1 week Ago
As the third month of basketball season dragged on, Clemson coach Brad Brownell challenged his team. Rather than surrendering to monotony or complacency, Brownell said it was time for the Tigers to "level up." And they did just that in a 72-57 win on Jan.
25 at Virginia Tech. The level achieved was winning, convincingly, with their leading scorer, Chase Hunter , limited to just two points in 10 minutes because of an illness. Clemson (17-4, 9-1 ACC) didn't even need significant point-scoring from its second-leading scorer, Ian Schieffelin , who had a relatively modest six points and seven rebounds on the evening.
Instead, it was junior Chauncey Wiggins who produced his fourth double-digit game in his last seven with a 16-point outing. Not only did Wiggins offer some 3-point shooting, hitting 4-of-6 from deep, but Jake Heidbreder hit a couple of 3s and freshman Del Jones added 13 points off the bench. Viktor Lakhin and Jaeden Zackery had 11 points apiece, as well.
"We still need to improve," Brownell said after the Tigers' fifth-straight win, still guarding against satisfaction. "I'm very pleased with how we played and where we are. But there's a long way to go, 10 more games to go.
" There's reason for caution. Just two years ago, the Tigers started 10-1 in conference play only to drop five of their final nine and ultimately have their NCAA tournament bubble burst. Last year, Clemson made the tournament and a run to the Elite Eight .
This year, things seem to have fallen into place, meshing transfers Zackery and Lakhin alongside the sixth-year senior Hunter. The younger Hunter, Dillon, is starting to round out the bench with Heidbreder and Jones. The NCAA tournament resume is in solid shape, because there are no truly bad losses to this point; the Tigers are 11-0 versus Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents.
Winning nine out of 10 to open ACC play keeps Clemson on the right course, but there are potential stumbling blocks ahead. NET-ranked No. 116 N.
C. State and No. 148 Georgia Tech, at home, are next.
Clemson, No. 31 in the NET, has to continue to "level up" in those games before inviting ACC frontrunner Duke to Littlejohn Coliseum on Feb. 8 and playing host to Tobacco Road counterpart North Carolina just two days later.
And then back-to-back road trips to Florida State and SMU, which are currently in the top half of the ACC standings. "I'd like us to just get healthy," Brownell said, referencing the illnesses both Chase and Dillon Hunter and Lakhin have dealt with in recent weeks. If the Tigers continue leveling up, in health and in play, they are on track for March Madness, even if the ACC only gets a handful of teams in the field.
Only three teams in the league have one conference loss: Clemson, Duke, and Louisville. There are winnable games on the horizon, and the Tigers have a week to prepare for their trip to Raleigh next Saturday. "We need a little bit of a break here," Brownell said, "and we'll certainly get back to work this next week after we get a couple days off.
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