Coach K impressed by Clemson’s ‘outstanding defense’ in close loss to Blue Devils
Despite Clemson falling to No. 9 Duke on Tuesday night, the Tigers still left a positive impression on Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“I thought that was the best I’ve seen them play defense,” Krzyzewski said following his team’s 71-69 win over the Tigers. “They denied entry passes, elbow, ball pressure. For Jeremy (Roach) to finish the game with nine assists and only one turnover was fantastic because their guards really played outstanding defense.”
The Tigers knew the Blue Devils would have the height advantage, but lived up to their gritty identity by forcing 12 Duke turnovers, which it converted into 16 points. Clemson finished with nine steals, Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes each contributing two.
The defensive effort extended to rebounding as the Tigers grabbed 25 boards, limiting the Blue Devils to three offensive rebounds. PJ Hall, who Krzyzewski called one of the better bigs in the country, and David Collins each had six defensive rebounds for a total of 10 and nine boards, respectively.
Krzyzewski credited Clemson head coach Brad Brownell for having the Tigers prepared for the challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium
“They played the level of defense that has made him an outstanding coach at Clemson,” Duke’s Hall of Fame head coach said. “They knocked us back because it wasn’t just pressure on the ball. It was really old-time man to man defense. … Every one of their kids played so hard.”
Brownell said the key to the Tigers’ defensive success was swarming to the ball and getting as many deflections as possible. According to Statbroadcast, Collins had the team’s best stop percentage – the estimated rate of defensive possessions where the opposing team did not score – at 70.2%.
Duke eventually found a way around Clemson’s defensive prowess and pulled away late for the win.
Clemson is set to host Duke at 8 p.m. Feb. 10. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 30, but it was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Blue Devils’ program.
“A tough loss for them and a great win for us,” Krzyzewski said. “It would have been the other way, too. Both teams played their hearts out. I’ll tell you what: basketball has gotten so physical. That was a really physical basketball game. I thought they played great.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
