It would be fair to say that Brad Brownell’s team was thoroughly outplayed in every department during their game against the Duke Blue Devils. The Clemson Tigers lost 67-54, and despite the familiar shortcomings in the loss, head coach Brad Brownell was all resurgent during his post-game presser.

“Don't forget who we are and why we've had success,” he proclaimed, claiming that his team’s “margins are small” to win consistently, per a post on X by Sports Illustrated’s Griffin Barfield.

Duke’s win ultimately came down to defensive control and execution, not just scoring runs. From the opening stretch, the Blue Devils dictated the tone by taking away the Tigers’ preferred driving lanes and forcing them into late-clock shots.

Clemson never established consistent rhythm in the half court, and the lack of clean paint touches disrupted the entire offensive flow. What had been one of the ACC’s more efficient offenses looked uncomfortable for long stretches.

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“We can’t score. It’s pretty simple. To hold Duke to 67, I probably would’ve taken that. We just can’t keep up. We’re not as gifted as some of the teams at the top of the league, so we have to minimize our mistakes,” Brownell said, recognizing the lack of reliable scoring in the team.

The Tigers rely heavily on collective execution rather than individual shot creators, and when the outside shooting disappeared, there was no safety valve. Missed layups, a cold start from beyond the arc, and hesitant perimeter decision-making allowed Duke to gradually widen the gap.

For the Tigers, Carter Welling top-scored with 12 points, one of only two players to score in double digits on the night. Of course, it was also Carlos Boozer’s brilliance on the other end that decided things fairly quickly.

Boozer finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, and had plenty of support to count on, most notably that from Isiah Evans, who finished with 17 points.