One and done: Clemson blown out by Boston College in upset

Clemson awaits its NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday after an upset loss to Boston College in DC Wednesday. (ACC provided photo)

by TigerNet Staff - Wed Mar 13 22:35:53 GMT-04:00 2024

A hole dug from a lackluster first half necessitated the largest comeback from a halftime deficit in Clemson’s lackluster ACC Tournament history. Instead, the 11th-seeded Boston College Eagles only added on in the second session to blow out the sixth-seeded Tigers on Wednesday, 76-55.

Brad Brownell’s Tigers (21-11) now await the NCAA Selection Committee's decision on their March Madness seeding after losing three of four to close the season, following a locked-up bid by all accounts previously. The announcement show airs on CBS at 6 p.m. this Sunday.

The Eagles (19-14), coached by former Brownell assistant Earl Grant, notched a fourth win in a row, led by the scoring efforts of Claudell Harris Jr. (27) and Jaeden Zackery (22). They advance on to face 3-seed Virginia at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The defeat in DC's Capital One Arena secured Clemson’s ever-present ACC Tournament championship drought continuing, dropping to a .247 win percentage in the league tourney (23-70).

"Thoroughly outplayed us. I'm disappointed in our performance. We haven't done that very much this year at all," Brownell said. "We just weren't quite ready. Ultimately that's on me. I don't really understand it. I thought we were. But we looked a half step slow and lacked urgency, and then I thought when we got behind, that's probably not great for us. We haven't been behind a lot this year, and we probably panicked a little bit, and we had a hard time."

Clemson went into the break with its biggest halftime deficit of the season.

The Tigers found themselves on the wrong side of a game of runs, surrendering a 10-0 BC scoring spree and then a 14-1 run to an Eagles’ 14-point edge. That coincided with a nearly seven-minute Clemson field goal drought.

The BC edge at the break could’ve been worse if not for a late pair of Joseph Girard III 3-pointers that helped cut the Eagles lead down to 12. Neither team was particularly efficient offensively in the first 20 minutes, but BC was +10 on rebounds, 8-for-8 at the free throw line and up 10-0 in points off turnovers. PJ Hall picked up a second foul late in the first half to find a seat on the bench. Both he and Girard were 4-for-6 from the floor in the first half, while the rest of the team was 2-of-15.

Hall didn’t make it past the first media break in the second half without drawing his third foul, after Clemson cut the BC lead back to 10 with under 16 minutes left. He was back in not long later, though, after teammate and fellow big man RJ Godfrey quickly added his third and fourth fouls.

The Eagles’ eighth 3-pointer of the game preceded a second turnover for Chase Hunter, as BC led by 14 with 11:53 to go. Hunter, Clemson’s third scorer averaging double-figures this season, was 0-for-8 from the field at that point. His first points didn’t come until a pair of free throws with 5:25 left.

"I think it's just one of those tough outings," Brownell said. "I think sometimes you get behind and you're trying to make plays. Sometimes you can be a little overly aggressive, and that may have happened on a handful of occasions tonight for Chase. But certainly that's hard when one of your good players like that has a tough night. It affects our team offensively. Again, I think being behind and consistently all night felt like double figures most of the game that we probably played a little too quick at times. I thought we hurried at times and got away from what we do well.

"Some of that's on me. We've got to do better as coaches for sure to help these guys."

BC stretched its lead to 16 points with under 11 to go. Trailing by 15 with seven minutes to go, Clemson was 6-for-17 on layups, according to the game’s stat program.

The Eagles only poured it on from there, shooting 50% in the second half and making all eight free throws again. BC finished with a 16-rebound advantage.

Hall totaled 21 points, and Girard scored two more second-half points for 13. Hunter finished 0-of-10 from the field.

The defeat was a first for Clemson at a neutral site versus Boston College (1-5). Clemson won the first meeting this season, 89-78 in Littlejohn Coliseum, versus a depleted Eagles team, which was missing its leading scorer, Quinten Post, among more.

Clemson came into the matchup projected as a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament by both ESPN and CBS Sports.

"Fortunately for us, we've had a great season so far, so hopefully we'll get another chance, but as a group, as players, we've got to move forward and be better," Girard said.