The Tigers come a calling as Duke (11-1) hosts Clemson (12-2) on Sunday evening in each team's ACC opener. Duke is coming off a 114-55 thrashing of Penn, while Clemson escaped South Carolina State 70-67 in their last game. In post game comments, Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell stated, "In college basketball, upsets happen all the time. We avoided one tonight. Hopefully, we'll be energized to go on the road and play in the ACC."

Last year, Clemson embarrassed Duke 74-47 in the game at Littlejohn. The Tigers' press resulted in 16 Blue Devil turnovers. Duke will need to be prepared to deal with Clemson's pressure defense as Clemson is number one in the ACC in steals averaging 11.4 per game.

Duke and Clemson have had two common opponents on the season. Clemson went on the road and defeated UNC-Greensboro 89-67, while Duke defeated the Spartans 96-62 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The second common opponent is Long Beach State. Clemson defeated the 49ers, on a neutral court, at the 76 Classic in Anaheim 87-79, while Duke won 84-63 in Cameron.

Senior Trevor Booker (6'7" 240) is Clemson's best player. He averages 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 28.5 minutes of action. Booker was named Second Team All ACC last season and is playing like a First Team candidate so far this season. Booker will challenge Duke inside with athleticism and physical play.

Sophomore Tanner Smith (6'5" 220) and Junior Demontez Stitt (6'2" 175) average 10.8 and 10.1 points respectively. Stitt leads the team with a 3.9 assists per game average.

Sophomore Andre Young (5'9" 170) and Senior David Potter (6'6" 215) provide the 3-point shooting punch for the Tigers. Potter is making 45.3 percent of his long range attempts while Young is making 39.7 percent. Clemson is 3rd in the ACC with 7.1 made 3-pointers per game. Duke is first at 8.8.

Off the bench, Devon Booker (6'8" 235) and Jerai Grant (6'8" 220) chip in 5.8 and 5.5 points per game. Freshmen Noel Johnson and Milton Jennings also average double digit minutes to give the Tigers a solid nine man rotation.

The keys to the game will be:

1. Taking care of the basketball. Duke must neutralize Clemson's fullcourt press by passing over it and quickly advancing the ball into the frontcourt. Duke's big men's passing skills and ability to run the court will be critical to the outcome.

2. Physical inside play. Trevor Booker and company are going to challenge Duke inside with physical play. Duke's five man frontcourt rotation is going to have to play the Tigers tough. Foul trouble could be an issue for both team's big men.

3. Backcourt dominance. Scheyer, Smith, and Singler have an advantage over Clemson's backcourt and they need to press that advantage for 40 minutes. Clemson will look to run their offense through Trevor Booker so Duke must harass Clemson’s backcourt and prevent them from feeding the ball inside. Clemson turns the ball over 15 times a game.

This game is the beginning of a three game litmus test for Duke's frontcourt. Iowa State and Georgia Tech are also tough inside teams. We will all know a lot more about our inside players’ strengths and weaknesses once these three games are in the books.

Trevor Booker is a beast inside and Miles and Mason Plumlee need to respond to the challenge. In the backcourt, Duke has a huge advantage in both talent and experience. This is a game where both teams are going to attempt to dictate the style of play. For Duke to come away with the win, they must handle Clemson's press and match Clemson's physical play.