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No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC

No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC | iNFOnews.ca
Clemson players on the bench celebrate a basket by RJ Godfrey (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against California in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Ace Buckner and RJ Godfrey each scored 13 points as No. 20 Clemson overwhelmed California 77-55 and moved into a first-place tie with No. 4 Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday.

The Tigers (20-4, 10-1) and Blue Devils meet in Durham, North Carolina, next Saturday. Duke (21-2, 10-1) lost 71-68 at No. 14 North Carolina on Saturday.

Clemson has won 14 consecutive ACC road games, tied for the second-longest road win streak in conference history. Duke won 24 in a row from 1998 through 2001. The Blue Devils also had a 14-game road ACC win streak (1962-64).

Jake Wahlin and Carter Welling each had 11 points for the Tigers, who went 27 for 59 (55.1%) from the floor, including 12 for 26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc.

Justin Pippen led Cal (17-7, 5-6) with a game-high 19 points.

Pippen’s 3-pointer less than five minutes into the game gave the Bears a 13-9 lead. The Tigers then put together a 23-1 spurt capped by Wahlin’s 3 that put Clemson up 32-14 with three minutes left in the half.

Dai Dai Ames scored for California on the ensuing possession, ending the Bears’ field-goal drought at nearly 13 minutes.

Clemson entered Saturday second in the ACC in fewest points allowed per game at 64.5. The Tigers led 39-20 at halftime as they held the Bears to 6 for 25 shooting in the opening half. California also committed nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Cal played without center Lee Dort. He missed his fourth straight game because of a leg injury he suffered in the Bears’ 78-66 win at Stanford on Jan. 24.

Up next

Clemson: Hosts Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

Cal: Plays at Syracuse on Wednesday.

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This story has been corrected to show Wahlin and Welling each scored 11 points instead of 13.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC | iNFOnews.ca
California forward Chris Bell (22) shoots a 3-point basket against Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC | iNFOnews.ca
Clemson forward Carter Welling, upper left, shoots over California center Milos Ilic (8) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC | iNFOnews.ca
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, center, talks with Dillon Hunter (2) and Jestin Porter, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against California in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
No. 20 Clemson routs California 77-55, ties Duke for first place in ACC | iNFOnews.ca
California head coach Mark Madsen argues a call with the referee during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Clemson in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

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