The Clemson Tigers are one year removed from the Sweet 16, but even though the team has struggled to find its footing this season, the Duke Basketball team must be ready for the Tigers best.
The Clemson Tigers return four of its six top players from last season, but coming in at 10-3 this year, the Tigers are still trying to gain some traction as ACC play starts on Saturday night.
In terms of the ‘Power Six’ conferences in college basketball, Clemson has played five ‘Power Six’ teams in non-conference play and went 2-3 in those games.
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The Tigers defeated Georgia and South Carolina, but fell to Creighton, Nebraska, and then No. 22 Mississippi State.
Clemson is led by senior Marcquise Reed who averages 20.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, the most points and assists per game on the team.
Reed is able to get his points inside of the 3-point arc and at the foul line, shooting 48.6% from the field and 85.2% from the free throw line, yet only 28.9% from 3-point range.
Reed’s fellow senior, Shelton Mitchell, is also a leader on this Clemson team as he averages 13.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. Mitchell’s shooting percentages are very similar to Reed’s as he shoots 41.7% from the field, 80.8% from the free throw line, but only 29.5% from 3-point range.
The Blue Devils must also be wary of Elijah Thomas and Aamir Simms.
Thomas is the leading rebounder on this Clemson team with 7.6 rebounds per game along with 13.5 points, 1.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. Elijah Thomas is yet another senior on Clemson and he gets a lot of looks close to the basket, shooting 63.6% from the field, but only 69.4% from the free throw line and only attempting one three pointer on the season.
As for Simms, he shoots 52.0% from the field, 80.0% from the free throw line, and 37.3% from 3-point range, which is good enough for 10.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.
Clemson isn’t a strong 3-point shooting team, but the Blue Devils must keep an eye out for senior David Skara who is averaging 9.2 points per game while being the best 3-point shooter on the team, making 41.9% of his attempts.
The Duke defense has been elite all season and for success on Saturday night against Clemson, the Blue Devils must pack the paint and force the Tigers to take, and make the 3-point ball.
The Duke Blue Devils and the Clemson Tigers will tip off ACC play at 8:00 pm ET from Cameron Indoor Stadium and the game can be seen on ESPN.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the Clemson Tigers.