After Suffering 1st Conference Loss, Duke Basketball Must Remain Focus

After winning 16 straight games including conference and non-conference, Duke suffered it's first loss in conference play at the hands of Clemson at Little John Arena Saturday night in a hostile, sold out event. The Tigers who entered the contest 2nd in conference, including a 3 overtime 89-86 loss to Georgia Tech in their last contest, wanted to pick up a necessary quad 1 win against the 2nd rank Duke Blue Devils 77-71.

Noticeably, what was apparant was freshman stud Cooper Flagg being under the weather starting the contest 2-9 from the field, looking rather lethargic, and unenergized through much of the first half. Some of the fatigue was at the hands of Brad Brownell's physique of his team's physicality with Duke, limiting the Blue Devils to one shot possessions, and limited transition possessions.

(photo courtesy of USA Today/ Ken Ruinard)

Center Khaman Maluach fouled out late in the contest giving the Tigers more instinct to impose their will on the interior where the Blue Devils routinely gave up points in the paint, 40 on the evening. The Tigers also finished the game with a +13 rebound margin on the Blue Devils.

Whats Next For Duke

Monday morning Duke's Jon Scheyer will address the media in turn to Duke's loss, the road ahead welcoming California and Stanford to Cameron this week, and reviewing film. The Blue Devils will look to get healthy and potentially get Mason Gillis back, a supreme wing that is capable of shooting it from deep and providing perimeter defense, amongst veteran leadership.