Clemson basketball recovered in time to beat Boston College, but there are things to fix

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Clemson basketball’s historic regular season can end with a cherry on top.

The No. 11 Tigers survived Boston College on Wednesday, winning 78-69 at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Clemson (25-5, 17-2 ACC) extended their winning streak to seven, earned a regular-season program record for wins, extended its school record in conference wins, and earned its ninth road ACC win.

If anyone told coach Brad Brownell that Clemson would achieve this much this season, even he wouldn’t believe it.

“I’d be surprised. I thought we had a chance to have a good team, (but) 17-2 now in the league, I don’t know that I believe we’d be that,” Brownell said. ” . . . I kind of told them before the game of how proud I was of them for what they’d done to this point of the season, but now you gotta finish.”

Finishing includes Clemson winning its first ACC tournament championship and making a Final Four appearance.

“I’m not looking at (the NCAA tournament) right now,” Tigers guard Jaeden Zackery said. “I’m just looking forward to finishing the regular season now, then the ACC tournament.”

For Clemson to hold up its end of the bargain, it must improve from Wednesday’s second-half performance. It overwhelmed Boston College in the first half, building a lead as massive as 16 points while shooting 59.4% from the field and 60% from 3-point range.

However, Clemson was careless in the second half, committing 11 of its 13 turnovers. Some came during fast-break opportunities for Clemson, which allowed Boston College to capitalize.

Boston College’s full-court press stifled the Tigers, forcing them to settle for shots late in the shot clock. They were 10-for-26, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range, in the second half. Starting guards Chase and Dillon Hunter combined for 1-for-6 shooting and three turnovers.

“We have to play better than we played tonight. Just too inconsistent,” Brownell said. “I thought the first 15 minutes were good, but the last 25, very average.”

Dillon Hunter and center Viktor Lakhin…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/clemson-basketball-recovered-time-beat-095913329.html

Author : Greenville News

Publish date : 2025-03-06 09:59:00

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