CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke picked a fine time to go cold.

Seriously.

Teams that rely as heavily on the 3-pointer as do the Blue Devils often see their season ended on a 6-for-26 night beyond the arc.

The Devils had one of those games against Clemson on Saturday and got bounced from the ACC Tournament, 78-74.

But just as Bogie and Bergman will always have Paris, the Devils will always have Raleigh. Or Washington. Or wherever the NCAA selection committee places them.

"We just need to get some rest and get going to this NCAA tournament," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, who didn't seem all that agitated by Saturday's events.

"There are games that you lose and there are games that the other guy wins. I thought today was one of these where the other guy won. Because we played winning basketball."

And, as he quickly added, so did the Tigers, whose length, athleticism, communication skills and smarts contributed to Duke's substandard day from downtown. Having built a seven-point lead, coach Oliver Purnell told his team to switch on all perimeter screens in the final three minutes.

That would put big Tigers on quicker Devils, but it was worth the risk because Clemson has forwards who can survive the mismatches long enough to disrupt the opponent's offense. Sam Perry, James Mays and David Potter couldn't deny 3-point opportunities altogether, but on this day, they didn't have to.

"That's what's so great about this team," Mays said.

"We don't have a true center; we just have a bunch of forwards. Big guys can defend the guards."

Duke trailed 73-69 after Cliff Hammonds' free throws with 43 seconds left, and it has had a propensity to generate 3-point looks almost immediately.

This time, the Devils couldn't do it as quickly as they wanted. While Kyle Singler got a decent shot, he wasn't able to attempt it until 30 ticks remained. The switching had achieved something already. Things were even better for the Tigers when Singler missed and continued a tough day.

"They did a good job of using their length to get up a little closer, press up, make us put the ball on the floor and make us two-point shooters. And if it was a 3-pointer, it was contested," said Greg Paulus, who had 14 points for Duke.

Krzyzewski said his team did most of what it needed to complete a comeback.

"We got looks; we just didn't get drops," he said.

The Devils will now wait for word on the injured wrist of Gerald Henderson, who tweaked it while bracing himself on a fall.

X-rays were scheduled for immediately after the game, but the results had not been released as of late Saturday.

As he did in Friday's quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech, Krzyzewski took a long-term view of things.

He played Brian Zoubek in the post for 20 minutes, electing to operate as a more conventional offensive set for perhaps the longest continuous stretch at any time this season. Nobody got gassed, and by the time NCAA play begins, Duke should be well rested.

CLEMSON (24-8)

Perry 1-2 4-7 6, Booker 9-11 0-1 18, Mays 5-7 6-6 16, Rivers 4-11 0-0 10, Hammonds 5-8 4-6 17, Stitt 0-5 1-2 1, Sykes 0-0 0-0 0, Potter 1-3 0-0 2, Oglesby 3-8 0-0 8, Grant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 15-22 78.

DUKE (27-5)

Singler 1-9 0-0 2, Henderson 2-5 3-4 7, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Paulus 5-9 4-4 17, Nelson 6-13 2-2 14, Smith 2-4 2-2 7, McClure 2-3 0-0 4, King 1-1 0-0 2, Scheyer 3-11 5-5 13, Zoubek 4-5 0-0 8. Totals 26-60 16-17 74.

Halftime--Duke 31-30. 3-Point Goals--Clemson 7-19 (Hammonds 3-6, Rivers 2-5, Oglesby 2-5, Stitt 0-1, Potter 0-2), Duke 6-26 (Paulus 3-6, Scheyer 2-6, Smith 1-3, Henderson 0-2, Nelson 0-4, Singler 0-5). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Clemson 30 (Booker 7), Duke 33 (Nelson 9). Assists--Clemson 15 (Mays 4), Duke 12 (Scheyer 3). Total Fouls--Clemson 15, Duke 17. A--20,035.