Clemson Basketball squeaks by Syracuse

It was yet another dramatic ending to a Clemson Basketball game that the Tigers led for much of. Still, in the end, Brad Brownell’s team was able to hang on and secure an opening ACC win with a victory over the Syracuse Orange.

The Tigers opened up a 12-3 lead at the first TV timeout thanks to some stout defense and good early shooting from RJ Godfrey and Carter Welling. Coming out of the timeout, Syracuse ramped up the pressure with a tighter half-court zone, and Clemson went cold until the under-12 timeout, outscored 8-4 by the Orange during the stretch. The Tigers also picked up a few more fouls in the process. Their shooting from 3-point territory was abysmal, missing several open shots, but on the other end, Syracuse struggled to convert just as much. Clemson led 23-18 at the under-8 media timeout.

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At the 6:38 mark in the first half, Syracuse took their first lead on a Naithan George three-pointer, and the two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half. Clemson committed two shot-clock violations in part to the stingy Syracuse defense (and a lack of efficiency running the offense), but a two-for-one opportunity to end the half gave Clemson the 29-28 halftime edge, despite the 1-10 start from the three-point line. It felt like Clemson shot poorly, and they did, but the Orange’s 35% shooting from the floor was actually worse than the Tigers. The big difference was Syracuse getting to the foul line, hitting 9 of their 12 free throws, while Clemson managed just three free-throw attempts in the half.

Clemson jumped out fast in the second half behind better shooting, taking a 36-32 lead into the under-16 timeout. RJ Godfrey continued to give Syracuse trouble in the paint, and some lousy ball movement by Syracuse quickly led to an 8-point lead for Clemson, which resulted in a Syracuse timeout. The Tigers would largely outplay the Orange for the next 10 minutes, stretching the lead to as high as 10 points. In typical 2025 fashion, though, Clemson could…

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Publish date : 2025-12-31 22:11:00

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