Category: Men

Everything Brad Brownell and Clemson players said after beating Arizona

Clemson Basketball in March Madness: Here’s everything Clemson Tigers coach Brad Brownell and players Chase Hunter, PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin said after the team’s 77-72 victory over the Arizona Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament.

It’s on to the Elite Eight for the Clemson men’s basketball team, which will face Alabama in the NCAA Tournament Saturday in Los Angeles after the Tigers’ 77-72 victory over Arizona at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

Clemson got 35 points combined from seniors Chase Hunter and PJ Hall, and they held Arizona to just 37 percent shooting from the field. Caleb Love, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, was held to 13 points.

The Tigers have now defeated a No. 3 seed and a No. 2 seed, in addition to their first-round tournament victory over Mountain West champion New Mexico.

Clemson will have a familiar opponent Saturday in No. 4 seed Alabama. The Tigers met the Crimson Tide back on November 28 in Tuscaloosa, an 85-77 victory in the ACC-SEC Challenge that was part of a 9-0 start to the season.

Alabama punched its ticket to the Elite Eight with an 89-87 come-from-behind win over No. 1 seed North Carolina.

Tipoff for Clemson-Alabama is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. EDT from Los Angeles. The game will be broadcast on TBS and truTV.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell and players met with reporters after Thursday’s win over Arizona. Here’s everything Brownell, Hunter, Hall and Ian Schieffelin said at the press conference.

Elite: Clemson knocks off Arizona, advances in NCAA Tournament

March Madness: the Clemson Tigers took down No. 2 seed Arizona on Thursday to advance to the Elite Eight in Los Angeles.

Little ol’ Clemson is headed to the Elite Eight.

Chase Hunter scored 18 points to continue his torrid stretch in March, Clemson’s defense held Arizona to just 37 percent shooting from the field, and the sixth-seeded Tigers knocked off the second-seeded Wildcats, 77-72, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament Thursday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The win marks only the second time in school history that Clemson has reached the Elite Eight of the tournament. It will be the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since 1980.

Clemson held Arizona’s Caleb Love, the 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year, to just 13 points on 5-of-18 shots Thursday. The Tigers got 17 points from PJ Hall and 14 from Schieffelin, who each staved off foul trouble and gave the team another outstanding performance. The Tigers shot almost 50 percent from the field (29-of-59).

As it did against Baylor, Clemson (24-11 overall) got off to a strong start against Arizona. RJ Godfrey and Chauncey Wiggins connected on 3-pointers as part of an early 10-2 run that gave the Tigers a 16-6 lead.

Clemson would go up by as many as 13 points when Wiggins notched his second 3-pointer of the half to make it 27-14 with 7:16 left until halftime. The Tigers carried a 39-31 lead into intermission. They shot 53 percent from the field in the first half and made 5-of-11 shots from behind the arc.

Arizona (27-9) began making its push in the second half. After an 8-0 Wildcats run tied the game, coach Tommy Lloyd’s team took its first lead when Love made a layup after a steal by Kylan Boswell.

Clemson never backed down in this cat battle.

The Tigers answered with clutch 3-pointers from Jack Clark and Joe Girard to go back ahead, 53-48. When Hall slipped inside a defender and caught a wide-open pass from Schieffelin for a dunk, it gave Clemson a 65-58 lead with 7:45 to play. Arizona had missed eight straight 3-pointers at that point, and they spent a stretch where 14 of their 16 points were scored solely off free throws.

Jaden Bradley struck with a 3-pointer with 52 seconds to play to cut the Tigers’ lead to 72-70. But on the next possession, Hunter was able to drive through the lane for a three-point play after bleeding the shot clock. Bradley fouled Hunter going to the rim, and Hunter’s basket and subsequent free throw put Clemson ahead at 75-70 with just 25 seconds left.

Dillon Hunter caught a wide-open lob for a layup with 10 seconds left for the game’s final points.

Bradley was Arizona’s leading scorer with 17 points.

Clemson will face the winner of Thursday night’s Alabama-North Carolina matchup in the West Region Final on Saturday. The Tigers defeated both the Crimson Tide and the Tar Heels in the regular season, winning 85-77 in Tuscaloosa on November 28 and 80-76 in Chapel Hill on February 6.

NCAA Baseball: Series preview and where to watch/stream/listen to No. 2 Clemson vs. Miami

Clemson Baseball: Here’s a look at where Clemson Tigers fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s NCAA baseball series against the Miami Hurricanes.

Entering Easter Weekend, Clemson has been the best team in the ACC — if not the best team in the country.

The Tigers’ 22-2 start is the program’s best mark since 2002 when that year’s club began the year 23-1 and ended the season one win shy of the championship game of the College World Series.

Clemson moved to No. 2 in the nation in this week’s Baseball America’s Top 25 rankings. Coach Erik Bakich’s team also moved up two spots to No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll following a dramatic three-game sweep of previously unbeaten Florida State that produced two incredible come-from-behind victories.

The threat of inclement weather postponed a scheduled Top 25 midweek matchup between Clemson and No. 20 Coastal Carolina earlier this week.

As a team, the Tigers are batting .303 with an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) of .964. Opponents are batting .238 against Clemson pitching, which boasts a 4.29 staff ERA that ranks fifth in the ACC.

Blake Wright hit six home runs and drove in 21 runs in five games last week to take home ACC Player of the Week honors. Wright was also tabbed as the Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

Next up for the Tigers is Miami (14-10 overall, 5-4 conference) in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes took two out of three games in series against nationally-ranked programs Virginia (No. 8) and North Carolina (No. 11) before dropping two games at Notre Dame last weekend. Miami defeated FIU, 14-7, in midweek play on Tuesday.

The ‘Canes have averaged 8.5 runs per game this season while batting .306 as a team. They’ve struggled on the bump with a staff ERA of 5.75.

Clemson will go with a different rotation for this weekend’s series due to an ankle injury to left-hander Tristan Smith. Smith (2-0, 2.55 ERA) has been the team’s best starter this season but missed his usual Saturday start against Florida State and will be out at least one more week, Bakich said.

In Smith’s place, the Tigers will go with left-hander Ethan Darden. Darden (4-0, 5.09 ERA) pitched a career-high 6 1/3 innings against FSU, allowing four earned runs and seven hits.

Matthew Marchal will make his first start of the season in Thursday’s series opener. In eight relief appearances this season, Marchal is 4-0 with a 3.55 ERA. Freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak (1-0, 4.60 ERA) is scheduled to make his seventh start in Saturday’s finale.

Series History

Miami leads the all-time head to head series with Clemson, 45-32-1. The two programs first met in 1977. Clemson defeated Miami, 11-5, in the championship game of last season’s ACC Tournament in Durham.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s s a look at where Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s series at Miami’s Mark Light Field.

Start Times (ET)

Thursday, 7 p.m.

Friday, 7 p.m.

Saturday: 1 p.m.

Broadcast Info

TV: ACC Network (Thursday only)

Live Stream: ACC Network Extra, ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday)

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | ClemsonTigers.com

Everything Brad Brownell and his players said ahead of Clemson vs. Arizona

Clemson Basketball in March Madness: Here’s everything Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell and players PJ Hall, Chase Hunter and Joe Girard said at Wednesday’s NCAA Tournament press conference in Los Angeles ahead of No. 6 seed Clemson vs. No. 2 seed Arizona.

Clemson is still dancing.

The sixth-seeded Tigers are set to face No. 2 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament Thursday at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:09 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on CBS.

BetMGM Sportsbook has Arizona as a -7.5 point favorite over Clemson in its most recent betting lines.

The Tigers (23-11 overall) danced their way into the Sweet 16 with a nail-biting 72-65 victory over No. 3 seed Baylor in the second round of the West Region in Memphis last Sunday. Chase Hunter scored 20 points as Clemson built a 15-point lead with 6:44 remaining. The Tigers held on despite not making a field goal the rest of the way.

Arizona (27-8) got 19 points from former North Carolina star Caleb Love in the Wildcats’ 78-68 victory over Dayton in Salt Lake City last Saturday. The Wildcats previously defeated Long Beach State, 85-65, to open the NCAA Tournament.

On Wednesday, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell joined Hunter, PJ Hall and Joe Girard at a scheduled NCAA Tournament press conference in Los Angeles. Here’s everything Brownell and the players had to say ahead of Clemson’s matchup with Arizona.

March Madness: Where to watch, stream and listen to Clemson vs. Arizona

Clemson Basketball in March Madness: Here’s where Clemson Tigers fans can watch, stream and listen to Thursday’s Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament game between the Tigers and the Arizona Wildcats.

Clemson is hoping to reach the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history this weekend. Beyond that, they’ve never been to the Final Four. To get there, they’ll first have to get past No. 2 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament Thursday at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:09 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised by CBS.

The sixth-seeded Tigers (23-11 overall) dominated New Mexico, 77-56, in the opening round of the tournament on Friday in Memphis, and they followed it up with a white-knuckle victory over No. 3 seed Baylor.

Clemson led by as many as 15 in the second half against Baylor and sank all six foul shots in the final 30 seconds to hold on for a 72-65 victory, marking the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2018.

Things don’t figure to be any easier against Arizona (27-8). The Wildcats had been considered a likely No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament before some late-season struggles. They won the regular season Pac-12 championship before stumbling in the conference tournament against Oregon.

Thus far in the Dance, coach Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats have looked every bit the part of a top seed. They beat No. 15 seed Long Beach State by 20, then got 19 points in 35 minutes from Caleb Love in a 78-68 victory over Dayton. Keshad Johnson and Pelle Larson had 13 points in the win against Dayton.

Love, who was awarded the 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year award, led Arizona in scoring this season with an average of 20 points per game in conference play. Love reached the NCAA championship game two years ago when he was with North Carolina.

Larsson and center Oumar Ballo both average 13 points a night for the Wildcats. Ballo averages 11 rebounds per game, which was good for second in the Pac-12. Love, Johnson, Larson and Bello have played in all 35 games this season for Arizona.

For Clemson, senior guard Chase Hunter is playing his best basketball at just the right time. Hunter scored a team-high 20 points against Baylor on 5-of-10 shooting, two days after totaling 21 points on 8-of-16 shots against New Mexico.

PJ Hall has led the Tigers in scoring all season and averages 18.5 points per game. Joe Girard averages 15 a night for Clemson while Ian Schieffelin, the ACC’s Most Improved Player for 2023-24, leads the team with 9.5 rebounds a night. Schieffelin finished in double figures against both New Mexico and Baylor.

Series Notes  and History

Thursday’s game will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between Clemson and Arizona. The Wildcats won all three previous meetings. The teams first met on March 18, 1989 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Boise, Idaho, a 94-68 Arizona victory. They met in back to back years in 2011 and 2012 as part of a home-and-home series. Arizona defeated Clemson, 66-54, in 2012.

Where To Watch

Here’s where Clemson fans can watch, stream and listen to Thursday’s NCAA Tournament game against Arizona.

Date: Thursday, March 28

Time: 7:09 p.m. EST

Where: Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center)

TV: CBS

Live Stream: Paramount+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | Westwood One Sports (national broadcast) | TuneIn App | Varsity App | SiriusXM (Channel 201)

Broadcast Teams

CBS: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline)

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, JD Powell

Westwood One Sports: Spero Dedes, Austin Croshere

Clemson baseball, softball games canceled Tuesday

The Clemson Tigers’ scheduled baseball and softball games Tuesday have been canceled due to the threat of inclement weather.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Due to forecasted inclement weather, Tuesday’s baseball game against Coastal Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and Tuesday’s softball game against Georgia State at McWhorter Stadium are canceled.

Information on tickets for Tuesday’s canceled games and potential makeup games will be provided by the Clemson University athletic department ticket office once details relative to the potential makeup games are determined.

Clemson baseball travels to Miami (Fla.) for a three-game series, beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. on ACC Network. Clemson softball hosts Boston College for a three-game series, beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

WATCH: Clemson receiver Antonio Williams on return to practice

Clemson Football: Clemson Tigers wide receiver Antonio Williams met with reporters after Monday’s spring practice session.

Clemson receiver Antonio Williams is hoping for a do-over of his sophomore season.

The former four-star recruit from Dutch Fork High School (Irmo, S.C.) received a medical redshirt after playing in just four regular-season games a year ago due to foot injuries that cost him much of the 2023 campaign.

After appearing in the Tigers’ first three contests against Duke, Charleston Southern and Florida Atlantic, Williams made only one more appearance during the regular season: the team’s 28-20 double-overtime win against Miami on October 21.

Williams returned in time to play in Clemson’s 38-35 Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky. His clutch 16-yard reception on the 3rd-and-18 play on the Tigers’ game-winning drive helped the team complete a comeback in which they scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. Williams finished with five catches for 32 yards against Kentucky.

He was back on the practice field this week and had a lot to say about his hopes for 2024, the competition in the receivers room at Clemson, and more.

Here’s everything Williams said to reporters after Monday’s practice session.

Clemson’s Blake Wright named ACC Player of the Week

Clemson Tigers baseball: Clemson’s Blake Wright had one of the best weeks in school history by going 13-for-22 (.591) with six home runs, 21 RBIs, and 10 runs scored to take home ACC Player of the Week honors.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Senior infielder Blake Wright (Belleair, Fla.) was named ACC Player-of-the-Week, announced Monday by the league office. He joined Wake Forest’s Chase Burns, who was named ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week, in receiving conference accolades. ACC baseball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel and are announced on Mondays throughout the regular season.

Wright had one of the best weeks in school history by going 13-for-22 (.591) with six home runs, 21 RBIs, 10 runs, a 1.409 slugging percentage, two walks and a .625 on-base percentage in leading Clemson to a 5-0 record in five games, including a three-game sweep of No. 7 Florida State. He had at least one run, one hit and three RBIs in each of the five games on the week.

He went 4-for-4 with three RBIs against Winthrop on Tuesday, then went 3-for-4 with a Tiger-record-tying three home runs and six RBIs against Presbyterian at Greenville, S.C. on Wednesday.

Then against the Seminoles, he hit three homers with 12 RBIs in three games. He hit a three-run homer in the 15-5 win in seven innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. In the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday, he hit a grand slam in the ninth inning to tie the score during Clemson’s eight-run ninth inning and 9-8 victory. On Sunday, he went 3-for-5 with another grand slam, this time in the seventh inning to give Clemson the lead for good after the Tigers trailed 11-2 in the sixth inning.

On the season, he is hitting .365 with 35 runs, two doubles, a triple, 13 homers, 40 RBIs, a .779 slugging percentage and .407 on-base percentage in 24 games.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson jumps to No. 3 in new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

Clemson Baseball: The Clemson Tigers moved up two spots to No. 3 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, March 25.

Clemson moved up two spots to No. 3 in the new USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll, released Monday, March 25.

Coach Erik Bakich’s team is 22-2 overall and went 5-0 last week after sweeping previously unbeaten Florida State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium over the weekend. It’s the Tigers’ highest ranking this season in the coaches poll.

Arkansas (19-3) remained No. 1 after winning two of three in its SEC series at Auburn. Oregon State (21-2) stayed at No. 2 after a 4-0 week.

With Clemson at No. 3, Texas A&M (21-3) and Tennessee (21-4) rounded out the top five.

Florida moved up two spots to No. 6 after taking two of three from reigning national champion LSU in Baton Rouge over the weekend. LSU dropped three spots in the coaches poll to No. 7.

No. 8 Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Dallas Baptist rounded out the top 10.

South Carolina moved back into the Top 25 with a three-game sweep of Vanderbilt over the weekend. The Gamecocks are at No. 14 in the new coaches poll.

In the ACC, Florida State fell five spots to No. 17 after being swept by Clemson. North Carolina moved up six spots to No. 11, followed by Wake Forest at No. 12 and Duke at No. 13. Virginia Tech (No. 15) and NC State (No. 22) were also ranked.

In other rankings released Monday, Clemson moved to No. 2 in the latest Baseball America Top 25 rankings and are No. 3 in the new D1Baseball rankings.

The Tigers will host No. 20 Coastal Carolina (18-6) Tuesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in midweek action. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Clemson up to No. 2 in Baseball America rankings; No. 3 in D1Baseball

NCAA Baseball: The Clemson Tigers moved one spot in both Baseball America’s Top 25 rankings and D1Baseball’s Top 25 rankings, released Monday, May 25. The Tigers are up to No. 2 in Baseball America’s Top 25 and No. 3 in D1Baseball’s Top 25.

A 5-0 week that included a three-game series sweep of previously unbeaten Florida State saw the Clemson Tigers move up in the Top 25 rankings for both Baseball America and D1Baseball.

The Tigers improved to 22-2 overall after its sweep of the Seminoles in ACC play. They also defeated both Winthrop and Presbyterian College in midweek action. Those five wins moved Clemson one spot to No. 2 in Baseball America’s new Top 25 rankings and to No. 3 in D1Baseball’s new rankings, both released Monday.

Clemson rallied from 8-1 down in the ninth inning Saturday for an incredible 9-8 walk-off victory over FSU at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. A day later, they erased an 11-2 deficit in a 14-12 comeback win.

Arkansas (19-3) remained at No. 1 in both rankings after taking two of three from Auburn over the weekend.

Oregon State (21-2) stayed at No. 2 in D1Baseball’s rankings while moving ahead one spot to No. 3 in Baseball America’s rankings.

Florida (14-9) and Texas A&M (21-3) rounded out the top five in Baseball America’s rankings. The Aggies were No. 4 in D1Baseball’s rankings while Tennessee was No. 5.

Clemson will host Coastal Carolina Tuesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Chanticleers (18-6) are No. 19 in this week’s D1Baseball rankings. Next up for the Tigers in conference action is a trip to Miami for a three-game series against the Hurricanes beginning Thursday.