Clemson Tigers Post Massive Accomplishments in Beating Duke Blue Devils

Yes, the fans stormed the court, but the Clemson Tigers’ victory over the Duke Blue Devils was so much more than the ending.

Feb 8, 2025; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers sophomore center Viktor Lakhin (0) smiles with fans who rushed the court to celebrate the win over Duke Blue Devils at Littlejohn Coliseum. | Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers have struggled to get much traction in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll this season. That may not change after Saturday’s massive win over No. 2 Duke, 77-71.

After all, in the middle of the week, the Tigers (19-5, 11-2 in ACC) lost to Georgia Tech in triple overtime. That split may be enough to keep some voters from boosting the Tigers, even as they handed the Blue Devils (20-3, 12-1) their first ACC loss of the season.

The victory not only nudged the Tigers closer to catching the Blue Devils in the ACC standings, it also allowed the program to accomplish a laundry list of milestones that few other teams in the country have done.

The most notable accomplishment is Clemson’s incredible run of victories over AP Top 5 teams while an unranked team. The Tigers improved that streak to five games. Not only is that the longest streak in the country, but The State reported that no college basketball team has done that four times since the AP poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989-90.

The last time the Tigers beat a team as highly ranked as Duke was another Tobacco Road school, North Carolina. On Feb. 1, 2001, the Tigers upset the No. 1 Tar Heels, 76-65.

Then there was Clemson’s record against Duke. While the Blue Devils do lead the all-time series by a healthy margin, the Tigers have won their share. In fact, when the Blue Devils are ranked, they seem to be more vulnerable.

Clemson’s victory over Duke was its 14th win at home over a Top 25 ranked Duke team. It was also the Tigers’ highest ranked win over the Blue Devils since Jan. 9, 1980, when Duke was the country’s No. 1 team.

How far back is that? Legendary Mike Krzyzewski was still the coach at Army West Point. He took the Duke job later in 1980.

Coach Brad Brownell has turned winning games like this into the expectation during his time with the Tigers. He recently claimed career victory No. 450 and is coming off taking Clemson to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980, when the program was led by Bill Foster.

But, Clemson has not made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under Brownell, and that appears to be where the Tigers are pointed after upending Duke on Saturday. Clemson was a No. 8 seed in ESPN’s most recent Bracketology, but this win should allow the Tigers to bump up a seed line.

The Tigers hope to avoid a let-down when they face struggling North Carolina next week.