Beats’ choice: Will # 2 Duke go to Littlejohn coliseum and defeat Clemson?

On February 9, 2025By Littum

No. 2 Duke will look for his 17th just victory on the road to a Clemson team tied to second place in acc. Our beats predict what will happen in Marquee -Matchup:

Ranjan Jindal: Duke 73-70

I have been going back and forth on this election all week because playing on the road in ACC against such a veteran and a well -coached team will be very difficult for Duke. I think Tiger -Head coach Brad Brownell will have his list ready after the loss against Georgia Tech. Playing Wise I think Clemson needs Center Viktor Lakhin to keep out of bad trouble but someone to keep an eye on is chauncey wiggins, a 6-foot-10 40% 3-point shooter that can rises over someone. I see two statistics this game; Duke’s offensive rebounding percentage and Clemson’s 3-point percentage because Tigers fights against the defensive glass, but has shot the ball well all season (outside Tuesday night loss). The difference for me is Maliq Brown’s presence and I think Duke’s defense can travel on the road. I see Blue Devils coming out of Littlejohn coliseum with a tight win.

Dom Fenoglio: Duke 75-71

This is a difficult one for Blue Devils that will play without a significant size benefit for the first time in ACC competition. Ian Schieffelin, Wiggins and Lakhin all stand at least 6-foot-8, creating an impressive trio with opportunities against Cooper Flagg. However, Clemson does not have an abundance of help behind them in the frontcourt, so I see the flag and king’s knuckle attack the curve to generate mistakes. In Backcourt, Tigers’ chances will come down to the execution of probably all-accguard chase hunter. While I can see him having a great day of offense, I have a hard time imagining him stopping Sion James or Tyrese Proctor. In the end, I expect Duke to wear Clemson in a physical fight that ends just a little in the visitors.

Sophie Levenson: Duke 72-69

Clemson will be the highest hurdle that Duke has faced conference games all season. I can very well see a reintroduction of last year’s voltage -filled matchup, where the tigers even kept with Blue Devils and only lost at last second’s bad calls. On top of the fact that Clemson looks so good this year, the hosts have a chip on their shoulders. Two of the reasons why they look so good: Schieffelin and Hunter lead the group in their senior and candidate, respectively. If there is any unique advantage that the Tigers have over Duke, these are these two. Hunter and Schieffelin have been running Clemson Basketball for years; Shortly after Proctor, Blue Devils does not have that level of continuity.

Abby Disalvo: Duke 73-68

Blue Devils’ victory traits have to end in the end, but I just can’t see that the tigers are drawing this particular disturbance. It comes down to an apples-and-oranger’s fight for shooting and rebounds. Clemson boasts a couple of weapons on the circumference-inclusive wiggins, Hunter and Jake Heidbreder-if 3-point skill could force Duke into a tight game. However, the Tigers have fought when it comes to boards. They were recently surpassed 56-46 in a triple loss to Georgia Tech, and Duke’s proven ability to go down the boards could offer a great advantage in terms of possessions. Combined with a solid scoring defense that the blue devils have already demonstrated, I think Duke is taking the victory in a hard road tilt.

Rodrigo Amare: Duke 75-66

The Tigers are arguably the best team dew that Duke faces in conference games, and Littlejohn Coliseum can be the toughest road environment for Blue Devils throughout the season. Still, even in an uneven home environment, I don’t think Clemson is talented enough everywhere to down in this duchy group. In theory, the emergence of Hunter as a legitimate ACC superstar should concern the blue devil faithful, but Duke has done a huge job that stiffens talented backcourt players throughout this season. All-Americans Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored only eight and 12 points in losses to Blue Devils. I expect Hunter to face similar difficulties against Duke’s Elite Defense, and Tigers’ chances of a disruption of coming down with him.

Caleb Dudley: Duke 68-61

In my eyes, this is the toughest game Duke has played in 2025. Clemson is a top-tier ACC team, and Blue Devils has to travel to his fitness center for a primetime matchup. However, I see two important factors working in Duke’s advantage. The tigers should be more tired emotionally and physically than the caretaker after a triple-over-overtime lightdown against Georgia Tech, while Blue Devils drove to a road gain at Syracuse. Duke also has a great size advantage and should be able to draw a significant number of errors, the exact problem that costs Clemson in the loss to the yellow jackets. Does head coach Jon Scheyer play more of the two-Big-lineups to try to take advantage of this? Hunter is likely to have a big game as his stock continues to rise, but I don’t think it will be enough as the victory stretch is expanded to 17.

Andrew Long: Duke 80-68

It feels wrong to choose Duke once again – it’s an instinct from previous years with worse blue devil teams and stronger ACC enemies – but I can’t in good faith in anyone to beat them. The most encouraging sign from the Midweek victory at Syracuse is Duke’s ability to spread the scoring over the rotation when flags don’t hit his shot, something I would expect Brownell to try to replicate. With Brown in the maximum defensive shape, knotting and proctor that improves their 3-point arms and Maluach cementing his place as a deadly lob threat, this blue devil group has so many ways to score. I am not foreseeing a sufficient Clemson game plan to stop it; I expect a tough excursion at Littlejohn Coliseum, but one that never threatens to reach disturbed territory.

Rachael Kaplan: Clemson 77-74

Maybe I just have too much placed faith in ACC that someone will be good enough to catch Duke on a off evening and actually pull off the victory, or maybe I think the blue devils’ undefeated conference post. This seems like the only game that might overturn Goliath. Especially by getting out of the devastating loss of triple time, Tigers will be on their A-Games. Although only 6-foot-8, has been an incredibly effective big man who ranks number two in the ACC in rebounds. Hunter is as much threat as someone on the perimeter. He has had a sub-pair last two shooting games that go 4-for-15 from the center, so he is tied to rebound. The tigers are on their home ground and have talent and experience to disturb Duke.