Tiger Board Logo

Donor's Den General Leaderboards TNET coins™ POTD Hall of Fame Map FAQ
GIVE AN AWARD
Use your TNET coins™ to grant this post a special award!

W
50
Big Brain
90
Love it!
100
Cheers
100
Helpful
100
Made Me Smile
100
Great Idea!
150
Mind Blown
150
Caring
200
Flammable
200
Hear ye, hear ye
200
Bravo
250
Nom Nom Nom
250
Take My Coins
500
Ooo, Shiny!
700
Treasured Post!
1000

YOUR BALANCE
Breakdown of Clemson's basketball season.....
storage This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic
Replies: 5
| visibility 1

Breakdown of Clemson's basketball season.....


Feb 22, 2018, 1:51 PM

First 9 Games: (without Skara, but otherwise a full compliment of players)

8-1....big win at Ohio St., loss to Temple in Charleston, wins over teams we should beat


Next 10 Games (with full team)

8-2... big wins over Florida and South Carolina out of conference, wins over N.C. State, Louisville, BC, Miami and Notre Dame (Grantham played most of that before he went down). Usual loss in Chapel Hill. Very close loss at N.C. State.

Next 8 Games (without Grantham)

4-4....Big win over UNC. Other wins over conference bottom dwellers GT, Pitt and Wake. Got drilled by UVA. Very tough loss at FSU in OT.
Mitchell goes down....then close losses against Duke and at VT.


Observations:

To me, it's pretty simple at this point. With a full team, we won several games against teams we should beat, and then had several really good wins against some good teams, particularly at home.

Even before Grantham went down, our road game play was questionable. The games at N.C. State and UNC were games where we dug a hole and tried to climb back in (basically the reverse of the FSU game). We have won at BC, at Wake, and at GT this year. Any road win in the ACC is a good one, it is difficult to do that. Losing at VT or at FSU is not a surprise, although we certainly had opportunities to win those games. We have been really good at home all year.

Grantham was having a fantastic season in all phases of the game. He was the most improved player in the ACC or perhaps the country.....just go back and watch what he was doing this year compared to last year. And his leadership was off the charts. He was a big part of what we were doing. We have managed to win games we should win without him and score a huge win over UNC. Kudos to Brownell and the team for doing that.
But, make no mistake, we are not quite as good as we were when he went down. The guys replacing him are trying hard, but it is not going to be the same.

However, we had managed, after the UVA smackdown, to get it together, win a few games and were facing a tough stretch. We lost a tough one at FSU, but then Mitchell went down. Two starters down....two good 3 point shooters down....is it really a surprise that we lost to a top 10 Duke team and on the road at Virginia Tech (who has beaten UVA in recent weeks) without that in our lineup?

With 3 games left, I think that we'll beat GT (they lost their starting PG too and have spiraled downward quickly). But the last two games at home against FSU and on the road at Syracuse....these are typical ACC toss-up games. With Mitchell, I think we can win both of those or in the very least split the last two. If Mitchell doesn't return for some reason, then it will be very difficult to win either of them and GT will be tougher without him. Our other bench guards are simply not ready to play more minutes and replace Mitchell's production. And to whoever keeps posting it, no, Donnal cannot go out there and play shooting guard.

Hopefully, we'll get word on Mitchell soon and it will be a good word....we really need him.

We'll play better at home this Saturday against GT and hopefully against FSU....I know we all wanted to win the Duke game, but there is a reason why they win those games. FSU and GT are not Duke....so I expect us to go out there and reclaim the home court effect that has been present all season.

Looking forward to seeing us bounce back against GT....it's way too soon for some of the panic that seems to be running through the boards. Let's win a couple more and get to the post-season. If we lose the last 3, panic all you want to...but I think we'll get one this Saturday and get our mojo back.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Breakdown of Clemson's basketball season.....


Feb 22, 2018, 2:13 PM

After looking at VT and NC States' remaining schedules I think we must win all 3 games left to secure the #4 spot.

Hopefully Mitchell is back for those games.


Message was edited by: snowtiger®


military_donation.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Yes, N.C. State in particular....


Feb 22, 2018, 2:57 PM

Has the easiest closing schedule. The bigger problem is they both have tiebreakers over us.
I do think VT will lose one or two...their home games against Louisville and Duke are not automatic, and that is a long trip to Miami.
But we have to hope for N.C. State to drop one at home to FSU or Louisville, or at GT. I can see them dropping one, probably not two though.
But if we have to settle for a 'single bye' in the ACC tourney, it's not the end of the world.
I am concerned about potentially facing a Notre Dame team with Bonzi Colson back in the lineup...if that is happening. Would much rather see a BC or even a Syracuse on the first day.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Breakdown of Clemson's basketball season.....


Feb 22, 2018, 2:37 PM

I think you can break it down to without Mitchell as well, so that's:

8-1 without Skara, big road win, beat the teams we should, one slip up

8-2 with full team, big wins over UF and USuCk, strong start in conference, losses on the road in the ACC in tough environments

4-2 without Grantham, continued to win at home, dropped a couple on the road against tough teams in UVA and FSU

0-2 without Grantham and Mitchell, first home loss against Duke and loss against a solid VPI team on the road

The big thing for me, the first 19 games we averaged 77 points, lose Grantham and averaged 69.3, lost Mitchell and averaging 57.5.

There was a dropoff without Grantham, but it was manageable with our floor general, losing Mitchell led to a bigger dropoff and without him we're pretty much lost on offense.

I think we could handle GT without Mitchell, but definitely need him back for FSU and Cuse. If we can shoot the ball like we have most of the season against Cuse we should be able to steal one against the zone.

badge-donor-05yr.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Your stats on the offense tell the story.....


Feb 22, 2018, 2:50 PM

Lost in the reactions to the Duke game was that we played really phenomenal half-court defense against them. Unfortunately we had some first half turnovers that gave them easy buckets, but the defense was incredible.

But we have lost 2 of our scoring leaders...and Mitchell had been shooting really well recently. Hard to replace that production.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: Your stats on the offense tell the story.....


Feb 22, 2018, 3:20 PM

Exactly, and with Mitchell, Reed, and Devoe on the court at the same time that makes for 3 dangerous shooters for defenders to cover. You take that away, along with Mitchell's ability to drive and distribute and you lose a good bit of offensive production.

That's why teams like UConn with Kemba Walker won it all, the point guard makes the offenses go in college.

badge-donor-05yr.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Replies: 5
| visibility 1
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic