Tigers send message with blowout in Raleigh |
The Clemson men’s basketball team sent a message to the college basketball world on Saturday: these Tigers aren’t going anywhere just yet.
Brad Brownell’s bunch delivered a thorough beatdown of the NR/No. 24 NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh’s PNC Arena, 96-71. Projected among ESPN’s ‘Next Four Out’ for NCAA Tournament projections going in, Clemson (21-8, 13-5 ACC) took a big step toward a double bye in the ACC Tournament and secured a share of the school’s most road wins within a conference season (5; tied with the 1986-87 season). The victory also notched one of the precious NCAA NET Quadrant 1 wins, pushing to 4-3 on the season there. The Tigers should move up from their No. 74 NET ranking going into Saturday as well. A scorching-hot first half set the pace. Clemson scored a season-best 54 points in the first session to take a 25-point lead into the break. The Tigers hit their first four shots and stretched the lead to double-digits shortly after. Thanks to a foul on a 3-pointer – plus a technical foul on NC State coach Kevin Keatts – Clemson scored six points on one possession to extend the advantage to 13 points. Brevin Galloway connected on his first three 3-pointers and completed the period 5-of-6 from beyond the arc with a game-best 20 points after 20 minutes (18 on the floor for the BC transfer Galloway). Clemson matched its previous season-best for points at the half (47, at home vs. Florida State) with over two minutes left and a Josh Beadle jumper with six seconds left set the hefty margin going into the second half. The Tigers sunk 62% of their shot attempts at the break, while holding KenPom’s 31st-ranked offense in NC State to 38% shooting and 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. "Incredibly proud of our guys. This was one of the best performances of the year certainly. Maybe the best," Brownell said. "Again we shot the ball so well. It's great to see guys finish some tough plays around the basket, which was good. Defensively, we did a nice job. We knew that they were going to throw the ball to (DJ) Burns a bunch. We were trying to limit some of their threes so that made our 5-man guard one-on-one most of the day. He's a good player and that's a tough matchup. I do think it slowed the game down a bit on the road, which was good for us. Give our guys a lot of credit. I thought our defensive rebounding was good. Great in the first half. "And just the ability to play with a lead and keep a lead -- it's really hard, especially at a place on the road like NC State. Incredibly proud of these guys." Burns finished with 24 points but the Wolfpack hit just eight 3-pointers on the game. Clemson finished with a 40-30 points in the paint advantage. Chase Hunter hit his second trey of the afternoon five minutes into second half to put Clemson up 28. PJ Hall joined Galloway in the 20s with a layup that kept the advantage at 26 points with 11:46 to go. A Hunter layup pushed the lead to 30 points with just over nine to go. Clemson topped the most points NC State gave up all season (80) with just under nine minutes left to keep that 30-point edge. The Tigers scored a regulation-best this season with the 96 points. Hunter Tyson compiled a 14th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The other double-figure scoring totals for the Tigers were Galloway tallying a career-best 28 points, Hunter scoring 15 and Hall posting 20. "Brevin shot the fire out of the ball, which when he does that, makes us really hard to guard," Brownell said. Clemson earned a fifth win in a row and a sixth in the last seven contests over the Wolfpack (22-8, 12-7). The Tigers completed a fourth home-and-home sweep of an ACC foe this season (downing both against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Florida State previously). The Tigers have another Net Quadrant 1 win opportunity next at Virginia on Tuesday, a 7 p.m. tip-off on ACCN. Clemson Notes: Clemson improved to 21-8 with the win over NC State … the Tigers improved to 13-5 in the ACC … Clemson won its 13th game of the conference schedule, extending a new program record for wins in league play (previous before this season was 11 in 1951-52 SoCon; 11 in 2017-18 ACC) … the last time that Clemson scored 90+ points in consecutive ACC games was Feb. 21 and Feb. 25, 1976 – nearly identical to the days this year … Clemson beat No. 12 NC State 103-90 on 2-21-76 and then beat Duke 90-89 on 2-25-76 … these are the only two instances in ACC play in program history scoring 90+ in consecutive wins … Clemson earned its third-largest victory over a ranked opponent behind an 84-54 win over Auburn (3-18-18) and a 27-point win over Duke (2-4-09) … Clemson finished 18-for-22 from the foul line and in games this year that the Tigers make at least 15 free throws, they are 10-2 … Hunter Tyson recorded his 14th double-double of the season and 15th of his career … Tyson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds … he is tied for ninth in Clemson history for double-doubles in a season with 14 (he tied Tree Rollins and Harold Jamison) … Tyson played in his 135th career game, setting a new Clemson record for games played in a career … Brevin Galloway set a new career mark with 28 points … he previously scored 27 vs. Marshall while at College of Charleston on Dec. 9, 2020 … Galloway also set a career-best for free throws made in game finishing 10-for-10 and has now made 27-straight dating back to the Miami (Fla.) game on Feb. 4 … PJ Hall scored 20+ points for the third time in four games and 10th time this season.
Clemson beats NC State 96-71 in Raleigh. Largest victory margin for Clemson vs Pack since a 66-31 win in Jan 13,1940. Banks McFadden and Dude Buchanan both scored 20 for the Tigers that day 83 years ago
— Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) February 25, 2023
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
