Old North Banter
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Duke Blue Devils upset by Clemson on road

By Christian Candeloro

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 11: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a dunk by teammate Cassius Stanley #2 during the second half of their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 11: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts to a dunk by teammate Cassius Stanley #2 during the second half of their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The Blue Devils fell victim to a surging Tigers’ team on the road.

The No. 3 ranked Duke Blue Devils fell behind late and couldn’t recover, falling to the Clemson Tigers in a shocking upset, 78-72 at LittleJohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. The Blue Devils struggled to contain forward Aamir Sims (25 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and guard Tevin Mack (22 points, seven rebounds) as the duo combined to shoot 20-29 from the field.

For Duke, it was its first loss since the shocking upset to the hands of Stephen F. Austin on November 27th and its first conference loss of the season. Forward Vernon Carey Jr. led the team with 20 points and guard Tre Jones chipped in 17 in the losing effort.

The team was without Wendell Moore Jr. and Joey Baker, whose absence seemed to have an impact on the game. With both teams shooting over 50 percent from the field, having Baker’s three-point acumen would’ve been a potential game-changer for Duke.

Clemson suddenly is the hottest ACC team and the Blue Devils caught them at the wrong time. After losing handily in its first two ACC match-ups, the Tigers crushed N.C. State and followed it up with its first win in Chapel Hill in program history over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Tigers finished the first half strong, opening a nine-point lead at one point before heading into halftime with a seven-point lead.

The Blue Devils clawed back in the second half, briefly taking a 53-52 lead on a Jones transition three that threatened to shift the momentum squarely away from the Tigers. The Blue Devils led 62-61 with just over six minutes remaining before Clemson took control, outscoring Duke 17-10 through the remaining time.

The Blue Devils should probably stop scheduling games on January 14th in the future. One year ago, Syracuse came into Cameron Indoor and upset Duke, marking two straight years that the Blue Devils have been upset by an unranked team on this date.

Duke will have to rebound fast, as No. 11 Louisville comes to Durham on Saturday, fresh off its own upset scare.

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