Jon Scheyer dives deep into why Clemson loss "hurts" Duke more: "This group is on the verge of doing something special"

No. 2 Duke took a tough 77-71 road loss at Clemson on Saturday night, and coach Jon Scheyer was distraught. It's only the third loss on the season for the Blue Devils, a team that has been in the AP top 12 all season long. But with postseason basketball looming ever closer, Scheyer's focus is on the long game with this group.

"It hurts, because I think this group is on the verge of doing something special," Scheyer said postgame. "Like I said, there wasn't one ounce of us that didn't think we were winning this game.... Losing sucks. I hate it. I hate it more than anything. Our team hates it.

"So I know we're going to have a group that responds and can really get us to a place where we need to be because look, this is what March is. This is what ACC basketball is."

Duke is 20-3 on the season, and the total margin in its three defeats was just 14 points. Of the remaining eight games on the Blue Devils' regular season schedule, only No. 23 Illinois in a neutral-court battle is a ranked foe. So they certainly have an opportunity to continue a remarkable season.

Jon Scheyer's history at Duke

Jon Scheyer and Duke took a tough loss at Clemson as star freshman Cooper Flagg stumbled on a late turnover. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

At just 37, Scheyer was something of a surprise choice to replace legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on his retirement. Scheyer starred under "Coach K" as a player, winning an NCAA title as a senior. He then became an assistant coach at Duke in 2013, moving up the ladder to become co-associate head coach after the 2018 season.

Scheyer is in his third season as Duke's coach and sports a 74-20 record. His Blue Devils won the ACC Tournament in his first season, 2022-23. The team reached the Elite Eight last year. Still, it's impossible to assess Scheyer's work in a vacuum, without considering the sustained brilliance of Krzyzewski before him.

Duke's postseason history

Duke has won five NCAA titles and appeared in 11 NCAA championship games. All of those seasons except two title game losses came under Krzyzewski. After Coach K's 2015 title, Duke didn't return to the Final Four until 2022. However, the team lost to ACC rival North Carolina in the NCAA semifinals in Coach K's final game.

The current run of nine seasons without an NCAA title is the longest the program has experienced since Krzyzewski led Duke to its first NCAA title in 1991. Scheyer has certainly kept up the standard of recruiting, something he proved by signing No. 1 overall player Cooper Flagg a year ago. Flagg has been phenomenal as a freshman, averaging 19.5 points per game.

Still, there is something of a postseason onus on Scheyer. His current NCAA Tournament mark is 4-2, and Duke fans will have high expectations with arguably the nation's top player raring for postseason play.

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