Category: Men

Joe Girard leads Clemson past Syracuse, 77-68

Clemson got 18 points from Joe Girard, who earned his 2,000th career point in his return to his Syracuse, and Clemson defeated the Orange, 77-68, at JMA Wireless Dome Saturday.

Clemson got 18 points from Joe Girard, who reached 2,000th career points in his return to Syracuse, and the Tigers defeated the Orange, 77-68, at JMA Wireless Dome Saturday.

The win marks the first time the Tigers (16-7 overall, 6-6 ACC) have posted back to back wins in conference play this season.

Girard was a big reason why. He made five of his six shots for the game, including four of five from 3-point range, to lead Clemson in scoring.

“I’m proud of him. He did not take bad shots. He stayed within the offense,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of Girard afterwards.

Clemson made 60 percent of its shots in Saturday’s contest. PJ Hall had 15 points, Ian Schieffelin added 11, and Chase Hunter finished with 10 in the Tigers’ victory — their first at Syracuse since 2016.

Similar to Tuesday’s win at No. 3 North Carolina, Clemson got out to a big lead early but had to withstand a second-half surge to hold on.

The Tigers used a 14-0 run in the first half to open up a 15-point lead at 27-12 when Girard sank a long 3-pointer near the under-8 media timeout. It was part of an 18-2 overall run by Clemson, which led 35-24 by halftime.

Syracuse (15-9 overall, 6-7 ACC) made their run in the second half, and when JJ Starling hit a fadeaway jumper with 3:37 left, the game was tied at 60-all. Clemson answered when Hall went right back down the floor and made a spin move for a layup to put the Tigers back on top.

Turns out, Clemson wouldn’t look back.

Hunter drove to the rim on the Tigers next possession to lay one in with 2:37 to play to make it 64-60. Girard then hit Schieffelin for a wide-open 3-pointer to push the lead to 67-60 with under two minutes to play. Schieffelin would hit another basket under heavy pressure with 1:31 left to up the lead to 69-61.

Hunter sank two foul shots to close things out for Clemson’s last points of the afternoon to cap the game’s scoring.

But it was Girard who stole the show in his return to his old stomping grounds. The fifth-year senior from Glens Falls, N.Y. spent fours seasons at Syracuse under legendary coach Jim Boeheim before transferring to Clemson after the 2023 season.

“Joe’s efficiency is so good,” Brownell said. “There are a lot of guys that score 20 points in games, but they take 20 shots to get them. Joe rarely does that, and his poise down the stretch and the way he wanted the ball helped us break press and deal with pressure. He was terrific.”

Syracuse shot just 39 percent in the game and had two costly scoring droughts. They went over six minutes without a basket in the first half as Clemson built its 15-point lead, then went 4:36 without a basket in the second half.

By contrast, Clemson had one of its best starts of the season. The Tigers made 57 percent of their first-half shots and out-rebounded Syracuse, 26-11. Hunter managed to get off a shot at the buzzer with just one-tenth of a second on the clock to close out the half.

Clemson ended the day with 41 rebounds to Syracuse’s 24.

UP NEXT: Clemson will return to action on Wednesday when they host Miami at 7 p.m. EST at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised by ESPN2. The two teams met back on January 3 in Miami, a 95-82 Hurricanes victory.

Clemson Tigers vs. Syracuse Orange: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, stream and listen to Saturday’s game against Syraucse.

After a thrilling upset of No. 3 North Carolina on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, Clemson will look to do something it hasn’t done all season when it takes the floor at Syracuse Saturday at noon — win back-to-back games in conference play.

The Tigers (15-7 overall, 5-6 ACC) received a big shot in the arm, to say nothing of a huge boost to their NCAA Tournament résumé, with their 80-76 victory over the Tar Heels this week. Clemson currently is ranked 24th in strength of schedule by ESPN and has Quad 1 wins over Carolina, Pitt, Alabama, and TCU.

But the Tigers haven’t won back to back games since December and have struggled with consistency since ACC play resumed on January 3, something that head coach Brad Brownell alluded to after the victory over North Carolina.

“I’ve said a couple of times that I think we’re playing better than our ACC record. But we are what our record says we are, so we’ve got to finish some games,” Brownell said. “Our guys have really hung in there. They’ve battled and stayed pretty positive. They’re working hard in practice every day. We just haven’t had many good results.”

Clemson can change that with a win against a Syracuse team that’s had similar results in conference action. The Orange (15-8 overall, 6-6 ACC) have also struggled with consistency in Adrian Autry’s first season since the retirement of legendary coach Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse is led in scoring by sophomore Judah Mintz, who averages 18.3 points per game and had 21 in the team’s 94-92 victory over Louisville earlier this week. JJ Starling averages 13 points per game and has been more of a factor of late. Chris Bell (formerly Chris Bunch) is coming off a career-high 30-point showing for Syracuse.

For Clemson, PJ Hall has been the Tigers’ rock all season. His points-per-game average is up to 20 after a team-high 25 points in Tuesday’s win at Chapel. Hall has had seven games of 25 points or more this season .

Joe Girard is averaging 15 points per game and had 21 against UNC, including five 3-pointers.

Series Notes and Recent History

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Syracuse, 8-6. All but two of those meetings have occurred since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013-14. The Tigers won the last meeting between the two schools, 91-73, in February of last year at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson hasn’t won at Syracuse since 2016.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 10

Time: 12 p.m. EST

Where: JMA Wireless Dome (Carrier Dome)

TV Channel: ESPN2

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 381)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN2: Jay Alter, Malcolm Huckaby

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Jim Davis

Huskers suffer massive road loss to Northwestern 80-68

The road woes continued for Nebraska as it faced off against Northwestern Wednesday night.

The road woes continued for Nebraska as it faced off against Northwestern Wednesday night. The Huskers fell behind early once again and couldn’t dig out their hole, resulting in an 80-68 loss.

Points off turnovers and three-pointers were Nebraska’s main burdens throughout the game. Northwestern finished the night with 26 points off turnovers and landed 11 shots from beyond the arc. The Huskers, meanwhile, only put up seven points off turnovers and delivered just six baskets from three-point range.

Nebraska overall saw four players score double-digit points. Juwan Gary led the charge for the Huskers, tallying up 15 points. Brice Williams led the team in rebounds with 10, accompanying his total of 13 points scored to earn his first double-double of the season. Jamarques Lawrence scored 12 points, and Keisei Tominaga rounded the squad with 11 points.

Nebraska falls to 16-8 on the season and 6-7 in conference play. It will return home Saturday to take on Michigan. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.

Social media reacts to Nick Saban joining ESPN College GameDay

Twitter/X reaction to the news of Nick Saban joining ESPN’s College GameDay.

Almost no one suspected that Nick Saban would fade completely away from the college football world after the 72-year-old Saban announced his retirement from coaching on January 10.

Less than a month later, Saban has officially found his next landing spot — in an analyst’s seat on ESPN’s College GameDay.

“Saban… will join a team that includes host Rece Davis, analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee, as well as college football insider Pete Thamel, reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims, and college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin,” ESPN announced in a press release Wednesday.

Saban will also appear on ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage and make various appearances across other ESPN platforms, including the SEC Network.

Saban led Alabama to six national championships in his 17 years in Tuscaloosa. He also led LSU to a national championship in 2003.

Here’s how Twitter/X users reacted to the news of Saban joining College GameDay.

What Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s upset win over North Carolina

A look at what Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after the Tigers’ 80-76 victory over North Carolina on Tuesday night.

Clemson pulled one of the biggest upsets of the season in the ACC when it defeated No. 3 North Carolina, 80-76, on Tuesday night at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.

A 7.5-point underdog with losses in six of their last nine contests entering the night, the Tigers (15-7 overall, 5-6 ACC) stormed out to a 15-2 lead and led by as many as 16 in the first half before North Carolina (18-5, 10-2) eventually tied the game at 70-all with around four minutes to play in regulation.

Clemson closed things out with a 10-6 run to earn just the program’s second win all-time in Chapel Hill.

Here’s what Tigers coach Brad Brownell said after the game.

On getting a big win:

“I’m really happy for these guys. I’ve said a couple of times that I think we’re playing better than our ACC record, but we are what our record says we are so we’ve got to finish some games. Our guys have really hung in there. I think they’ve battled and stayed pretty positive. They’re working hard in practice every day. We just haven’t had many good results.

“The start to the game was huge. Obviously it gave our guys a big shot in the arm and some confidence, and then we weathered the storm. This place was loud. I think we shocked them early. For the last 30 minutes, it got loud in here and I thought our guys handled that very well. They made some big plays down the stretch. It’s just a big win for us. “

On his approach to the team at the beginning of the game and what he hoped to achieve on offense:

“Just play with confidence. Move the ball and move ourselves. We got some stops. I thought we were able to get out a little bit. I told them, ‘We don’t want to run on made baskets every time, but occasionally we’re going to push it.’ We want to get down the floor. We want to attack, we want to move the ball, look inside. We knew they (North Carolina) were going to do a couple of things in their pick and roll that we kind of exploited. We knew if our guards attacked down hill, we could get a throwback 3 to some of our bigs.

“I told PJ Hall, ‘Knock these in, man. These are the same ones you’ve been getting, but you’re ready.’ He got off to a good start. (Carolina) ended up changing their coverage probably around halftime or late in the first half. We had to make some adjustments again. I thought our games hung in there. I’m proud of the way we rebounded the ball. We only had five turnovers. We did some unbelievable things, rebounding 43 (shots), 11 offensive boards, and then to only have 14 assists and five turnovers in a game like this, with this pressure, is pretty good play.”

On Joe Girard’s 21 points and six rebounds:

“Huge. We need that because Ian (Schieffelin) and PJ can only do so much. They’ve been battling pretty well and had 11 and nine rebounds, but we’ve got to get those guards swooping down and grabbing a few. That was really important for us. It was hard to stop those guys. I thought we changed defenses enough to at least slow the game down a little, especially in that first half. This was a hard-fought one down the stretch.”

On UNC’s RJ Davis scoring 22 points but needing 22 shots:

“That was really big. They sometimes play and we forget the simple things. At the beginning of the game, we’re playing so well and (Armando) Bacot is taking it upon himself to try to keep them in it. We did a good job on Davis and then midway through the game, it kind of flipped and Davis started trying to take over. I just told our players that if we got help off some of these other guys to try to make it really hard for Bacot and Davis. Getting Davis to shoot 22 balls for 22 points, that’s huge for us. That really helps the percentages. And then I just thought we battled as well as we could. Bacot is a real tough matchup.”

Bracketology: Where Joe Lunardi ranks Clemson headed into February

A look at where ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects Clemson in his latest Bracketology update for ESPN.

It’s hard to imagine a more brutal start to the new year than Clemson’s performance throughout the month of January.

After an 11-1 start that saw the Tigers (14-7 overall, 4-6 ACC) climb from unranked to No. 16 in the country with non-conference wins over Alabama, TCU, South Carolina and others, Clemson seemed poised to solidify itself as a top contender in the ACC once conference play began in full force in January.

It’s been anything but fun.

The Tigers have fallen out of the top 25 polls and have dropped six of their last nine games, with uninspiring performances in losses to Miami, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Clemson did come within a second of beating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium after losing on a series of controversial calls, but they followed that up with a close victory over a near-historically bad Louisville team and a loss to Virginia.

Those performances have caused the Tigers to fall to a projected No. 8 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update for ESPN.

The new projections, released this week, have Clemson facing Nebraska from the Big Ten in the 8 vs. 9 game at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, part of the East Region of NCAA Tournament games.

Clemson could help itself tremendously if it were to take down the ACC’s top-ranked team Tuesday in No. 3 North Carolina at the Dean Smith Center Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by ESPN.

[RELATED: Clemson vs. North Carolina: How to Watch/Stream/Listen]

Lunardi’s latest projections forecast just four ACC teams to make this year’s NCAA Tournament: Carolina, Clemson, Duke, and Virginia. The Tar Heels earn one of the four No. 1 seeds in Lunardi’s projections, along with Purdue, Houston, and overall No. 1 seed Connecticut.

Duke is a projected No. 3 seed while Virginia checks in as a No. 10 seed in Lunardi’s update.

Lunardi awards the most tournament bids by conferences to the SEC and Big 12 with nine apiece. The Big Ten is second with six, and the Mountain West and Big East are projected to have five bids each.

Clemson vs. North Carolina: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Tuesday’s game vs. North Carolina.

Clemson’s fortunes have soured considerably since a promising 11-1 start to the season.

The Tigers suffered a heartbreaking 66-65 home loss to Virginia over the weekend that would have given them a much-needed victory and morality boost.

Instead, when Jack Clark missed a good-look 3-point attempt from the top of the key just a split second before the buzzer sounded on Saturday, Clemson had dropped its sixth game in nine tries since the start of the year.

A trip to Chapel Hill to face the ACC’s top-ranked team in No. 3 North Carolina will be the furthest thing from a soft landing spot that coach Brad Brownell’s squad can get.

NORTH CAROLINA

Talk about no rest for the purple-and-orange clad weary. The Tar Heels (18-4 overall, 10-1 conference) started 9-0 in ACC play, their best mark in 23 years, before falling a week ago to Georgia Tech in Atlanta to snap a 10-game overall winning streak.

Coach Hubert Davis’ team quickly rebounded for a convincing 93-84 victory over No. 7 Duke at the Dean Smith Center last Saturday.

6-foot-11 senior Armando Bacot has led North Carolina all season and did so again vs. Duke when he scored a game-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds. Harrison Ingram also posted a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards.

CLEMSON

After its latest setback to a streaking Virginia team that’s won seven straight contests, Clemson (14-7, 4-6) had its third loss in the past month that was decided on the final play of the game; the Tigers had previously suffered similar heartbreaking defeats to Duke and Georgia Tech.

“We’ve gotten knocked back a little bit. I think we have a good group of guys and we’ll continue to rally and gain traction. Eventually, the worm will turn and we’ll win a couple of these games that have gotten away from us and be back in a good place,” Brownell maintained after Saturday’s loss.

PJ Hall led Clemson with 19 points against Virginia to match his team-best season average.

Series Notes and Recent History

Tuesday’s game marks the 147th meeting between Clemson and North Carolina. The Tar Heels hold a commanding 124-22 advantage in the all-time head to head series. In the last meeting between the two schools a month ago on January 6, Bacot tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds in a 65-55 North Carolina victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson’s last win over Carolina was three years ago in February 2021 at Littlejohn. The Tigers have won only once all-time in Chapel Hill. That was on January 11, 2020 in a historic 79-76 overtime thriller that snapped a 59-game consecutive losing streak on the Tar Heels’ home court. It was longest such streak vs. a single opponent in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history — one that had dated back to 1926. The Tigers lost 91-71 in their most recent visit to Chapel Hill last season.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Tuesday’s game vs. North Carolina.

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 6

Time: 7 p.m. EST

Where: Dean Smith Center

TV Channel: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 389)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN: Rece Davis, Jay Williams

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Where Clemson football ranks in new ESPN ranking

A look at where Clemson appears in a new ESPN ranking.

ESPN has released a list of all 134 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams and where each program ranks in returning production for the 2024 season.

Where Clemson ranks on the list might all depend on how you look at things — or whether you put much stock into such rankings. For instance, the Tigers rank only 12th among the soon to be 17 ACC football programs but are 54th nationally on the list, compiled by ESPN’s Bill Connelly.

While Clemson’s overall ranking is lower than 11 ACC schools, it’s also higher than such national powers as LSU (60th), Ohio State (70th), and Alabama (115th).

On offense, Clemson is 20th overall in returning production ranking at 79 percent. On defense, they’re 103rd at 49 percent for a combined percentage ranking of 64 percent.

Of the ACC programs rated ahead of Clemson, Virginia Tech is ranked No. 1 overall on Connelly’s list. Brent Pry’s Hokies have an 86 percent overall production, including 95 percent in returning offense. The Tigers will travel to Blacksburg on November 9 to face Virginia Tech.

Virginia, who the Tigers will face October 19 at Clemson Memorial Stadium, is the second highest-ranked ACC team at No. 5 (76 percent overall; 85 percent offense, 68 percent defense).

Syracuse rounded out Connelly’s top 10 list at 74 percent overall (81 percent offense, 67 percent defense). Defending ACC champion Florida State places 83rd on the list at 58 percent (56 percent offense, 60 percent defense). The Tigers will visit Tallahassee for a much-anticipated showdown with the Seminoles on October 5.

Georgia, who Clemson will face in the season-opener for both schools in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 31, ranks 47th on the list at 65 percent overall (76 percent offense; 55 percent defense).

Connelly’s returning production rankings are part of his overall SP+ projections, which he notes measures recruiting and recent on-field success as well.

“High or low returning production percentages correlate well with improvement and regression. They might not guarantee a good or bad team, but they can still tell us a lot,” Connelly notes in his rankings.

UConn remains No. 1 in latest AP Top 25 poll

Clemson was outside the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll for the fourth consecutive week.

Defending national champion Connecticut, which has won 10 straight games and hasn’t lost since December 20, remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday, February 5.

Monday’s poll marked the fourth consecutive week that UConn (20-2 overall) was No. 1 in the AP poll. The Huskies received 45 first-place votes.

It was also the fourth straight week that Clemson was outside the Top 25. The Tigers (14-7) had been ranked 16th entering the new year, but a brutal stretch has seen them drop six of nine contests since ACC play resumed on Jan. 3.

Purdue (21-2) remained at No. 2 in the latest poll following wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin last week.

North Carolina (18-4) remained the ACC’s top-ranked team at No. 3. Despite a 74-73 loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta last week, the Tar Heels rebounded for a convincing 93-84 win over Duke on Saturday night. Clemson travels to Chapel Hill to face Carolina Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Duke (16-5) fell two spots to No. 9 and remained the only other ranked ACC team in the top 25.

Kansas (18-4) moved back into the top five at No. 4. Houston (19-3) fell one spot to No. 5 after falling to the Jayhawks over the weekend.

As has been the case for most of the season, the Big 12 had the most ranked teams of any conference with six total. The SEC was second with five, including South Carolina. The Gamecocks made the biggest jump of any team, going from unranked in last week’s poll to No. 15 this week.

Elsewhere around the AP poll, Alabama made the biggest jump of any ranked team. The Crimson Tide moved eight ahead spots to No. 16. Baylor moved five spots to climb to No. 13.

Texas Tech suffered the biggest fall, dropping eight spots to No. 23. Kentucky fell seven spots to No. 17.

Tominaga’s career night not enough in Nebraska’s road loss to No. 14 Illinois

Nebraska men’s basketball hit the road for another top-25 matchup.

Nebraska men’s basketball hit the road for another top-25 matchup. The Huskers faced off against No. 14 Illinois and looked to finally snap their road game-losing streak. However, Nebraska once again failed, falling to the Fighting Illini in overtime 87-84.

The Huskers and Illinois duked it out all night but slip-ups by Nebraska gave the Fighting Illini the edge. The Huskers recorded 21 fouls in the loss, while Illinois only surrendered 12. Nebraska’s fouls set the Fighting Illini up with 30 free-throw attempts, where Illinois landed 20. The Huskers, meanwhile, only dropped 14 free throws.

Keisei Tominaga delivered a career-high 31 points to lead Nebraska in scoring, going five-of-seven from beyond the arc and eight-of-eight at the free-throw line. Rienk Mast finished runner-up in scoring for the Huskers, tallying up 22 points, and going four-of-nine in three-point shooting.

Juwan Gary scored double-digits for Nebraska as well, dropping 12 points. Gary also hauled in 11 rebounds to make it his fourth double-double of the season.

The Huskers fall to 16-7 on the season and 6-6 in conference play. They will remain on the road in Illinois as they face Northwestern on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and can be viewed on Big Ten Network.