Tigers blown out at Duke as slide continues

Clemson returns to action Tuesday night, hosting UNC at 7 pm

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Jan 30 14:02:52 GMT-04:00 2021

Clemson basketball’s post-COVID-19 revival lasted just one game.

Clemson broke a three-game losing streak with a win over a ranked Louisville team Wednesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum, but suffered a humiliating loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday, 79-53, to the Duke Blue Devils. The defeat was the Tigers’ fourth in five games since a pause in basketball activities in early January.

Clemon falls to 10-5 overall and 4-5 in the ACC, while Duke improves to 7-5 overall and 5-3 in league play.

Aamir Simms led Clemson with 19 points, while Chase Hunter added nine. Clemson once again struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 5-21 shots. Duke had 40 rebounds to Clemson’s 34, and had 15 fast-break points to just two for the Tigers.

Duke jumped out to leads of 2-0, 17-5, and eventually 27-11 in the first half as the Tigers couldn’t shake off a cold-shooting start and turned the ball over multiple times. The Tigers trimmed the lead to 12 twice in the final minutes of the first half, but again went cold and Duke ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 41-22 lead at intermission.

Duke then started the second half on an 11-0 run, part of an 18-0 run carried over from the first half, to take a 52-22 lead. The Tigers never recovered.

At one point in the second half, the Tigers trailed by 30-plus points, the third time in the five games this month that Clemson has trailed an opponent by 30 or more points in the second half of a game. Clemson has lost four games in January by an average of 24.5 points.

Clemson hosts UNC Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Littlejohn Coliseum (ACC Network).

Head Coach Brad Brownell’s Postgame Quotes

Opening statement:

"Our offense these last two weeks has struggled, and it's sinking into our defense. Our players have lost their spirit on defense because they've lost confidence offensively. We turned the ball over again today. We needed to keep Duke out of transition, and we couldn't do it. Duke had 25 points off turnover, and that's when they're at their best. Somehow, we've got to find a way to be better on offense.”

On Chase Hunter and Olivier-Maxence Prosper:

"I thought that 'O-Max' played with great energy. Chase had some good juice today and made some shots, so that was good to see. O-Max's physicality was good. He did a good defensive job on Jalen Johnson."