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ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Duke Blue Devils gelling at the right time

By Michael Walton

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 10: Teammates Jordan Goldwire #14, Wendell Moore Jr. #0 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils react after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 10: Teammates Jordan Goldwire #14, Wendell Moore Jr. #0 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils react after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: Aamir Simms
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6. Clemson (13-12) (7-8 ACC)

Clemson is one of the many, many bubble teams that can at least try to make an interesting case for itself starting with their biggest wins. Clemson knocked off Duke on January 14 and though they have had some inconsistencies since then—including a three-game losing streak—they appear to be back on track.

Clemson’s bad loss was on the road to Wake Forest and to Notre Dame at home on February 9th. Since then the Tigers collected a 20-point road win over Pittsburgh and a 15-point win over Louisville on Wednesday.

The 3-point shot has been the best friend to the Tigers as of late. They knocked off Pittsburgh with Al-Amir Dawes turning in a second-highest scoring performance of the season with 18 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line. Dawes was quiet against Louisville (7 points) but the Tigers shot 39.1% from the 3-point line against Louisville, with John Newman III chipping in 23 points (2-for-3 from 3) in easily his best performance of the year.

Senior leader Tevin Mack went for 32 points in a win over  Syracuse on January 28 and then cooled off with 12 points over his next two games. Mack has scored 15.3 points per game over his last three games, including 14 points on 66.7% shooting against Louisville, the o. 27 defense per KenPom.

Road games against Boston College (No. 100) and Georgia Tech (No. 28) will further test the Tigers’ ability to generate good shots against stout defensive units. A February 29 matchup with (now No. 8) Florida State will give Clemson a chance to potentially get well over .500 in the ACC and solidify their tourney case.