The Duke Blue Devils came into Saturday’s game against the Clemson Tigers off of an emotionally charged overtime win over rival North Carolina on Wednesday night. There were also questions about the status of freshman forward Jahlil Okafor, who suffered a sprained ankle on Wednesday. Even with Okafor out, Duke still dominated the game.
Quinn Cook matched his career high scoring 27 points to lead the Duke Blue Devils to a 78-56 win over the Clemson Tigers. Justise Winslow added a double-double scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Duke finished the game shooting 51.7% from the floor including a combined 19-for-32 by Winslow and Cook.
With the win, Duke improves to 11-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which is good for 3rd place. They are sitting just a half game behind Notre Dame for 2nd place as well as a game and half behind the leaders, Virginia. Duke holds a two-game edge over Louisville and North Carolina for 4th place, so the Blue Devils do have a little cushion in case they struggle late in the season.
The Clemson Tigers fall to 7-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 15-12 overall. Jaron Blossomgame finished as the only Clemson player in double figures with 10 points. They have lost four of their last five games.
Clemson has three conference games remaining starting with a home date against Georgia Tech next Saturday. Duke hits the road for a clash with the Virginia Tech Hokies on Wednesday night before returning home next Saturday to host the Syracuse Orange.