Duke fans knew the sun would come up on Sunday morning.
The Blue Devils suffered a 77-71 upset to unranked Clemson on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. The loss halted a 13-game winning streak for Duke as the Blue Devils had climbed to No. 2 in rankings.
With No. 1 Auburn also losing on Saturday to No. 6 Florida, a win for Duke would have certainly meant being at the top of college basketball and pushing the winning streak to 14 games. Early on during that winning streak, Duke even beat Auburn 84-78 as part of the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge.
But it's still only February. When you're in as comfortable of a spot as the Blue Devils, one measly loss doesn't matter much until March.
The Blue Devils are still atop ACC standings with just one conference loss. They will still also likely be a projected No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
As Duke fans know what all is at stake and that an upset in February isn't their Super Bowl worth storming a court for, they were seemingly unbothered by the upset this weekend as they eye what's ahead.
This is the most sane Duke fans have been after a loss. I'm proud of y'all fr.
— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) February 9, 2025
Please everyone take any doomsday takes and leave them at the door. They won’t go 20-0, it’s not the end of the world
— Duke Wisdom (@Duke_Wisdom) February 9, 2025
Still very much a national championship quality team. This loss was pretty easy to foresee
Haven’t loss since Nov we’ll be fine lol https://t.co/LEEbd1Ut7y
— 🚀 (@MH_dagod) February 9, 2025
(#1 overall seed but I want Duke in Newark not Atlanta) pic.twitter.com/nqnX1HN9ni
— The Brotherhood (@BrotherhoodCBB) February 8, 2025
Final - Clemson 77 - Duke 71
— Duke Basketball In Depth (@DukeInDepth) February 9, 2025
Clemson is one of the top 3 teams in the ACC, and shot 59% at home.
Clemson's top 4 leading scorers are seniors. This was a legit matchup.
Duke needs to be tougher and more physical.
The goal in the ACC is still the 1 seed for the ACC tourney.
This was the L we could afford to take but man, that's tough.
— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) February 9, 2025
Respect.
it's up at Clemson!
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 8, 2025
Just to ESPN after the NBA game pic.twitter.com/grblA8nje5
The Blue Devils will look to restart a new winning streak against the ACC newcomer California Golden Bears on Wednesday night back at Cameron Indoor Stadium. However, with March nearing, Duke won't be able to match its previous winning streak before the season ends with only seven games games.
Winning six in a row at the end is ultimately what really matters, though.