Clemson Tigers Named 'Biggest Hurdle' Between Duke Blue Devils and ACC Title

The Clemson Tigers could be the biggest hurdle for the Duke Blue Devils to pass over on the path the ACC championship.

Dylan Sanders | Feb 27, 2025

Feb 8, 2025; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Dillon Hunter (2) reacts with teammates after making a three point shot against Duke Blue Devils during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

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Clemson Tigers

The college basketball season is fast-approaching title time, and the Clemson Tigers are right in the center of conversations yet again.

The 2025 ACC men's basketball tournament is set to begin on March 11, and the two favorites are the Duke Blue Devils with the Tigers right behind them.

Those two will likely be the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and could have a highly-anticipated rematch in the final.

Notably, Clemson came away with a massive 77-71 upset earlier in February.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently predicted the Blue Devils will end up winning the tournament, but did note that the Tigers were "their biggest hurdle" along the way.

Looking back at the last time that these two teams faced off, there were a handful of things that stood out as potential problems in a rematch.

Clemson has been the best team in the conference at slowing down superstar Duke forward Cooper Flagg. His paper stats look a little bit better thanks to a clutch final two minutes, be he was a non-factor for much of that game.

Flagg shot just 6-for-17 from the field in the contest, and had just six points up until the final 10 minutes. It was his least efficient day from the field.

The Tigers also did a great job of neutralizing his rebounding skill, holding him to just five.

Clemson completely dominated the boards in that game, even putting Flagg aside.

The Tigers brought in 36 to just 23 from the Blue Devils. That same difference was also felt in the paint with a scoring advantage of 44 to 22.

Another thing that stood down in that game is how efficient Clemson was on offense as a team, shooting 58.8% from the field.

It will be hard for them to do so again, but that advantage in the paint will certainly help.

Tigers center Viktor Lahkin has really broken out into a star over the last few weeks, and it started with his great day against Duke.

Clemson already had the shooting ability, but having a smart 6-foot-11 presence in the middle has been a large reason why they are on this five-game win streak.

Lahkin has averaged 17.4 points with 5.8 rebounds and a 58.1% shooting clip from the floor. He has even started to contribute from beyond the arc.

If the Blue Devils can't find a way to contain him, the Tigers could very realistically walk away from the ACC Tournament as champions.

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