Clemson wasn't scared of Duke tonight. Not one bit. They said it before the game, and man, oh man did they prove it for 40 minutes Wednesday night, absolutely thrashing the Blue Devils 74-47 in Littlejohn Coliseum.
And yes, thanks for asking, it's a complete and utter statement game for Clemson, the ACC and NCAA basketball in general. Question that all you want, but remember, Clemson beat exactly one top-five team in its last 36 tries and then straight-up rolled the Devils to the tune of the students chanting "over-ra-ted" with two minutes to go.
Mike Patrick, in fact, argued that "it's one of the biggest wins in the program's history." I wouldn't argue with that.
Of course, to make matters worse, the Clemson student section stormed the floor; I mean, congratulations to everyone involved and all that, but when you're a nationally-ranked team competing for an ACC title and you smoke one of the best teams in the country on your home court, play the part: Clap your hands, pump your fists and walk away.
But that aside, well, wow. Clemson showed up and they throttled the Blue Devils. Only two Dukies -- Gerald Henderson and Lance Thomas -- cracked double figures, Duke only had three hits from outside the arc (Terrence Oglesby had five himself) and it wasn't ever really close. At all.
The lesson, of course, is that Clemson is for real. The Tigers are a dangerous team in a very good ACC that features a top-heavy group with plenty of flaws. In other words, let's not have a total meltdown when they're heading down the stretch competing for the conference title in a few weeks.
Latest College Basketball Photos
WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 4: Spencer Soo #11 of the UCLA Bruins shoots between Mamadou Diarra #14 and Percy Miller #15 of the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Spencer Soo;Mamadou Diarra;Percy Miller
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 04: The UCLA Bruins student section cheers before the game with the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Jerime Anderson #5 of the UCLA Bruins shoots over Nikola Vucevic #5 of the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jerime Anderson;Nikola Vucevic
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 04: The UCLA Bruins student section cheers before the game with the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 4: The UCLA Bruins student section cheers before the game with the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 4: Nikola Vucevic #5 of the USC Trojans shoots against the UCLA Bruins on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nikola Vucevic
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Ben Howland of the UCLA Bruins shouts during the game with the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ben Howland
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 4: Head coach Ben Howland of the UCLA Bruins points during the game with the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ben Howland
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Alfred Aboya #12 of the UCLA Bruins shoots against the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alfred Aboya
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WESTWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 4: Josh Shipp #3 of the UCLA Bruins drives around Keith Wilkinson #23 of the USC Trojans on February 4, 2009 at Pauley Pavillion in Westwood, California. UCLA won 76-60. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Shipp;Keith Wilkinson
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-05-2009 @ 12:39AM
spartanpride104 said...
Clemson plays football in Death Valley. We play basketball in LittleJohn. And it's nice that people will finally stop questioning if we're legit or not. We are.
Reply
2-05-2009 @ 9:41AM
dinohealth said...
Holy Sugar!
Reply
2-05-2009 @ 9:49AM
yellowlab1002 said...
Ah, it does my heart good anytime anybody beats the pompoused assed Coach "K' and his dirty band of players. Way to go Tigers; glad to see you "maul" these 1st class assholes.
Reply
2-06-2009 @ 8:38PM
kkdude25 said...
yellowlab, you are sick. Coach K has done more for charity than you can remember. He has conveyed his message. Clemson won that game with an incredilbe game plan. They deserved the win. I believe in learning from your mistakes. Be careful of the A-- you kicked, you may end up kissing it..
2-05-2009 @ 10:14AM
johnnybashford said...
When you point a finger at someone three are pointing back at you!
Reply
2-05-2009 @ 2:38PM
JJ The Third said...
Littlejohn is a tough place to play -- it's gaining street cred!
Reply
2-06-2009 @ 12:50AM
rocketman2189 said...
Shit nice win for Clemson but both teams will do nothing in the Tourny. The team to watch in Connecticut Huskies. I have watched them and a couple other teams play but the tenacity and pure speed/talent the huskies have is amazing they look like the old huskies from 99. Look for the Huskies deep in the Tourny
Reply
2-06-2009 @ 8:10PM
kkdude25 said...
My posts are not getting thru for some reason. GO ACC.
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