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Duke targets 10th ACC tournament final in last 11 seasons

Mar 15, 2008 - 1:44 PM Clemson (23-8) at No. 7 Duke (27-4) 4:00 pm EDT

DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) - Seventh-ranked Duke eyes its 10th appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in the last 11 seasons when it meets Clemson in the semifinals Saturday.

The second-seeded Blue Devils, who along with North Carolina have each won 16 tournament titles - return to the semifinals of this tournament after being ousted in the first round of the 2007 tournament by North Carolina State. Duke had appeared in nine straight title games prior to that setback, winning seven league championships along the way.

Duke has to be thrilled at the prospect of meeting third-seeded Clemson yet again, a team it has defeated 23 consecutive times.

The Blue Devils, fresh off their first-round bye, opened tournament play with an 82-70 victory over seventh-seeded Georgia Tech in Friday's quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Jon Scheyer scored 18 points while senior guard DeMarcus Nelson had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Clemson - which is holding its highest ACC seed in 18 years - won a quarterfinal game for the first time since 1990 with an 82-48 victory over Boston College on Friday. Senior forward James Mays scored 15 points for the Tigers, who held the Eagles to 37 percent (18-for-49) shooting from the field.

The Tigers are the only original member of the ACC never to win the tournament title in its 55-year history. Furthermore, Clemson has not been to the championship game since losing to Wake Forest in 1962.