Clemson
2017-18 record: 25-10, 11-7 in the ACC
Head coach: Brad Brownell
Tenure at Clemson: 9th season
Coaching record at Clemson: 149-113
Home court: Littlejohn Coliseum
Starters: G Marcquise Reed, G Shelton Mitchell, G John Newman III, F Aamir Simms, F David Skara
Bench: F Elijah Thomas, G Clyde Trapp
Overview: Clemson may be a football school, but its basketball team has been nipping at Duke’s heels for years.
The Blue Devils have eked out wins by no more than eight points in the last three contests—including a seven-point contest on the way to the 2017 ACC tournament title—since Duke fell to the Tigers on the road in 2016 by five points. Fresh off a run to the Sweet 16 and with a trio of starters returning, the Tigers will be a threat to the ACC’s bluebloods.
Clemson is likely to challenge Duke again when it comes to Durham in January. The Tigers retained their three core players from last year’s 25-10 season, which tied their best win total ever.
Redshirt junior Marcquise Reed was the team’s leading scorer last year, averaging 15.8 points per contest in his first season for the Tigers. The 6-foot-3 guard tested the NBA Draft waters before deciding to return to school.
Reed and fellow transfer Elijah Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward, scored 13 points apiece in last season's contest against the Blue Devils. Thomas, who did not start Clemson’s recent exhibition game, led the Tigers in rebounds and blocked shots last year. In addition to keeping the their core three, the Tigers also netted six newcomers for this season, bringing some height to the lineup with a pair of 6-foot-10 transfers and a 6-foot-11 freshman.
First-year guard John Newman III will provide a spark of energy for the Clemson team as well, and he cracked the starting lineup for the team’s exhibition win against UNC Wilmington in October.
The Tigers are trying to maintain their upward momentum in the feisty conference and have signed head coach Brad Brownell to a six-year, $15 million contract to do so. The Clemson team that will come to Cameron next semester now has one key element the Blue Devils lack—experience.
One thing that needs to go right: Clemson’s guards will have to use the perimeter if they want to beat the Blue Devils. The Tigers finished in the middle of the ACC last year in 3-point accuracy—averaging 36.6 percent shooting—but forward Aamir Simms has a solid shot and can force the Blue Devils to guard him all over the court.
One thing that could go wrong: Duke’s lineup has several inches on the Tigers’ starters, on average. The Blue Devils may be able to smother the Tigers under the hoop, and if it isn't on fire from the perimeter, Clemson may be toast.
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Bre is a senior political science major from South Carolina, and she is the current video editor, special projects editor and recruitment chair for The Chronicle. She is also an associate photography editor and an investigations editor. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief and local and national news department head.
Twitter: @brebradham
Email: breanna.bradham@duke.edu