Tag: Chase Hunter

Tuesday Bracketology: Where ESPN’s Joe Lunardi sees Clemson

Here’s where ESPN’s Joe Lunardi sees Clemson landing in the NCAA Tournament.

Clemson suffered a 69-62 loss on Saturday to a Notre Dame team that’s been near the bottom of ACC standings all season long. How much did that loss cost the Tigers in projected NCAA Tournament seeding?

As it turns out, nothing — at least according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Despite the loss, Clemson (20-9 overall, 10-8 ACC) held as a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s latest bracketology rankings, released Tuesday.

The Tigers climbed to a 5 seed after their win over Pitt last week. Lunardi forecasts a first-round 5 vs. 12 seed matchup between Clemson and Richmond, which leads a crowded Atlantic 10 conference entering the week at 14-2 (22-7 overall). Richmond is one game ahead of Loyola (Chicago) and two games ahead of Dayton in league standings.

The potential Clemson-Richmond tilt would take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in the Midwest Region of the tournament. No. 4 seed Kentucky and 13 seed Appalachian State are in the same Brooklyn wing of Lunardi’s latest projections.

ACC leader North Carolina is a projected No. 2 seed with Duke as a 3 seed. Virginia is a projected 11 seed, as is Wake Forest. The Cavaliers and Demon Deacons join Seton Hall and New Mexico as part of Lunardi’s “Last Four In.”

Lunardi awards the most NCAA tournament bids by conference to the Big 12 with nine, followed by the SEC with seven. His projected No. 1 seeds are Purdue, Houston, UConn, and Arizona.

Clemson returns to the court Tuesday when the Tigers host Syracuse on Senior Night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EST). The game will be televised on ESPN2.

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

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

Clemson picked an inopportune time for an upset loss when it fell 69-62 to Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend.

Now, the Tigers (20-9 overall, 10-8 ACC) will look to rebound when it hosts a streaking Syracuse team Tuesday on Senior Night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

For PJ Hall and Chase Hunter, it will be the last time that two of the more decorated players will suit up before what’s sure to be an electric home crowd. (The Tigers close the regular season Saturday at Wake Forest before the ACC Tournament begins March 12 at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena.)

Hall has led the Tigers in scoring this season and had 21 points in the team’s loss at Notre Dame over the weekend.

Hunter has had plenty of memorable moments as a Tiger, including a season-high 20-point performance against Miami three weeks earlier at Littlejohn. He also drained a clutch 3-pointer with 38.5 seconds remaining in his team’s 69-62 victory over Pitt last week that essentially put the game out of reach.

Joe Girard is another senior, though he’s played only one season for the Tigers after transferring from Syracuse. Girard has nevertheless been a team leader and averages 15.5 points per game.

NC State transfer Jack Clark is also a senior. Clark didn’t play in Saturday’s game due to illness. Alex Hemenway and Bas Leyte are also members of the Tigers’ senior class.

Clemson is facing a must-win situation if it hopes to finish fourth in conference standings and earn a double bye in the ACC Tournament. To do so, they’ll have to hold off a Syracuse team that has won four straight games and five of its past six.

The Orange (20-10, 11-8) moved one game ahead of Clemson for fourth in ACC standings when they defeated Louisville over the weekend. Judah Mintz leads Syracuse with an average of 19 points per game, and JJ Starling is second with 13.5.

Tuesday’s matchup will mark the second meeting of the season between the Tigers and Orange. Clemson defeated Syracuse 77-68 at JMA Wireless Dome (Carrier Dome) back on February 10. In that game, Girard scored a game-high 18 points in his return to Syracuse.

Series Notes and Recent History

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Syracuse, 9-6. All but two of those meetings have occurred since the Orange joined the ACC in 2013-14. Clemson has won six of the seven games played against Syracuse at Littlejohn Coliseum, including 91-73 last season.

How To Watch

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

Date: Tuesday, March 5

Time: 7 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: ESPN2

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 382)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN2: Rece Davis, Sean Farnham

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Clemson closes out Florida State, 74-63

Clemson got 24 points from Joe Girard and withstood a late rally by Florida State for a 74-63 victory in ACC play Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson got 24 points from Joe Girard and withstood a late rally by Florida State for a 74-63 victory in ACC play Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Girard made four 3-pointers as the Tigers (19-8 overall, 9-7 conference) built a 16-point lead in the second half following a layup from Dillon Hunter with 13:20 to play.

With PJ Hall on the bench with three fouls for much of the second half, Florida State (14-13, 8-8) was able to whittle the lead down to five after Baba Miller sank a 3-pointer with 6:05 left.

When Hall returned to the game, he drove to the basket, got off a tough shot against Seminoles forward Jaylan Gainey, and drew a foul for a three-point play to re-up the Clemson lead to 63-55 with 4:31 to play.

The Tigers held on from there despite a Seminoles team that refused to go away — and got a little testy on the court in the final minute of play.

A dust-up between Jamir Watkins and PJ Hall ended in a double technical foul assessed to both players. That led to Hall fouling out for Clemson and Girard sinking two foul shots on the opposite end to add to his game-high points total.

Watkins had 18 points for Florida State and Primo Spears added 16.

The win was a big step forward for a Clemson team that’s still hoping to receive a double-bye in next month’s ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C. The Tigers are now 5-1 in their last six games after dropping six of their first nine contests to start the year.

Chase Hunter had 16 points and RJ Godfrey scored 12 off the bench in Saturday’s performance.

Hunter closed the first half with a bang when he drained a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave Clemson a 38-28 lead at intermission — its largest of the half.

The Tigers return to the court Tuesday when they host Pitt (18-9, 9-7) at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by ACC Network.

What Brad Brownell, Chase Hunter said after Clemson beat Georgia Tech

Clemson had one of its best shooting nights of the season in Wednesday’s 81-57 blowout victory over Georgia Tech at McCamith Pavilion in Atlanta.

Clemson had one of its best shooting nights of the season in Wednesday’s 81-57 blowout victory over Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

The Tigers (18-8 overall, 8-7 ACC) made a season-high 14 3-pointers on 29 attempts from behind the arc and shot 53 percent from the field in their most lopsided victory in ACC play this season.

Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin had big nights in their respective returns to their home state. Schieffelin edged out Hunter for a game-high 19 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Hunter, an Atlanta native who was a prep standout at Westlake High School before committing to Clemson, had 18 points — including 11 in the final 11 minutes of the game.

Joe Girard added 14 points and PJ Hall, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Wednesday, added 11 to give Clemson four players in double figures.

The Tigers led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

Here’s everything Hunter and Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after Wednesday’s victory over Georgia Tech.

Clemson gets season-high 14 3-pointers to drop Georgia Tech, 81-57

Clemson built a big lead in the first half over Georgia Tech by way of an array of 3-pointers and cruised to an 81-57 victory over the Yellow Jackets in ACC play Wednesday at the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

Clemson built a big lead in the first half over Georgia Tech by using an array of 3-pointers and cruised to an 81-57 victory over the Yellow Jackets in ACC play Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

The Tigers (18-8 overall, 8-7 ACC) finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers and were 14-of-29 from behind the arc in Wednesday’s contest.

A pair of Peach State natives led the Tigers in scoring. Clemson got 19 points from Ian Schieffelin and 18 from Atlanta native Chase Hunter.

The Tigers used a 14-0 run in the first half to race out to a 23-9 lead after PJ Hall and Joe Girard nailed 3-pointers. Clemson made nine of its first 10 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.

When Georgia Tech (11-16, 4-12) cut the lead to six at 28-22 with 7:04 remaining in the half, it would be the closet the Yellow Jackets would get the rest of the night.

By halftime, Hall and Schieffelin had combined for 24 points and Clemson led, 43-31.

In the second half, Clemson held Georgia Tech to just 26 points. The Tigers’ biggest lead of the night came with 3:06 left when Hunter made a layup to stretch the Clemson advantage to 26 at 77-51.

Hunter, who attended Atlanta’s Westlake High School before beginning his Clemson career, finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Girard added 14 points. Hall, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Wednesday, had 11.

The 19 points from Schieffelin, who grew up in the Atlanta metro area in nearby Loganville, Ga., were the most he’d scored in regulation this season.

The win was also the largest of the ACC schedule for a Tigers team that suffered an embarrassing home loss to Georgia Tech in the schools’ previous meeting at Littlejohn Coliseum just over a month earlier.

In Wednesday’s contest, the Yellow Jackets made only 16-of-53 shots including 6-of-25 from the floor in the second half. Kyle Sturdivant led Georgia Tech with 14 points.

UP NEXT: Clemson will host Florida State Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. EST. The game will be the second meeting between the two schools this season after the Tigers defeated the Seminoles, 78-67, in Tallahassee last month. Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by the CW Network.

Clemson Tigers vs. NC State Wolfpack: Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

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

Clemson is hoping to continue its winning ways when it welcomes NC State to Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday night in primetime.

The Tigers (17-7 overall, 7-6 ACC) are feeling a lot better about themselves after a three-game win streak over North Carolina, Syracuse and most recently Miami.

In the Tigers’ 77-60 victory over the Hurricanes, they closed the game with a spectacular 24-3 run over the final eight-plus minutes of action. Chase Hunter scored a season-high 20 points and made five 3-pointers, and Joe Girard added 18 points.

PJ Hall, who was named to the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team this week, had 13 points. The senior forward leads the Tigers in scoring with an average of 19 points per game.

Both Clemson and NC State (15-9, 7-6) will see a couple of familiar faces on the other side of this rivalry Saturday. For NC State, former Tigers forward/wing Ben Middlebrooks transferred to Raleigh after spending two seasons in Brad Brownell’s program. Middlebrooks has averaged 14 minutes a game this year.

Conversely, former NC State forward Jack Clark is now in a Tigers uniform. Clark has gradually earned more playing time as the season has progressed. He totaled a season-high 33 minutes in the Tigers’ 80-76 upset over North Carolina in Chapel Hill and logged 27 minutes in the win over Miami.

DJ Horne leads NC State this season with an average 17 points per game. The 6’1″ senior is coming off a season-high 31 points in the Wolfpack’s last contest, an 83-79 loss at Wake Forest on February 10.

Horne is averaging 32 minutes per contest, as is guard Casey Morsell (12 points per game).

Series Notes and Recent History

NC State leads the all-time head to head series, 83-56, but Clemson has won the last six meetings between the schools and seven of the past eight since 2020. The two programs met three times last season between the regular season and ACC Tournament. The Tigers are 33-24 all-time against the Wolfpack at Littlejohn Coliseum. NC State hasn’t won in Clemson since March 3, 2015.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

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

Date: Saturday, Feb. 17

Time: 7:45 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: CW Network

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 193)

Broadcast Teams

CW Network: Tom Werme

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Clemson closes out Miami, 77-60, for third straight win

Chase Hunter scored 20 points, and Clemson won its third straight in a 77-60 win over Miami on Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Chase Hunter scored a season-high 20 points and made five 3-pointers, and Clemson won its third straight in ACC play with a 77-60 victory over Miami at Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday.

Both teams traded a pair 9-0 runs in the second half before Clemson pulled away. The Tigers (17-7 overall, 7-6 ACC) throughly dominated the Hurricanes (15-10, 6-8) down the stretch after leading just 31-30 at halftime and after trailing by six at one point in the second half.

Hunter broke a 57-all tie with his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 5:44 to play to put the Tigers ahead for good. PJ Hall added a 3-pointer with just over a minute left to run the Tigers’ lead to 74-60.

The game was well in hand even before then.

All told, Clemson closed the game on a 24-3 run over the final 6:45 of play. It was the third straight night in which the Tigers took control of the final 10 minutes of action.

“That was an incredible last 10 minutes,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after his team’s win. “Incredible shot-making but good defense (too). I’m proud of our guys. We only had one turnover in the second half and 18 assisted baskets.”

Joe Girard added 18 points and Hall finished with 13 to give the Tigers three players in double figures for the night.

Then there was Hunter, the fifth-year senior who closed out the Tigers’ scoring when he sank his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 20 seconds to play. Hunter had 12 points in the second half.

“I’m so happy to see him shoot the ball like that in a big game when we needed it down the stretch,” Brownell said of Hunter. “They were doing a really good job of packing it in and it was really hard to get the ball to PJ and to Ian Schieffelin, so our guys had to make some shots from the perimeter.”

Clemson finished with 13 baskets from beyond the arc. Norchad Omier led Miami with 18 points. Nigel Pack played 25 minutes and was held scoreless in a game for the first time in his four-year career.

All told, Miami scored just three points over the final nine-plus minutes of play. Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer with 9:50 left gave the Hurricanes a six-point lead — their largest of the night — at 54-48. Clemson closed with a 24-3 run from there.

UP NEXT: Clemson is in a stretch of four out of five games at home. The Tigers return to Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday when they host NC State at 7:45 p.m. EST. The game will be televised regionally by the CW Network. The Wolfpack fell to Wake Forest, 83-79, last Saturday in Winston-Salem.

Clemson earns big road win at Florida State

A recap of the Clemson Tigers’ victory over Florida State on Saturday.

Maybe it was the team’s purple jerseys?

Whatever it was that helped turn the recent fortunes of the Tigers around, Clemson picked up a much-needed 78-67 victory over Florida State in ACC play Saturday at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee.

Clemson’s bench had 28 points, and four players finished in double digits. Chase Hunter led the way with 14 points, including a dunk with 34 seconds to play for the game’s final points.

The win was the Tigers’ (13-5 overall, 3-4 conference) third straight over Florida State (11-7 overall, 5-2 conference) dating back to last year.

It was also the team’s biggest victory of the season after a dreadful start to the new year saw the Tigers drop four of their first five games in 2024, including an embarrassing home loss earlier in the week to Georgia Tech.

Clemson rallied from an eight-point deficit midway through the first half against FSU to even the score at 30-30 by intermission.

Coach Brad Brownell said that he challenged his team at halftime to finish strong after second-half letdowns had defined the Tigers’ last four losses.

“I just told them we’d been here before,” Brownell said. “The hardest part for us is… can you stay connected and competitive enough to have enough fight to hold them off? Because they’re going to come running and climb on your backs.”

Clemson more than withstood the challenge, outscoring Florida State 48-37 in the second half.

Chauncey Wiggins sank a 3-pointer, and PJ Hall had a layup as Clemson found itself on a 7-0 run to start the half for a 37-30 lead.

The lead would grow to as many as 13 after Josh Beadle, another reserve having an impactful game, made a running layup and took a foul from Baba Miller to push the Tigers’ lead to 65-52 with 3:24 left.

When Florida State began fouling with under 90 seconds to play, Clemson sank its next six foul shots to close things out. The Tigers hit their last nine free throws overall.

“We missed a couple of free throws in those losses,” Brownell noted. “We just haven’t done the things you have to do to finish off games. Today, knock on wood, we did.”

Clemson shot 51 percent for the game and was 7-for-17 from beyond the arc. FSU never got into a rhythm against the Tigers’ zone defense and ended up shooting only 40.7 percent from the floor, including just 4-of-18 from 3-point range.

Jamir Watkins led Florida State with 15 points. Two other Seminoles players, Primo Spears (12 points) and Darin Green Jr. (13 points) finished in double figures as well.

Entering the day Saturday, Florida State had won all five of its ACC contests since January began.

UP NEXT: Clemson has a break in midweek action before resuming play next Saturday at No. 7 Duke. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST from Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Clemson Drops Second Straight Contest, 65-55 to North Carolina

A look at Clemson’s 65-55 loss to No. 8 North Carolina Saturday.

Despite a sellout crowd that included Dabo Swinney, who was seen sporting a noticeable black eye, No. 16 Clemson fell to No. 8 North Carolina, 65-55, in ACC play Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers (11-3 overall, 1-2 conference) have now dropped each of their first two contests since resuming play after the holiday break. Clemson had a dismal showing from three-point range, making just 1-of-18 shots from beyond the arc. All told, the Tigers shot just 36 percent from field goal range.

“It was a tough night for us shooting,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said afterwards.

North Carolina’s Armando Bacot and RJ Davis, meanwhile, proved why they’re two of the best players in the ACC. Despite a better defensive effort from Clemson, Davis still managed 14 points, as did Bacot, who passed Al Wood to move into fifth place all-time in UNC scoring history.

After playing to a 34-34 tie at halftime, Clemson took its biggest lead of the afternoon when Chase Hunter made a layup to give the Tigers a 38-34 advantage early in the second period.

Chauncey Wiggins hit the Tigers’ only 3-pointer of the contest to put Clemson ahead, 41-39, with 13:22 to play. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Carolina came right back down the floor with a 3-pointer from Harrison Ingram on the Tar Heels’ next possession.

Things started to gradually slip away from there.

Davis made a 3-pointer with 10:32 to play to give North Carolina a 45-41 advantage, and Clemson never led again.

North Carolina (11-3 overall, 3-0 conference) would close the game on a 7-0 run as Clemson went the final five-plus minutes without a basket.

Hunter led the Tigers with 17 points. Ian Schieffelin added 16, including a second-half dunk that got the crowd on its feet. Schieffelin also had three steals in the first half and five total in the game to go with 11 rebounds.

“I’m proud of our team. Quick turnaround, I thought we really guarded hard and expended a tremendous amount of energy physically. Guarding their guys and keeping them off the glass as well as we did, we did an unbelievable job in the first half. They did a little better job in the second half against us,” Brownell said.

The Tigers return to action Wednesday when they travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech (9-4 overall, 1-1 conference). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on ESPN.

ACC men’s basketball leaders through Nov. 27

One Notre Player makes this list.

With the Thanksgiving tournaments in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and the beginning of ACC play. Of course, we only will be getting a small taste of conference action. That will begin in earnest right before New Year’s Eve. In the meantime, here’s who’s been handling nonconference opponents the best so far: