DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- This isn't what the rest of the Atlantic
Coast Conference wanted to see -- No. 3 Duke gaining momentum in
early January.
The Blue Devils, gunning for an unprecedented fifth straight ACC
regular-season title, routed Clemson 115-74 Sunday behind 25
points from Carlos Boozer and 21 each from Shane Battier and Nate
James.
|  | | Jason Williams tries to save a loose ball by flicking it between his legs. He got an A for effort. |
It was Duke's highest point total of the season.
"We're not as good as the team was at the end of last year, but
we have the potential to be a lot better," Duke coach Mike
Krzyzewski said. "But the neighborhood we're in is much better.
It's all relative."
You could have fooled Clemson coach Larry Shyatt, who believes
Duke is still the best in the ACC.
"They play clearly at a different level," Shyatt said. "I
compliment their talent. I believe their talent is clearly as good
or the best I've seen in 20 years, with three or four lottery
picks."
The 115 points matched the most Duke (13-1, 2-0 ACC) has scored
against Clemson in 115 meetings, tying the mark set in 1955. It
also was the most the Tigers have given up in 31 seasons.
"We're confident in our ability to score points," said
Battier, who was one of five starters who combined for 99. "We
never really go into a game talking about margin of victory or how
many points we're going to score. We worry about the defensive
end."
ACC scoring leader Will Solomon (22.1) extended his school
record of consecutive double-figure point games to 45, but managed
just 13 and wasn't a factor for the Tigers (9-6, 0-2).
Solomon's streak of scoring 20 or more ended at six games, the
best at Clemson since Horace Grant did it in 1986-87. Tony Stockman
led the Tigers with 22.
"We just tried to make it more difficult for Solomon to catch
the ball and be open when he caught it for a shot," Krzyzewski
said.
The victory was the 48th in the last 50 ACC games for the Blue
Devils, 24 of which have been by margins of 20 or more points. Duke
opened league play with a 27-point victory at Florida State on Thursday.
And while the Tigers and the Seminoles are two of the lower-tier
teams in the ACC, the Blue Devils show no signs of coming back to
the pack.
This one was close for several minutes before Duke went on a
37-5 run, scoring 18 straight points during one stretch to bury the
Tigers, who lost their 10th in a row to the Blue Devils while
falling to 4-48 all-time in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After scoring 92 in a loss to No. 17 Maryland five days ago and
getting off a fast start here, Clemson could do nothing right on
offense. The Tigers finished the first half shooting 27 percent.
They turned the ball over 16 times and were outrebounded 25-15.
"After watching Clemson play Maryland we knew they could put
points on the board," Krzyzewski said. "We really practiced hard
defensively and tried to take some things away from them."
Clemson's scoreless stretch lasted six minutes as the Tigers
were 0-for-10 from the field with seven turnovers.
"Overwhelmed from the 10-minute mark to halftime, absolutely
overwhelmed," Shyatt said.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Clemson Clubhouse
Duke Clubhouse
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