Can the Clemson Tigers Stun No. 10 Duke in a Major Upset?
The Clemson Tigers are ranked 12th in the Atlantic Coast. They are 4-7 in the conference, so they are on a losing streak, but they can catch up in the ranking poll if they win some more games. In their previous game against Boston College, they did lose to them, but it was due to a low percentage of field goals they should have made but didn't and other mistakes as well. The Duke Blue Devils are ranked in the top four in the Atlantic Coast. They are 8-2 in the conference, so there is a high chance that Duke will take another victory from Clemson, but it comes down to which team wants it more due to their matchup before where Duke lost to Clemson. Duke is making their way up the pedestal, but they have lost their recent game against NC State, which fell short of their offensive and defensive rebounds, which are very important, as well as misses in free throw percentages.
The Clemson Tigers have been falling short in so many areas this past season, being very low in the conference, but hopefully, from playing Duke in the past in December, they will get them another victory. Clemson was limiting Duke to just one shot; they made sure they were getting rebounds and making great passes. Clemson was getting out on transition, really putting pressure in the paint. Their lead player, Amari Robinson, played a significant game, putting up 22 points on seven of 12 shooting, including going three-for-three from the three-point range. Taina Mair from Duke scored 19 points on three-for-three shooting from deep range. Robinson is the type of player who is going to go up and be ready for the contact that comes with it, so she will be one player that Duke will have to watch out for in tomorrow's matchup. Duke is the team that will pull a fast break, which they have done on Clemson before, so that is something they will have to watch out for getting back on defense.
Within Clemson's past five games, they have lost four out of five of those games and won one. Duke has won four out of their last five games and lost one. It is a very high percentage that Duke will come out ready to play to win against Clemson. Toby Fournier is one of Duke's starting lead players, with an average of 12.6 points a game and 5.6 rebounds. Jadyn Donovan averages seven rebounds for Duke, which makes a difference in their offense. Taina also makes a great assist for her team, with an average of 4.1. When it comes to steals, Oluchi Okananwa makes two steals during games. Clemson has a great starting lineup of their own as well, with their lead player, Loyal McQueen, averaging 13.4 points a game and 4.9 assists. Tessa Miller makes sure she gets the rebounds and puts up 6.5. However, with steals and blocks, Mia Moore and Anya Poole contribute 1.5 and 1.3 a game. With this matchup tomorrow, we will need the same ball movement and momentum Clemson can put on the court.
