Clemson @ Duke preview
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jan 14, 2020 ) Duke 72, Clemson 79
Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Clemson and Duke each ended three-game losing streaks earlier this week.
One of the squads will temporarily put their recent woes in the past with a second consecutive win when the Tigers visit the Blue Devils on Saturday in Durham, N.C.
Duke (6-5, 4-3 ACC) lost three straight games -- all on the road -- before dispatching Georgia Tech 75-68 on Tuesday. Clemson (10-4, 4-4) ended a three-game slide that saw it fall out of the top 25 with a 54-50 home triumph over Louisville on Wednesday.
Clemson gave up an average of 82.7 points during the rough stretch before holding an opponent to 50 or fewer points for the third time this season. Overall, the Tigers allow 62.4 points per game.
"I think over the last week and a half, I think everyone in the country forgot how we play defense and how we play our game," Tigers leading scorer Aamir Simms said after the victory. "We're not a team that's going to outscore you, we're not going to put up 80 on the scoreboard. We're going to lock down, play defense and we prefer ugly wins over anything."
Simms recorded 16 points and nine rebounds against Louisville to raise his team-best averages to 12.0 points and 5.9 boards per game.
He is the only player scoring in double digits for a team that is built around defense. Clemson coach Brad Brownell was pleased to see the huge shift in fortunes against the Cardinals.
"I'm just happy for my players, it's been a hard eight or nine days," Brownell said. "It's not only winning the game, but the way we won it. Got back to who we need to be to be a good team."
The Tigers may need a yeoman effort against the Blue Devils because they have lost 18 straight visits to the Duke campus. The Blue Devils are 63-4 at home versus Clemson.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski also was feeling relieved after his team's victory over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils scored the final seven points while avoiding a fourth straight loss.
"This has been a long journey and every team goes through it different," Krzyzewski said afterward. "Losing three games, the last one being a very winnable game for us, it can go the other way real easy."
Krzyzewski was referring to a 70-65 loss to Louisville on Jan. 23 when the Cardinals scored the final six points of the game.
The Blue Devils displayed solid balance against Georgia Tech as DJ Steward scored 19 points, Jalen Johnson added 18 and Matthew Hurt had 17. Jordan Goldwire contributed off the bench with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Goldwire, who averages 7.3 points per game, said it was crucial that Duke prevented its skid from growing.
"It feels great, obviously," Goldwire said of halting the slide. "It's not something that happens a lot here at Duke, but we play in a tough league. We lost three tough games and we've just got to get back on the horse.
"This win for us was huge, but we're not satisfied -- we've got to come back Saturday ready to play."
Hurt leads the Blue Devils in scoring (19.2) and rebounding (8.2). Steward (13.6) and Johnson (12.4) also score in double digits.
--Field Level Media