On a night where Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg struggled, the Clemson Tigers took advantage of a small window of an opportunity. The second-ranked Blue Devils had a tough night shooting, particularly in the second half, allowing Clemson to gain a slight edge and eventually take control.
Clemson continues finding ways to hang around in games, and the Tigers did so Saturday and picked up a win, handing Duke a 77-71 loss to snap the Blue Devils’ 16-game winning streak. The Blue Devils haven’t experienced a loss yet this calendar year, last registering a defeat to Kansas on Nov. 12.
Duke suffered its first loss in ACC play (12-1) on the same day that No. 1 Auburn dropped a gritty contest with SEC foe Florida.
Flagg, who had just four points on 2-of-5 shooting in the half, helped keep Duke in the game with some heroic baskets in the final five minutes. Flagg finished with 18 points, including 14 in the second half, shot 6-of-17 from the floor, grabbing five rebounds and snatching three steals. Tyrese Proctor led the Blue Devils with 23 points, but this night was about the Tigers.
Four players reached double figures for Clemson, led by center Viktor Lakhin who tallied 22 points and four rebounds while forward Ian Schiefffelin added a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double that Duke wrestled with all night. Chase Hunter finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Despite Clemson beginning the second half on a 21-8 run, the Blue Devils took the lead with 40.8 seconds remaining after Flagg drained a go-ahead 3-pointer to give Duke a one-point cushion. But Hunter responded with a downhill drive that resulted in a layup and the lead, eventually sealing the game at the charity stripe.
The Tigers picked up a quality win over a streaky Duke team, making up for their triple overtime loss to Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Clemson has won seven of its last eight games, and are solidifying themselves as an NCAA tournament team with the quality of this win.
Duke, meanwhile, turns to a date with California on Wednesday.
Lakhin dominates for Clemson
For much of the game, Duke had no answer for Clemson big man Viktor Lakhin. The skilled 6-foot-11 Cincinnati transfer had one of his best performances of the season, leading the Tigers with 22 points — one off his season high — on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. He also had a helpful seal deep in the post on Chase Hunter’s go-ahead lay-up with under 40 seconds remaining, followed by a massive blocked shot on the other end, one of three he had for the game.
It proved just enough to fend off a late charge by Flagg and the Bue Devils.
Lakhin’s versatile combination of size and touch gave Duke all sorts of problems in the paint, where Clemson held a 40-22 scoring advantage, along with out-rebounding Duke 36-23 and winning second-chance points 15-5.
The fifth-year senior from Russia has struggled this season with the same inconsistency issues that hampered him at Cincinnati, including just five points and foul trouble in Tuesday’s disappointing home loss to Georgia Tech. But if Lakhin can maintain the level of play he showed Saturday against the Blue Devils, it creates frontcourt mismatches for a lot of opponents and could propel the Tigers to a deep NCAA Tournament run for the second straight March. — Justin Williams, college basketball staff writer
Clemson solidifies Tourney resume
Despite that Quad 3 loss to Georgia Tech this week, the Tigers entered Saturday on pace for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. With this Quad 1A upset of Duke, Clemson has all but locked up a bid, barring an unexpected collapse. The team is now 8-4 in the top two quandrants, including a non-conference win over Kentucky, and has no bad losses beyond Georgia Tech and respectable metrics overall. The win also keeps them tied for second place in the ACC standings with Louisville, just a game behind Duke. — Williams
(Photo: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
