Amile Jefferson played well in limited action against Clemson. With Kelly's injury, his playing time will likely increase. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—A few more thoughts from Duke's 15th win of the year, a 68-40 victory over Clemson :

Sometime in the first half—Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski isn’t sure when—Ryan Kelly hurt his right foot. That’s the same foot he sprained during the Blue Devils’ December holiday break, and it’s the same foot that caused him to miss the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. He did not play in the second half.

Kelly had surgery on that foot last March and said he was completely healed at the beginning of the season. Krzyzewski didn’t know the extent of the injury after Duke’s 64-40 win over Clemson and said Kelly would have a CAT scan and X-rays Wednesday.

“We’re hopeful that it’s not real serious,” Krzyzewski said. “But for precautionary reasons, we felt that it wasn’t good to play him in the second half.”

Kelly came out of the locker room a few seconds after the second half started, and he went to the locker room before the end of the game. He stood up and walked in and out of huddles during the second half and didn’t give any outward signs of pain.

Defense was the theme of the game in Duke's win over Clemson. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—After Quinn Cook failed to hit any of his 11 shots against Wake Forest, he went back on the floor and shot extra shots after the game. He came back that night, too, and shot some more in attempt to clear his head. And then he received an extra mental boost from Mason Plumlee, who was the first one to text him after his tough shooting game.

“He just told me, you’re a great shooter, just keep shooting, we believe in you,” Cook said. “For your best player to tell you that, that’s the ultimate confidence builder.”

Cook game back and scored a career-high 27 points in Duke’s 68-40 win over Clemson. Cook finished 12-of-16 from the floor, a night-and-day difference from his 0-for-11 performance against the Demon Deacons.

“You obviously think about it, but the next time in practice you have to move on,” Cook said. “Great shooters always move on to the next shot.”

Quinn Cook will look to find his shot against Clemson, Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Clemson
When: 7:02 p.m.
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
TV/Radio: ESPNU/WKIX-102.9 FM

Projected starting lineups:

No. 1 Duke (14-0, 1-0 in the ACC)
G Quinn Cook, So., 10.3 ppg, 6.2 apg
G Seth Curry, Sr., 16.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G Rasheed Sulaimon, Fr., 11.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F Ryan Kelly, Sr., 13.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F Mason Plumlee, Sr., 18.4 ppg, 11.3 rpg

Clemson (8-5, 0-1)
G Rod Hall, So., 6.5 ppg, 4.0 apg
G Damarcus Harrison, So., 5.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg
G/F K.J. McDaniels, So., 11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F Milton Jennings, Sr., 10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg
F/C Devin Booker, Sr., 11.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg

Player to watch:

Devin Booker, Clemson

Duke CB Lee Butler attempts to tackle Clemson RB D.J. Howard. Highlights were few and far between for the Blue Devils. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—James Bostic, a representative for the Chick-fil-A bowl (second in the ACC bowl pecking order behind the Orange Bowl, which takes the league champion) was sent up from Atlanta to watch Duke. Bostic said it’s only the second time he’s come to Durham to watch the Blue Devils (the first time was about 10 years ago, he couldn’t remember the exact year). Duke would be a desirable team because of the story (first bowl berth since 1994) and because the Blue Devils have never appeared in the Chick-fil-A bowl.

11:45 pm update

DURHAM—Duke had no answers for the Clemson offense. None.

And, as a result, the Tigers won 56-20.

“They kept scoring and we couldn’t really stop them,” cornerback Lee Butler said. “It was just tough.”

The game was effectively over when Duke (6-4, 3-3 in the ACC), trailing by 32 points, opted to send Ross Martin for a 47-yard field goal attempt with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Clemson (7-1, 5-1) sat starting quarterback Tajh Boyd on the ensuing drive.

Saturday's game against Clemson marks the second straight home night game for Duke. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—For the first time in the history of the Duke vs. Clemson series, the kickoff will come at night. Speaking of history, here is a trip down memory lane as we await the 7 p.m. start time:

Duke is 5-0 in Wallace Wade this season. Clemson will put that streak to the test. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Duke vs. Clemson

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Wallace Wade Staduim, Durham

Line: Clemson by 12.5

TV/Radio: ESPN2, WDNC-620 AM, WKIX-102.9 FM

What they’re saying nationally about Duke:

ESPN’s Heather Dinich: The Blue Devils are already bowl eligible, but this team has got to prove it can be competitive against the upper echelon teams on their schedule. They simply have not done that this year, getting blown out by No. 14 Stanford (50-13) earlier in the season and No. 9 Florida State (48-7) last week. Now comes another huge test against No. 13 Clemson, a team that found its offensive groove again last week in a 42-13 win over Wake Forest. Clemson has won 15 of the past 18 in the series. Interesting note: this is the first night game played in the series, which began in 1934.

Duke safety Jordon Byas will likely play a role in covering Clemson receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

I wrote a story for today's paper looking at how Duke plans to stop the Clemson receiving duo of Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe was asked again today about his defensive plan for the two: