Duke Basketball: Takeaways from tough home loss to upstart Clemson Tigers

 3. Duke is their own worst enemy

Duke is no doubt one of the top teams in the nation and after this loss, it probably isn’t wild to say Duke basketball is still one of the five best programs in the country. But the Blue Devils will likely fall a decent amount in the next AP poll, and rightfully so. But Duke’s two losses this season have come in games in which they metaphorically shot themselves in the foot. While this is something that won’t (and shouldn’t) be factored into the AP poll, we would be remiss not to mention it here.

On Tuesday, Duke committed 15 turnovers (1.5 more than their season average) and shot a miserable 10-for-20 from the free throw line (16.5% worse than their season average).  This was a game where on top of not bringing their usual level of intensity on defense, Duke made more than enough mistakes to let Clemson take home the win.

And while Coach K is dealing with a number of injuries, he obviously shares some of the blame as well. DeLaurier, who played 14 minutes on Tuesday, could’ve been a nice option to try to slow down the scoring bursts of Simms and Mack. Even if DeLaurier struggled tremendously as all the other Blue Devils did, he would at least provide another five fouls to use. Clemson shot just as poorly from the free throw line as Duke, so sending them to the line several more times would’ve been a great way for the Blue Devils to play catch up down the stretch.

Duke has the rest of the week to work on their defensive communication before an ACC clash with Louisville on Saturday.