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CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson returned to the national rankings on Monday. The 23rd-ranked Tigers showed a few hours later they plan to be part of the national picture going forward this season.
Clemson followed up a 77-71 win over then-No. 2 Duke on Saturday night by dismantling the Atlantic Coast Conference’s other traditional power in North Carolina, 85-65.
“Very proud of this team,” said Viktor Lakhin, the Cincinnati transfer who had 22 points with a season-high four 3-pointers and helped Clemson take control in the opening half by building a 49-33 lead.
“What we’re doing, we’re obviously not done yet,” added Lakhin, who also had 22 points against Duke two nights earlier. “That’s why we came here, because of the team’s success last year. We just joined to keep it going.”
Last year’s team led by forward PJ Hall and former Syracuse long-range shooter Joe Girard III advanced to the Elite Eight with wins over New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona before falling to Alabama with the Final Four on the line.
With Hall off to the NBA and Girard out of eligibility, Tigers coach Brad Brownell found two more perfect fits in Lakhin, a 6-foot-11 forward, and Boston College transfer Jaeden Zackery to blend with Chase Hunter, the team’s top scorer this season.
Hunter added 19 points and Zackery had 16 in taking down the Tar Heels. The victory improved Clemson to 20-5, Brownell’s third straight season with 20 or more wins.
At 12-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson is a game behind league-leading Duke and tied in the loss column with surprising Louisville.
Zackery was glad to be back in the AP Top 25 this week, but whether the Tigers were or weren’t doesn’t change their focus on what’s ahead.
“We know there’s a whole thing that we weren’t in it,” Zackery said. “People were mad about it. But we don’t really care about that. We just come out and just prove ourselves every night.”
So far, so good.
Zackery and his teammates did not let the excitement of…
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Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2025-02-11 04:31:00
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