Maybe it was when Clemson's Adam Allenspach, having scored four of his team's eight points on the board, suddenly fell to the court with more than 11 minutes left in the first half with a hip pointer.
Maybe it was when Chris Carrawell denied the ACC's leading scorer Will Solomon, who averages over 20 points per game, a single point through the first half.
Maybe it was when Clemson's Tomas Nagys just stood there and allowed Matt Christensen to knock him down and put back a rebound in the second half or when reserve Andre Buckner, who played only five minutes fewer than starter Carlos Boozer, notched a steal.
Whatever it was, Saturday was horrible for Clemson.
Duke's 93-59 victory will likely send Clemson back on a losing streak, not to mention what Clemson's terrible performance says about N.C. State, which lost to the Tigers by 17 earlier in the week.
At the half, as Duke led by 42 points, an ecstatic Mike Krzyzewski could not have been happier with his team.
"Thanks for playing so well," he told his players.
"Our team came ready to play," Krzyzewski said after the game. "I thought we
And play they did.
The Blue Devils showcased the fact that Clemson, despite its 59-42 win against the Wolfpack, is still destined for the cellar of the ACC standings. The Tigers' 59 points are not an accurate reflection of their skill, considering Duke's finishing lineup did not include a single starter. Every player on the Duke bench saw a least a minute of playing time.
More indicative of the Clemson effort were the Tigers' 16 first-half points. Increasingly desperate, Larry Shyatt's team just couldn't get its game together, clearly evident after Tomas Nagys' intentional foul against Jason Williams.
It just kept getting better for the Blue Devils.
At nearly the halfway mark of the ACC season, Duke remains undefeated in the league, on a record 29-game conference winning streak, and ranked No. 3 in the nation.
Given a week to rest, the high energy of Cameron, and a matchup so lopsided, Duke was able to showcase something new-its bench.
Overshadowed and under-respected, the Blue Devil bench demonstrated that while it won't be leading Duke to the Final Four, it probably won't be keeping the Blue Devils from Indianapolis, either.
"That was the best Matt Christensen's played," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Nick Horvath played today a little bit like he's playing in practice. We see improvement and we wanted to see if we could get some time for those guys. I also thought Andre did a good job, just handling it, putting pressure on the ball."
The starters were also at their best Saturday, especially the iron frontcourt of Chris Carrawell and Shane Battier. Jason Williams, back in stride with 17 points and a showy finger roll, continued to make his mark.
"He's a lot further along than he was in New York," Battier said. "He knows that he's stronger; he also knows he's good. He's a tough player, and we're starting to see glimpses of that right now."
Still, if the glimpses of what Duke saw Saturday afternoon are what the Blue Devils can expect as they face even tougher challenges ahead this week and through the remainder of the season, a shot at the Final Four might not be that far off.
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