Duke’s matchup this Saturday features two teams coming off a feel-good victory to end a three-game losing streak. However, only one of these teams will be able to avoid a fourth loss in five games.
The Blue Devils take on Clemson Saturday at 12 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium looking to secure their second-straight win. In order to do that, the team must replicate the three key factors that sealed the deal in Tuesday’s win against Georgia Tech: leadership, success in the paint and limiting fouls.
One important aspect of that is the play of senior point guard Jordan Goldwire.
“I thought today was as good of a game as he's played at Duke, because he played it in a leadership role,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Goldwire’s performance against the Yellow Jackets.
Goldwire has played at least 32 minutes in five of Duke’s six wins this season, and the Blue Devils are 4-1 when he plays at least 33 minutes. Put simply, this team wins when Goldwire is out there leading it.
Clemson presents Goldwire with a tough task, however. The Tigers held highly-talented Louisville guard Carlik Jones to just 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting from the field Wednesday. That statistic should impress the Blue Devils, who undoubtedly remember all 24 of Jones’ points against them this past Saturday.
The importance of the Blue Devils’ presence in the paint cannot be understated, either. Duke out-rebounded Georgia Tech 43 to 28, with sophomore forward Matthew Hurt and freshman forward Jalen Johnson putting forward an impressive display of rebounding and scoring in the paint against the Yellow Jackets. Those two will need to do the same against Clemson if the Blue Devils hope to come out on top.
Another key name is Mark Williams. The seven-footer has struggled to find minutes on the court this year, but his fast-improving post game and defensive presence are beginning to add a new threat to this Duke squad.
“[Williams] gave us a big boost, going forward,” Krzyzewski said following Tuesday’s win.
The Tigers will also look to make things difficult for Duke in the paint with a dangerous combination of size and experience. Four of their starters and immediate bench players are taller than 6-foot-8, and three of those four are juniors or seniors.
Lastly, Duke will need to maintain its sharp improvement in the foul department. After handing their opponents 19, 37 and 24 free throw attempts in their previous three losses, respectively, the Blue Devils only allowed Georgia Tech to shoot five attempts from the charity stripe. Duke also made it to the line more often itself Tuesday night, taking 22 free throws compared to the nine it shot against Louisville three days prior.
“We were more aggressive in trying to get into the paint,” Goldwire said Tuesday.
Clemson presents a tough challenge in this department as well, though, as the Tigers have held their opponent to 16 free throws or fewer in each of their last four games, with two of those opponents recording eight or fewer.
The scoring formula for these two teams is strikingly similar, with two forwards and a guard leading the way. For Clemson, that trio includes forwards Hunter Tyson and Aamir Simms in addition to guard Al-Amir Dawes, who were the lone three Tigers to score in double digits in the team’s victory against Louisville.
“He’s a great player,” Hurt said of Simms. “He had a really great game against us last year. He’s going to be a key matchup for us.”
Those three will bring an exciting challenge for Duke’s own trio of scorers: Hurt, Johnson and freshman guard DJ Steward.
A similar offensive attack isn’t the only thing these teams have in common. Both Clemson and Duke hope to string together a streak of wins to offset their recent losing streaks, with the goal of sparking a flame for March. A win this Saturday in Cameron Indoor is essential to that mission.
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