The Duke Blue Devils (24-3, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are starting to come together at the right time. Saturday's 78-56 victory over the Clemson Tigers had the potential to be a tough spot for the Blue Devils, who were coming off an emotional win Wednesday night against rival North Carolina. It was the perfect situation for your classic, "letdown spot".
However, Duke used pressure and an up-tempo pace to take control of this game. Justice Winslow had 17 of his 20 points in the first half and throughout the opening period, he made the Blue Devils tick.
One Duke player that is not getting enough love is senior guard Quinn Cook. Cook, who had 27 points on Saturday, is averaging 22 points per game over his last 4.
Many people think that Duke's weakness could be their depth. The Blue Devils were down to seven scholarship players yesterday because of the Okafor injury. These next couple weeks there should be some time for key Duke players to get some rest, especially Okafor. The Blue Devils next three games are at Virginia Tech, - Syracuse, and - Wake Forest.
Clemson also had an injury concern coming into this contest. The teams leading scorer and rebounder, Jaron Blossomgame, injured his ankle Friday morning and was in a walking boot. Blossomgame did play and contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds. This loss dropped the Tigers to 15-12 overall and they are now 7-8 in the ACC. Perhaps the future looks good for the Tigers, however. They will return a bulk of their players and just signed Coach Brad Brownell to a six year extension.
Duke's goal is now to get everything in place for a #1 seed. Just about every bracketologist has the Blue Devils as a #1, mostly due to road wins against Wisconsin, Louisville, and Virginia. With only four regular season games remianing and the ACC tournament just two and half weeks away it is now time to gear up for the stretch run and get everyone on the same page.