It was the easy preseason storyline in the ACC, and it has only gotten easier as conference play has begun.
The ACC was expected to be down this year. Duke was considered one of the best teams in the country, and Wake Forest and Boston College were supposed to be good, but the conference was not thought to be the same after losing many of last year's top players to the NBA.
The Eagles' and Demon Deacons' winless starts to conference play have given Duke even more separation from the teams that were supposed to contend for the conference championship. At this point, most believe that the top-ranked Blue Devils will cruise through their ACC slate.
Everyone, that is, except Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"I just think there are more good teams than everyone gives credit for," he said. "You tend to focus on one or two or three good teams, and we will always have a lot of good teams in our league."
Duke (15-0, 3-0 in the ACC) will take on another of those upset-minded teams when they travel to face Clemson (13-3, 2-1) Saturday at 2 p.m. The Tigers began the season with 11 straight wins but had cooled off somewhat before conference play began.
The conference's makeup this year has created parody. With most teams three games into their ACC schedule, only three are winless in conference play, and six teams are within one game of a .500 record in conference.
And with so little separating the ACC's best and worst, homecourt advantage has taken on greater importance. Only four road teams have won conference games. Clemson, historically an ACC bottom-feeder, has already won two games at home in Littlejohn Coliseum, including an overtime win over Wake Forest Jan. 8.
In that game, the Demon Deacons came back from 11 points down to go up by five with less than a minute to play in regulation. The Tigers forced a turnover, however, and Cliff Hammonds' three-pointer with 30 seconds to play forced overtime. In the extra frame, Clemson took a 74-71 lead on a layup by Vernon Hamilton with less than 50 seconds to play and hung on for the 74-73 win. The Tigers also beat Florida State at home Jan. 4.
Just three days after the Wake Forest upset and the subsequent court-rushing celebration, the Tigers will take a shot at another. But this time, the foe is top-ranked and undefeated Duke.
"We've got a quick turnaround now," Krzyzewski said. "[Clemson head coach] Oliver Purnell's team is always good, especially there.... We'll have our hands full."
The Tigers' strength is their opportunistic defense; they have held opponents to 63 points per game this season, despite allowing them to make nearly 42 percent of their shots, the ACC's third worst mark.
They make up for their opponents' relatively high shooting percentage by forcing turnovers; the 312 they have registered so far this season is by far the best in the conference. And their 11.3 steals per game is tops in the ACC by almost a full takeaway per contest, and they also lead the conference in blocked shots per game.
Nigerian-born center Akin Akingbala is among the ACC leaders in blocked shots and rebounds.
On offense, Clemson employs a balanced attack. Guard Vernon Hamilton leads the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game, but five other Tigers score more than eight points per contest. Reserve guard Shawan Robinson, however, is the only one of those five averaging in double figures. Nine different players have led the team in scoring for at least one game this season.
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