Tigers Rout Blue Devils in Front of a Packed House at Littlejohn, 74-47 |
CLEMSON - The 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers took a cue from Old Man Winter, putting the Duke offense on ice for 40 amazing minutes and making the rims of Littlejohn Coliseum as inhospitable as the temperature outside, paving the way to a remarkable 74-47 victory Wednesday night over the 4th-ranked team in the nation.
It was the Tigers (19-2, 5-2 ACC) largest margin of victory over the Blue Devils (19-3, 6-2) since 1975, a 100-66 home victory, and it was the largest margin of defeat for Duke since the 1990 National Championship game, a 103-73 loss to UNLV. The Tigers got 21 points and seven rebounds from junior Trevor Booker and Terrence Oglesby hit five three-pointers on the way to 17 points, while the Tiger defense held Duke to its fewest points this season, and its lowest scoring performance since a 54-51 win over Indiana in 2006. “Obviously, that was an excellent win for us,” Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. “I thought our ball club played extremely well, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. I thought our pressure was good when we turned them over 10 or 11 times in the first half, and set a good tone going into halftime.” The first half belonged to the Tigers, who held the Blue Devils to just 8-for-24 shooting from the floor as they rolled to a 33-21 lead at the break. The teams traded early leads and were tied at 13 when Clemson went on a 13-6 run, fueled by an Oglesby steal and lay up, a Booker slam off a K.C. Rivers steal and an Oglesby three that had Littlejohn rocking to a nine-point lead at 26-17. Duke trimmed the Clemson advantage to five at 26-21, but Oglesby hit another three, David Potter hit a dipsy-do lay up and Tanner Smith hit a bank shot in the lane for the 12-point Clemson cushion at intermission. The second half, if possible, was even better than the first half as the Tigers, who had struggled in the opening part of the second half this season, scored the first five points and eight of the first 12. Nolan Smith hit a three-pointer to bring Duke back to within 13 points at 38-25, but Booker had a slam and Oglesby another trey as Clemson sprinted to a 44-27 lead with 16:05 remaining. At that point, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski sat on the Duke bench acting almost indifferent to the blowout in progress, and said afterward the game was exactly what it appeared to be - a rout. “Well, Clemson played great,” Krzyzewski said. “They have a great team, a great crowd, and great coaching. We were the opposite tonight, and my hat goes off to them. We just didn’t compete. Clemson out played us for 40 minutes. It was 40 minutes of them dominating. They just kicked our butt.” After Oglesby’s three-pointer, Jerai Grant had a put back for two points, then blocked a Gerald Henderson shot on one end, ran the length of the floor and took a feed from Andre Young for a dunk on the other end that almost brought the rim and the house down, and the Tigers had their first 20-point lead of the night at 48-28. Duke would get back to within 17 at 56-39 on a Kyle Singler dunk with just over nine minutes remaining, but Oglesby hit another three, Booker had a steal and thunderous dunk and Rivers hit a free throw and the rout became official as the Tigers opened up a 63-39 cushion. Back-to-back three-pointers by Oglesby and Booker with 4:23 remaining gave the Tigers a 70-43 lead, and Clemson fans and players could breathe a little easier. “Actually, I thought it was going to be a lot tougher than that,” said Clemson’s David Potter, who finished with eight points but also turned in a sterling defensive effort. “Even though it was still tough, I didn’t expect us to blow them out like that. I was thinking after the game that that was one of the worst beatings they have had in a long time. This feels great, and is one of the best wins we have had since I’ve been here.” Purnell said he was pleased with the overall effort of the Tigers. “The field goal percentage was huge,” Purnell said of Clemson’s 46.7% from the field. “We rebounded better, and we played better this time against a Top 10 team. I have always said that you have to take lessons away from losses, and I thought we were able to apply them tonight. We really embraced the atmosphere and were comfortable.” Krzyzewski said that while the loss stings, he was not surprised by the final margin of victory. “I’m not surprised about anything tonight,” Krzyzewski said. “Clemson is a great team. We had no chance of winning that game. They didn’t win because we played poorly. They played better and made us not play well. Rivers and Booker are two of the best players in the country. Purnell is one of the best coaches. They have other players that show up every night. Clemson’s program has a lot of pride.” Oglesby said that Krzyzewski’s comments are a great compliment to the Tigers. “That is coming from one of the best coaches in the world, an Olympic champion,” Oglesby said. “He is an excellent mentor, and is just an excellent coach. He has them playing hard even at the end, and it is an honor for him to put us in that category. But, I felt like coming out in the second half we were really into it. I got a little nervous there, but we played well and came away with a huge win.” Next up for the Tigers, who moved into a first place tie in the ACC, at least in the loss column, are the Florida State Seminoles, who are 16-5 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. The game is at 7 p.m. in Littlejohn.
VISITORS: Duke 19-3,6-2
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