Krzyzewski: Don't forget this loss

When it was suggested to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski late Wednesday night that sometimes teams are better off forgetting about bad losses and moving forward, he wasn’t in a generous mood.

“Our players shouldn’t forget this loss. This is as bad as you can play,” Krzyzewski said. “You can’t say, ‘Oh, that’s OK.’ Not if you’re wearing a Duke uniform.”

As good as Clemson was Wednesday night – and the Tigers were outstanding – the more striking image was seeing Duke look so hopelessly overwhelmed.

It doesn’t happen to the Blue Devils.

But it did at Clemson and it raises questions about what’s next for the Blue Devils, who have consecutive home games against Miami and North Carolina over the next week.

“You never forget this loss,” Krzyzewski said. “Going into another game, we can’t hang on to it but you can never forget a game like this one.”

Duke melted against Clemson’s defense, which wobbled them with their full-court pressure in the first half then continued to bother them in the front-court with straight-up man-to-man pressure in the second half.

Kyle Singler had five turnovers. Nolan Smith had four. The total was 16 but it felt like twice that many.

“They know how to turn you over and you have to be strong with the ball,” Duke’s Gerald Henderson said. “You have to make quick decisions and value the ball. We didn’t do any of that.”

Clemson also wanted to make it a frontcourt game and it worked. Trevor Booker was dominating with 21 points, eight rebounds and an overall impact bigger than the numbers.

K.C. Rivers also had a superb set of numbers with 11 points, seven rebounds and seven steals.

“Rivers and Booker are two of the best players in the country,” Krzyzewski said.

Which raises the question of where Clemson fits in the ACC and the national picture.

After another 16-0 start, the Tigers were dismissed after losing to Wake Forest and North Carolina. But winning in the last minutes at Virginia Tech then dominating Duke changes the perspective.

“It was an excellent win,” Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. “We really embraced the atmosphere and we were comfortable.”

-- Ron Green Jr.