Ball Durham
March 4, 2021
To find a less clutch record, go back to when Duke basketball didn’t exist.
Taking into account Tuesday night’s bubble-popping 81-77 loss in overtime at bubble-growing Georgia Tech (14-8, 10-6 ACC), this Duke basketball team (11-10, 9-8 ACC) is likely to wind up among the worst in program history when it comes to coming out on top in close games.
Well, at least there is one straightforward metric that says so at this point, with the rivalry battle versus UNC (15-9, 9-6 ACC) in Chapel Hill set for 6 p.m. Saturday. Entering this final outing before next week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro — quite possibly this Duke squad’s endpoint — the Blue Devils have a 3-9 record when the margin of victory is less than 10 points.