D-Fence
36-25 Duke at the half.
Not that I'm a genius or anything, but that half of defense Duke just played made my story on the Blue Devils today look pretty well-timed. Not that a story about how Duke's D is good this season is exactly breaking news.
Here's the thing: Clemson's half-court offense hasn't been that bad. They haven't taken poor shots; they haven't made poor decisions. Yet at the half, they've scored just 25 points.
Duke's positioning and switching has been incredibly precise and its intensity has been at peak level.
As good as that defense has been, the offense has also played pretty well for Duke. 36 points in 20 minutes won't break any records, but this Clemson defense is pretty darned ferocious. Points in this game have only come on either a) courageous drives to the hoop or b) a string of pin-point passes. Duke's hit almost 50 percent of its shots and has had just eight turnovers so far. Again, not record-breaking stats, but considering the opponent, pretty impressive.
20 more minutes to go though. If Clemson's pressure gets cranking and Duke loses its composure, things could change in a hurry.