DUKE 94
CLEMSON 63

  With His Bad Self Runnin' Things...

   Duke whipped Clemson 94-63 in the first round of the ACC tournament on March 9th.  The game featured 17 Duke three pointers, the return of Mike Dunleavy from mono, and the Blue Devils turning the game into a laugher after a tight first eight minutes.  Duke actually shot better from three (17-29) than two (16-30), which almost makes sense because Clemson often left Duke virtually unguarded.  The Tigers packed their defense in tight, making entry passes difficult and cutting off the drive.  Duke countered by making some quick strikes in transition, hitting some precise passes into the post, and relocating the ball expertly to open shooters.  How much playing time Dunleavy was to get had been somewhat vague, with K ready to yank him if his defense wasn't up to snuff or if he was overly tired.  But he looked the same as ever, maybe a bit thinner but with the same slick game. 

  The first eight minutes were tense, as Duke took some quick shots and turned the ball over a bit.  Duke burst out to a 7-2 lead thanks to Carrawell calming everyone's nerves by hitting a jumper, getting a rebound basket, and finding James for a three.  Solomon hit a long three to jump-start the Tigers, and soon the score was tied at 7.  Back-to-back threes from Carrawell and Battier gave Duke their largest lead at 6.  I have to say a bit about Chris' three.  He was dribbling on the wing, without making any move to drive, when without warning he squared up his feet and his arms flew in several directions as he hit the shot.  It was the anti-Langdon in terms of textbook form, but his release was surprisingly quick and he swished it under pressure. Clemson fought back once again, drawing some fouls and getting the margin down to 1 at 15-14.  Then the wheels fell off.

  On three straight possessions, Williams ripped through the Tigers for amazing passes in the post.  Clemson had trouble dealing with the Duke players who had perfect position each time.  Then Dunleavy came off the bench and hit a three and Duke was suddenly up by 11 at 25-14.  After a Clemson bucket, Duke applied a devastating 21-2 run that removed any lingering doubts about this game.  While Duke hit 5 threes in the stretch, rebounding also played a part.  Battier attempted a three at the start, missed, grabbed his own board and ran back to the corner, where this time he knocked it down.  On another play, Carrawell got a steal and ran it all the way back where he missed, but James was trailing and got the putback.  Duke mixed it up a bit as well, with Williams driving twice and scoring 4 points, 2 on foul shots and 2 on a nice bankshot.  Dunleavy showed spectacular form by draining  a couple of threes as well.  When the smoke cleared, Duke had a 46-18 lead. Clemson closed out the half on a 10-5 mini-run, but Williams and James did hook up for 2 more baskets in that time period.  Duke had a commanding 51-28 lead.     

  Duke started the second half with all guns blazing, as Nate found Jason for a three, Battier had a steal and breakaway dunk, and C'well found Jason on a nifty give-and-go.  On another possession, Batter came up with a steal and started a break, giving the ball to Williams.  Williams had a behind-the-back pass to Battier, who got fouled going up.  He made both shots and Duke started the half with an 11-2 run and broke out to a thirty point lead.  Clemson had a mini 11-5 run, but by that time there were only ten minutes left in the half.  Duke salted things away with a 7-0 run that ended with Dunleavy getting a steal and layup.  The reserves started coming in with about nine minutes left and did quite well, maintaining the same level of intensity.  The two teams pretty much traded baskets after that, with Buckner and Caldbeck both getting threes.

  This was a solid win against a Clemson team that had shown a lot of improvement during a painful season.  First team All-ACC performer Will Solomon was only 5-18 and tough center Adam Allenspach only had 6 points and 4 rebounds.  The win brings Duke ever closer to a #1 seed.  Recent wins by former Duke foes Illinois, DePaul and St. John's also brings up Duke's RPI a bit, making a better case for the seed.  The presence of  Dunleavy made the team more relaxed and confident, allowing players like Carrawell the luxury of slipping back into his defensive specialist role  for awhile.   

  ** Negatives:

 1. Turnovers.  Duke was surprisingly sloppy, with Williams throwing a number of questionable passes early in the game.  Dunleavy was also a bit shaky at first.  Clemson had trouble capitalizing, in part because Duke recovered well, but other teams might have rammed the mistakes down Duke's throat.

 2. Free throw shooting.  11-17 is a bit shaky.  Boozer was only 2-5 and Sanders missed both.  Not a huge problem, but one would prefer Boozer to keep a steady rhythm.  

 ** Positives:

 1. Rebounding.  Duke absolutely ate Clemson alive on the boards.  Duke held a 22-9 advantage in the first half alone and 37-25 for the game.  The frontcourt had 20 boards and the bench came up with 13.  Duke's early work on the offensive boards gave them the impetus to get that early lead.  Duke has suddenly done some fine boardwork against 2 of the best teams in the league in that category--Clemson and UNC.  They've certainly started to atone for their atrocious rebounding performance against St. John's that in essence cost them the game.

 2. Shot selection.  On the face of things, one has to wonder about a team that takes 29 three pointers in a single game, but not when they hit 17 of them.  But it was Duke's mixing things up offensively in the first half that helped them get the lead, as they went inside for quick strikes before going outside for their long-range bombs.

 3. Killer instinct.  A few days ago at Clemson, Duke held a 20 point lead but frittered it away, making the last few minutes of the game rather tense. Here, Duke turned up the defensive pressure and went for the throat on offense, with Battier and Williams coming up with most of the points.  This made the last ten minutes of the game a cakewalk and let Duke get some rest.

 Player-by-Player Analysis:

 ** Boozer:  While Carlos had a somewhat quiet game, it was his two post scores that opened up the Clemson defense and allowed Duke to bomb away with  impunity.  Carlos was very active on defense and helped make the normally tough Allenspach a relative non-entity.  Carlos did a couple of unusual things.  First, he had one score on a baseline drive, showing a pretty nice handle.  Second, he really went after loose balls, sacrificing his body in a Battier-like fashion.  He also rebounded very well at both ends.  He did just enough to open things up for the perimeter players.  While Clemson took him out of the game in some ways, they couldn't deal with the rest of Duke's proficient scorers. 

 ** Battier:  Smooth, effective and powerful.  While he never went on one of his huge scoring binges, he was there for the entire game.  This was also one of his best rebounding games in quite some time as well as one of his most intimidating defensive performances.  He terrorized the Tigers with 3 blocks and 4 steals, some in the passing lanes and some right under the basket.  It was a great performance because Shane was active the  entire time, spotting up and hitting threes every few minutes and playing hard the entire time.  It may be a subtle aspect of the Dunleavy Effect, where the tired starters suddenly feel like they don't have to hold back because there's someone there to take their place if they get tired.

 ** Carrawell:  Normally, if Chris was to pick up his third foul in the first half, this would be a cause for concern.  But with Dunleavy back to pick up the slack and Duke holding a 20 point lead, not only was this not a problem, it was a blessing.  It got C'well some quality rest time, and also meant that he could concentrate on harrassing Solomon instead of having to worry about hunting his shot.  Which is not to say that he didn't deliver on offense.    He scored 7 of Duke's first 11 points, pulling up for a jumper, hitting a three and getting a rebound basket.  His last couple of scores came on a cut for an easy basket and a drive.  He was also doing his usual good job in distributing the ball, finding James for a three, Williams on a cut and Dunleavy for a three.  Solomon did not get a single good look within 20 feet of the basket, as Carrawell even blocked a short runner from him.  It was a well-earned "night off" for Chris.

 ** James:  What a solid night for Nate.  The word to describe his play is "energized", as he was everywhere on defense, smart on offense, and just brought up the level of play for the whole team.  He hit an early three and had a rebound basket on the break, but where he really stood out was in the last five minutes of the half.  He was part of a 10-0 run that gave Duke a 28 point lead, but more importantly, he broke up a 6-0 Clemson burst by hitting a three and scoring on a Williams feed.  That halted any momentum the Tigers might have gained.  He then found Williams for a three on Duke's first 2nd half possession.  He continued to play high-octane defense, coming up with a couple of steals.  If he continues to be a reliable scoring option in every game, Duke will be tough to beat.

 ** Williams: While Jason was sort of spazzing out early in the game with two bad turnovers and some questionable shot selection, he settled down and carved up the Tiger defense with some breathtakingly beautiful passes, finding Boozer in transition and in the halfcourt, as well as finding C'well on a cut.  Those 6 straight points gave Duke a 22-14 lead and heralded the rain of threes that was about to commence.  He then played another part in an important sequence, hooking up twice with Nate James for some late first half baskets.  His 6 turnovers were somewhat disturbing as they were mostly unforced, but I think they were a reflection of him being overly excited at times.  He more than made up for them with some spectacular plays, but this will be a concern against a team that actually puts a lot of pressure on him (ie, Maryland).  Jason's jumper was malfunctioning in the first half but he found his range in the second, nailing a couple of threes.  Jase also came up with his usual 2 steals.

  ** Dunleavy:  Many happy returns for Mike D.  While his ballhandling and passing was a bit shaky at first, he showed a touch on his jumper that I hadn't seen all season long.  I especially liked his use of the pump fake to freeze the defender and get a wide-open look, not just once but twice. Mike did all sorts of nice things.  In addition to getting his 4 threes, he also had a steal and transition layup and a nice reverse layup on a  pass from Williams.  He took a charge as he cleverly positioned himself in the way of a driving player who wasn't looking.  He got an offensive rebound and managed to slide in for 4 overall.  He made some ballhandling errors and looked a tad bit stiff, but it was a great return game after all that time away.  

 ** Christensen:  Just a cameo appearance from Matt, who still managed to get a couple of rebounds.  I think K was holding him in reserve until  Saturday, when he might be needed against Wake's army of big men.

 ** Horvath:  Got some decent minutes and while he didn't score, he did come up with 2 steals and some tough boards.  He's gotten much better at playing the passing lanes and anticipating passes, a crucial part of understanding the Duke defensive system.  Found Buckner for a three after a rebound.

 ** Sanders: Casey showed some improved toughness by bouncing back up like a rubber band after he was clubbed across his neck by a forearm.  He scored on a putback and used his quickness to get a block.  Another very energetic performance.  5 boards in just nine minutes is an attention-grabber.  He  did miss 2 free throws and his other shot attempt looked pretty ugly.   

 ** Buckner: Stroked a beautiful three from the corner and found Caldbeck for one of his own.

 ** Caldbeck: Hit the record-breaking 17th three of the game for Duke with time running down.

 ** Simpson: Attempted a three but missed pretty badly.

 ** Borman: Played but didn't do much.

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu