitter.com/qivtqe9l3K
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 8, 2022
Freshman A.J. Griffin has made consistent progress after being slowed by a preseason knee injury, and he had a career-high 27 points in the Blue Devils’ rout at North Carolina last Saturday
Griffin, a son of former 10-year NBA player Adrian Griffin, has shot all the way to No. 6 in one projection, just behind Banchero (Ban-CARE-oh).
Freshman guard Trevor Keels has an NBA body and sophomores Mark Williams and junior Wendell Moore Jr. play NBA defense.
The Blue Devils’ misstep against Virginia the last time out indicates they are not done learning — the Hoos’ Reese Beckman had an open look at his game-winning three Monday.
A look at Clemson
Clemson was so close to beating Duke two weeks ago. So close.
But a Banchero bank shot with 13 seconds remaining capped an 8-4 run and kept the Tigers from what would have been the signature victory of a season that has gradually gone downhill.
A slide typified when they blew an 11-point lead in a 79-77 home loss to North Carolina the last time out.
The Tigers’ best victories so far are against ACC foes Virginia and Florida State; both those teams also have beaten the Blue Devils.
ACC Standings
☘️ Notre Dame 10-3
😈 Duke 9-3
🎩 Wake Forest 10-4
🙌 Miami 9-4
🐏 North Carolina 9-4
⚔️ Virginia 9-5
🍊 Syracuse 7-6
🍢 Florida State 6-6
🦃 Virginia Tech 6-7
🃏 Louisville 5-9
🦅 Boston College 4-8
🐅 Clemson 4-8
🐝 Georgia Tech 3-9
🔵 Pitt 3-10
🐺 NC State 3-11— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) February 10, 2022
Clemson opened the season with a four-game winning streak and had another four-gamer that ended with a victory against the Cavaliers on Dec. 22, but not much since.
The cupboard is not completely bare.
Sophomore center PJ Hall, a top-50 recruit two years ago, had a career-high 24 points against the Tar Heels and is averaging 15.3 points a game. He has been an adequate statistical replacement for graduated leading scorer and team leader Aamir Simms for a team still looking to get over the hump.
Three facts to know
- Duke is +200 to make the Final Four, DraftKings’ third favorite
- Clemson is 0-3 against Quad 1 opponents
- Paolo Banchero is the ACC’s lone representative on the late-season Wooden Award watch list
Three numbers to know
- 9 — total margin in Duke’s four losses
- 1 — senior starter on both teams, Clemson guard David Collins
- 3-0 — Duke’s ATS record after a loss
The pick: Duke 81, Clemson 65
