Recapping everything Jon Scheyer said after Clemson's major Duke upset

Unranked Clemson Tigers mounted a comeback in the second half, giving Jon Scheyer's No. 2 Duke its third loss of the season (77-71) on Saturday. Brad Brownell's crew trailed by six points at the break but mounted a 12-0 early second-half run to establish a 56-49 lead to enter the last 10 minutes.

The Blue Devils contested to regain the momentum in the last five minutes but were held off by the Tigers' multidimensional effort.

"That was everything that we expected with Clemson," Scheyer said to open the post-game conference. "The job that coach Brownell, his staff and what their team is all about, that's exactly what we expected. I wish they didn't shoot as well, I think that's the difference of the game."

Clemson shot 14 of 21 in the first half (66.6%), with its first field goal miss coming in the seventh minute of the game. While Jon Scheyer commended his team for defending tremendously before the break, he felt that it was the only missing factor in the second half.

"If they shoot 68% in the first half and we're winning, I think that's pretty incredible," he said (at 0:30). "In the second half they didn't slow down much ... for me it's our defense, for me it's the loose balls, give them all the credit in the world."

Cooper Flagg scored 14 points in the last 6:05 to give Duke a one-point lead in the last minutes. The freshman was coming from a 4 of 5 shooting split. So, when Clemson snatched the advantage back in the next play, Jon Scheyer handed Flagg the green light to do the finishing work.

However, like the early season game against Kentucky, the potential number-one pick in the 2025 NBA draft turned the ball over with 14 seconds left to play.

"Cooper was being Cooper, he just has a special will and I thought he got the advantage downhill and I'm taking that any day of the week," Scheyer said (2:10). "Sometimes that's how it goes but he really made every play just in the last couple minutes to will us and I want to get him downhill."

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Jon Scheyer points out where else Clemson did the damage

Apart from highlighting their shooting, Jon Scheyer commended the Clemson Tigers' pace, movements and pick and roll actions. He said his staff missed out on some key rotations and appropriate locker room talk to prepare the players for the matchup.

"They move with such a great pace on offense, they do a good job getting in and out of their ball screens quickly," he said (at 1:30).

"I don't know if our talk was as good as it needed to be. I think we'll look back and see some rotations that need to be there weren't there but give them credit - I thought they just did a great job moving on offense, sharing it and making the right play."

The Clemson Tigers outperformed Jon Scheyer's crew in free throw attempts, rebounding, and assists alongside a 28-point gap in points in the paint. The team complimented its high shooting clip by consistently putting pressure on the basket.