No. 4 Duke couldn't have played much worse than it did in a 74-47 loss Wednesday at No. 10 Clemson. And with another critical stretch in the ACC looming, the Blue Devils can't afford to take any more time finding their rhythm, either.
On Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke (19-3, 6-2 in the ACC) tries to regain its mojo against a surging Miami team that crushed No. 7 Wake Forest Wednesday.
"We have to be a mature team," senior David McClure said Wednesday after the loss. "We have older guys, and we have to come back."
Regardless of the Hurricanes' recent success, Duke has plenty of aspects of its own game to focus on. The Blue Devils' defense, which Virginia head coach Dave Leitao called the best in the league less than a week ago, was torched for 74 points by Clemson. Duke's defense had previously only given up 70 or more points twice all season, and it lost each of those games.
As ineffective as the defense was Wednesday, the offense was worse. Duke scored just 47 points, its lowest output since 1995, en route to its most lopsided loss since 1990.
Junior Gerald Henderson, who has led Duke in scoring in seven of its last eight games, will need some help, and Kyle Singler seems to be the most worthy candidate to assist Henderson. Singler, the Blue Devils' leading scorer, sat on the bench for most of the second half with four fouls Wednesday and finished 2-of-8 from the field for six points. He scored just five points in the win over Virginia Sunday. He has only scored less than five points once in his career.
And whereas the Blue Devils struggled to break Clemson's press Wednesday, they will have to contend with a similarly difficult defense Saturday: Miami's vaunted zone defense.
The fact that the Hurricanes (15-7, 4-5) are riding a wave of momentum won't make anything easier. Miami routed the Demon Deacons-a team that beat Duke last week-by 27 points Wednesday, when senior guard Jack McClinton scored a season-best 32 points, including 14 straight late in the game. He shot 6-of-10 from 3-point range, doubling Duke's total output from beyond the arc on the same night.
Demon Deacons head coach Dino Gaudio had high praise for McClinton Wednesday, calling his "one of the best performances I've seen in my eight years in the ACC," and the Blue Devils can only hope they can contain the explosive scorer better than Wake Forest did.
Because even though Miami is surging and Duke seems to be reeling, the Blue Devils will attempt to at least learn something from a loss that head coach Mike Krzyzewski called "embarrassing."
Otherwise, the Blue Devils will see themselves drop from a tie for first place in the league into a four-way tie for fourth.
"You have to take responsibility of what you've done," Krzyzewski said. "What you do with the responsibility determines where you are. Don't make any excuses. I've found that to be a really good formula."
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