Kentucky basketball, out-toughed by grittier Clemson team, drops first game of season

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CLEMSON, S.C. — Ahead of its highly anticipated matchup versus Kentucky basketball, the Clemson athletics department decided on a T-shirt promotion. Only the first 1,000 students to arrive at Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday would receive a shirt.

Emblazoned across the front of the black shirt, which featured a basketball and Clemson’s iconic tiger paw logo (in white), was a phrase: “GRIT After Dark.”

The Wildcats were gritty. But not as tough as the Tigers. As might be expected, that wasn’t a winning formula for No. 6 Kentucky in its first true road game of the 2024-25 season.

Though UK led for more than 15 minutes Tuesday, it wasn’t on top of the scoreboard at the final buzzer, as Clemson won, 70-66, to hand the visitors their first loss under new coach Mark Pope.

“It was a really physical game. It’s a credit to them,” Pope said, referring to the Tigers. “It’s how they play. Their bigs are relentless with their physicality toward working it into the post.”

Yet the Wildcats (7-1) actually won the battle on the interior, claiming a four-point edge (30-26) in points in the paint. But the Tigers (8-1) owned the advantage in other categories where toughness comes into play.

Turnovers (Kentucky 12, Clemson eight). Blocks (Clemson nine, Kentucky six).

“We tried to — out of the goodness of our hearts and the care for our team — fix a lot of things by ourselves. It’s just not how we play. We’re not a minus assist-to-turnover ratio team,” said Pope, whose club had one fewer assist (11) than its dozen giveaways. “That’s not who we are, and all the credit goes to Clemson for creating that environment.”

The greatest indicator of the Wildcats’ struggles Tuesday: They let the Tigers dictate the pace.

UK entered as the top team in the country in fast-break points per game at 23 on the nose; it managed just eight Tuesday — the same as Clemson. Which ranked 253rd (of 355 Division I programs whose statistics are tracked by the NCAA) with only 8.75 fast-break points an outing.

“They…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kentucky-basketball-toughed-grittier-clemson-113743056.html

Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2024-12-04 11:37:00

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