ESPN predicts the winner of Clemson vs. Duke basketball

The 18th-ranked Clemson Tigers have their work cut out for them if they want to move on quickly from Wednesday’s 76-66 upset loss to Virginia Tech in ACC basketball play. The Tigers play the fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Clemson (20-5 overall, 10-2 conference) fell to the Hokies after a successful trip out west in which the Tigers earned a gritty four-point win at Stanford and a 22-point blowout win over a California Golden Bears team that’s on various NCAA Tournament bubble watches.

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Virginia Tech got 23 points from Jailen Bedford, including a 3-pointer to close the first half, and 19 points from Ben Hammond to send Clemson to just its second home loss of the season. The Tigers had won 13 of their last 14 games this season, and 27 of 30 ACC regular-season contests dating back to last season.

One of those wins came in February 2025 when Clemson took down Duke in a 77-71 upset at Littlejohn Coliseum. More recently, the Blue Devils (22-2, 11-1) bounced back from a 71-68 loss at rival North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a 70-54 win at Pittsburgh earlier this wee.

Duke is led in scoring by Cameron Boozer, who averages 23 points per night. That ranks No. 4 nationally.

The Tigers nearly pulled an upset the last time they visited Duke in January 2024, falling 72-71 on a late foul call that sent Tyrese Proctor to the free-throw line for the go-ahead points with one second remaining. The Tigers have won two of the last three meetings against the Blue Devils.

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Will Clemson make it three of four when the Tigers visit Cameron Indoor Stadium?

Will Clemson beat Duke basketball in ACC upset? ESPN’s prediction

Ahead of Clemson-Duke, ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college basketball power index (BPI) and other variables, weighed in with its odds. ESPN’s metrics give the Tigers have only a 10.8% chance to win and the Blue Devils an 89.2% chance.

ESPN explains its basketball power index and score…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-predicts-winner-clemson-vs-170315188.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-13 17:03:00

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