The Clemson basketball team is locked in an uphill battle with the #12 ranked Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Arena, but trail 32-26 at the half. The Tigers held their own early with the traditional ACC and national powerhouse and are looking to pull off an upset to climb back into the ACC standings. They will need a big second half rally to do so. Here are a few observations from a back and forth first half between the Clemson Tigers and Duke Blue Devils.
Intimidation Factor
Cameron Indoor Arena is a notoriously hard place to play for opposing teams, and Duke relies heavily on the intimidation factor to gain an early advantage over their opposition. Clemson came out swinging in the first half and was not fazed by the raucous crowd. The Tigers raced out to a 10-5 lead behind five points from P.J. Hall and had the Blue Devils back on their heels in the early going. Duke responded and reclaimed the lead with under 10 minutes to play in the first half, leaving Clemson to play catch-up. The Tigers have shown, though, that they can withstand the hostile environment.
Physical game
It has been a battle down low between P.J. Hall and Duke’s Kyle Filipowski. Hall has found success against his post counterpart, but while Clemson as a team are getting to the rim, lots of contact is not being called. Conversely, the Blue Devils have been awarded free throws on several occasions where the contact down low was no more severe than when Clemson has the ball. Some consistency from the officiating would be welcome, but the Tigers have to find a way to work through and around the lack of calls.
Three-point shooting woes continue
The three-point shot continues to be a bur in the side of the Clemson offense. The Tigers have knocked down just two shots from long distance in the first half, with many shots from their best shooters like Joseph Girard III and Chase Hunter not finding the mark. Meanwhile, Duke has caught fire from three-point range, knocking down a barrage of treys in the final seven minutes of the first half to put some distance between themselves and Clemson. The Tigers must find an answer, either to stop Duke at the three-point line or to find a way to answer themselves. If they cannot do one or the other or both, it will be a long rest of the afternoon in Durham.
Get Ian Schieffelin going
Fellow Clemson big man Ian Schieffelin has been conspicuously quiet in the first half. The Tigers’ bruising power forward has been held scoreless in the first half. With an offense that is already limited, not having offensive production from Schieffelin is not something that the Tigers can afford. Neither team has shot the ball well sans the flurry of Duke threes late in the half, but Ian’s absence on the offensive end left Clemson without the ability to take advantage. If the Tigers want to get back into this game, they need a balanced attack on their end of the court and that includes Ian Schieffelin.
Closing the gap
Clemson battled back with a 6-0 run to close out the first half. Duke had paced its lead to 32-20 and had the Tigers on the ropes, but that strong close to the first half ensured that Clemson is well within striking distance. With better shooting in the second half, the Tigers are in a good spot to continue their rally and upset Duke.
Chase Hunter and P.J. Hall lead Clemson with 8 and 7 points respectively. Mark Mitchell leads all scorers with 10 points for Duke while Tyrese Proctor has 9.
