The sidewalk in front of the Wilson Recreation Center may be a little less crowded tomorrow.
The match-up between conference leading Duke (15-2, 6-0 ACC) and ACC cellar-dwellers Clemson (7-12, 1-5) just doesn't have the same appeal as recent games in Cameron.
But that doesn't make tomorrow's 4 p.m. game any less important for the Blue Devils, who are looking to regain their stride after a precious week off.
"You prepare the same way," said Shane Battier. "That's the mark of a great team."
Great teams or not, Duke and Clemson are headed in opposite directions.
Despite last night's victory over NC State, Clemson is the only ACC team with a losing record. The Tigers are coming into Cameron with a six-game losing streak, including a loss to South Carolina State.
The Blue Devils, on the other hand, sit two games above anyone else in the conference, are riding a 15-game winning streak, a 28-game conference winning streak and have their highest national ranking this year at No. 3.
Although no opponent will admit to fearing Duke, its recent accomplishments have brought it even more respect in the basketball
"They are the finest example of combining excellence as a program and doing it in a way no one thought they would," said Clemson coach Larry Shyatt. "The accomplishments made in the last week should not be taken lightly, especially in the best basketball conference in the country."
While Saturday seems like a cake-walk for the Blue Devils, the players definitely think otherwise.
"There are no easy games in the ACC," Battier said. "There are no games that you can consider unimportant."
Clemson does pose one lethal weapon the Blue Devils must contain-Will Solomon. The conference's leading scorer is averaging 21.1 points per game.
"He's a courageous player who is in amazing shape," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "To play both offense and defense as well as he does, and to be the target of all the other coaches really says a lot for him."
Solomon is extremely athletic and is a threat both inside and outside, shooting 35 percent from behind the arc. It will be the task of swingman Chris Carrawell to guard the Tigers' biggest threat.
"He's a great one-on-one player," Carrawell said. "It's going to be an important matchup. He's a little bit quicker than I am and a little bit shorter. We have to limit his touches. I don't think it's easier to guard him, because if he's the only option, every opportunity he gets he's going to go at you."
The only other advantage Clemson has is their inside height. But a surging Carlos Boozer, along with Carrawell and Battier, should be able to contain any threat it may pose.
The Tigers also will have to worry about last week's rookie of the week, Jason Williams, who had 19 points in the Devils last outing against Wake Forest.
In addition, the Blue Devils are benefitting from a week off from basketball and classes.
"Personally speaking, I think I needed it," Carrawell said. "I needed it to get refreshed and that's what happened. My teammates got refreshed. We'd been in a couple wars, so to get this time off really helped."
While the student body got most of the week off, the Blue Devils also missed a few practices because of the snow.
"I liked missing classes," Carrawell said. "I didn't like missing practice."
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