Three Takeaways from Clemson's loss to the Duke Blue Devils
Clemson was handed its first home loss of the season when the Duke Blue Devils ended the game on a 9-0 run to defeat the Tigers 66-57 Sunday afternoon.
It was Clemson’s second consecutive loss, the first time that has happened this season, and another frustrating loss at that. The Tigers rallied after being down ten points to tie the game at 57 with two minutes left in the game, but couldn’t make the plays they needed to make to beat good Duke squad.
The Tigers shot 8-of-33 from the field in the second half (24.2 percent) and went on a scoring drought over a six-and-a-half minute span with ten minutes left in the game. As Brad Brownell noted after the game, you have to make plays if you are going to beat a top 10 team.
Duke made the plays. Clemson didn’t.
Here are three takeaways from Clemson's loss to the Blue Devils.
Back to Earth
We mentioned yesterday after the game it was already a tough hill to climb with Shelton Mitchell out with a head injury. But man, Clemson’s veteran guards picked the wrong night to have an off night.
Gabe DeVoe had been playing in a different stratosphere, scoring at least 24 points in three of the last five games. In those five games, DeVoe shot 58 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from three.
His outing against Florida State wasn’t as good as his previous few games, but his 11 points still put Clemson in a position to win the game.
Against Duke, DeVoe came crashing back to Earth.
He looked rattled as he started missing shot after shot, one he hoisted from 35-plus feet. DeVoe tried to shoot himself out of the slump, but Brownell wished he would have driven more to the basket instead of allowing himself to focus on what he was doing behind the arc.
After eight consecutive misses from three, DeVoe did make arguably Clemson’s biggest bucket of the game to bring his team to within two points in the game’s closing minutes.
But it was too little too late. His three points were not going to be enough if Clemson was going to have a shot to beat Duke.
It also didn’t help that Marcquise Reed didn’t have his best night shooting. He finished with 13 points to lead Clemson but shot 3-of-14 from the field. He tried to will his team to victory late, but Reed looked exhausted in the waning moments, and his efforts weren’t enough.
Clemson simply cannot afford for DeVoe and Reed to shoot 4-for-24 from the field in any game, especially if Mitchell isn’t on the court. The Tigers will only go as far as their veteran backcourt takes them.
“Where was Mark Donnal in the second half?”
The question on a lot of Clemson fan’s mind as they left Littlejohn Coliseum after the loss.
And for a good reason. Donnal played a great first half while coming off the bench. He led Clemson in scoring at the half with ten of Clemson’s 35 points. He was 4-for-4 from the field and did all of his damage in nine minutes.
So when Clemson struggled offensively in the second half, Donnal was on the bench. He played four minutes in the second half, but it didn’t seem like it. In those few moments, he missed two shots and snagged one rebound.
It was a surprising move by Brownell, who didn’t like the lineup he had with Donnal on the floor in the second half. He was asked after the game if it was a health issue for Donnal or if there was another reason he didn’t see much time after a great first half.
Here’s Brownell’s response in his own words:
“It was my decision. If you look at the half, Eli (Thomas) got in some foul trouble; Mark was very good. Then if you watch the second half, Eli was very good. If you look at the rebounds, Eli more than did his job today. And Mark played well. We played them both for a little while, but I didn’t love it. So I went back to a different lineup going smaller with either Aamir (Simms) or (David) Skara. I thought Mark and Eli both gave us good minute’s today.”
Yes, Eli’s 13 points and 15 rebounds were critical against an opponent with the length and athleticism Duke possesses.
But for Scott Spencer, who had only scored once in ACC play, to play when the game was on the line, fouling a three-point shooter to give Duke the ultimate lead, is baffling. He played six minutes in the second half compared to Donnal’s four.
Brownell made his decision. But in hindsight, it was the wrong one.
Hindsight’s 20/20.
Wednesday is not a “must-win” game
But a win at Virginia Tech would get things back on track to close the season.
In terms of seeding in the NCAA tournament, Clemson’s loss to Duke helped the Blue Devils more than it hurt the Tigers. Duke jumped up to No. 5 in the AP poll and can win out for a chance at a one seed in the NCAA tournament.
Clemson is still projected as a three seed according to many different outlets, so the loss did not set the Tigers back that much.
With that being said, Clemson’s game against a Hokie team which beat No. Virginia on the road is an important game for Clemson to find its winning ways again, but it’s not a “must win.”
The Tigers have four games remaining (at Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Florida State, at Syracuse) and even a split would most likely secure a double bye in the ACC tournament.
The biggest game remaining on Clemson’s schedule is a revenge game against No. 25 Florida State at home where the Tigers could solidify their seeding in the NCAA tournament. A 3-1 or 4-0 finish to the regular season would give Clemson a little more comfort and momentum heading into the ACC tournament.
It would be nice for Clemson to remember what winning feels like after dropping its last two games to build on what has worked so well in the past. Clemson has the chance to do just that on Wednesday night in Blacksburg.