Live Blog: With Game On the Line, Tigers Come Through

6:06p.m. Its over Tigers by 4 76-72 and going to the Line with :05.4 left.  Sorry no Part III to Carolina/Duke..instead Clemson tries not to go strike three v. UNC.

6:04p.m. Paulus huge 3pter cuts it to 71-69 with Hammonds at the line, shocker makes the first one and second wow! :43.5 Clemson by 4

6:00p.m. With 1:28 to go Clemson has hit 10-16 from the FT line and two big ones from Mays, who is 6-6.  Duke only 4-22 beyond the 3 pt. arc.

5:57p.m. Wow..Highlight slam from DeMarcus Nelson cuts it to a 67-64 game.  Nelson has 14

 5:55p.m. Ted Valentine likes making bad calls in front of the Duke bench.  Clearly out on Duke but they retain possession and now they head to the line down 7 with Mr. Automatic Jon Scheyer.

5:51p.m. 3:13 left 67-60 Tigers ..Duke is coming out of the timeout with Paulus, Nelson, Scheyer, McClure, and Singler.  Small lineup, how will they handle post ups?  Maybe foul and extend the game?

 5:49p.m. Duke in Danger of heading home down 64-58 with 4:15 to go.  The Tigers have shocking hit 7 straight FTs.

5:46p.m. Demarcus Nelson big bucket to cut it to 59-58 Clemson, then steal but Henderson can't handle pass.

5:42p.m. Ted Valentines loves himself. He is the most theatrical ref in the business.  I'm surprised he hasn't moonwalked yet. 

5:38p.m. 7:57 left 56-54 Clemson on top.  I don't know if they can top our first game, but it seems like both teams are poised to answer each other.

 5:34p.m. Nolan Smith a Big 3..gives Duke a 52-51 lead

 5:30p..m. Scheyer, Paulus, Singler, Thomas, Henderson for Duke as they look to matchup with Tigers quicker group.  Scheyer knocks down all 3 FTs tied at 49 with a little more than 11 minutes to go.

5:24p.m.  Duke comes out of timeout with Smith, Nelson, Scheyer, Singler, and Zoubek.  Putback with Big Z!

 5:20p.m.  Devils after giving up an 11-2 run are on a 6-2 run of their own.

5:14p.m.  Zoubek and Scheyer in at 17:39 down 39-31...9-0 run for Tigers to start half

 5:12p.m. Despite the slow start same 5 after the t-o for the Devils.

5:10 Timeout Devils after Tigers come out with a 5-0 run.  What lineup will come out of the huddle?

 5:02p.m. Duke has 11bench points to Clemson's 6.  Tiger's have a 4-0 fast break advantage.  Duke a perfect 6-6 from the FT line, while Clemson is just 2-5 FT. 

4:51p.m. Solid first half by the Devils lead it 31-30.  Greg Paulus with 14 despite just having 2 threes.  He's actually finished twice at the hoop.  Overall a B for the Devils, even on the boards but not shooting well from three just 3-12 and 11  turnovers way too many. However, Duke has also turned Clemson over 10 times which has turned into 12pts.

 4:48p.m.  Nelson, Paulus, Henderson, Smith, and Zoubek, a very interesting combo.  Now King's in with Nelson picking up his 2nd foul.

4:45p.m.  Perry just airmailed a free throw after a timeout!  Free throws matter kids. 

4:40p.m. Ogelsby can only hurt you from deep...Duke better stay close to him around the arc.

4:36p.m. Duke up 25-21..official timeout Paulus injured but sucks it up and stays in.  Big for Duke b/c he already has 8pts.

 4:33p.m. Brian Zoubek was called for traveling on two possesions in the last 2 minutes.  You get the good and bad with the Devils Big man. 

4:30p.m. Brian Zoubek has 4 pts, rb, and he took a charge already.  He's making his prescence known early, which will be key for the Duke against a group of quality Clemson bigs. 

4:28p.m. Duke may want to use all their fouls b/c the Tigers are a poor free throw shooting team no layups rule maybe in effect.  Speaking of which Pat Riley was in the house for the first game.  Spoke with him briefly as he made his way to the parking lot. 

 4:20p.m. The starters are now all back in  but the bench had a 9-2 run before being subbed out.  Coach K continues to keep his guys fresh and Clemson appears to be committed to pressing full court.  So fresh legs could be big as the game goes on. 

 4:11p.m. At 17:13 down 5-2..Duke subs in Scheyer, McClure, Zoubek, Smith, and King in for the starters.  Didn't Dean Smith used to do that?

 4:08p.m. Its going to be hard to top the first game, but let's hope this one lives up to the hype. Can't be worse than the first two days.