Tag: Clemson Tigers basketball

Clemson to play in college basketball’s 2024 Sunshine Slam

Clemson Basketball: The Clemson Tigers are one of four men’s basketball teams that were announced would play in the 2024 Sunshine Slam in-season tournament in Daytona, Florida for the 2024-25 season.

Clemson basketball is headed to the Sunshine State as part of its non-conference schedule.

The Tigers are one of four teams that will appear in the 2024 Sunshine Slam in Daytona, Fla. They’ll join Penn State from the Big Ten, Fordham from the Atlantic 10, and San Francisco from the West Coast Conference as part of the in-season tournament.

At least four other schools are expected to participate in the tournament.

Official dates and matchups will be announced later. The news was first reported by The Clemson Insider and confirmed in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein.

Clemson is coming off its most successful season in recent history. Coach Brad Brownell’s team defeated New Mexico, No. 3 seed Baylor, and No. 2 seed Arizona to reach the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, part of a 24-win season.

Among the three other schools mentioned in Wednesday’s announcement, San Francisco had the best 2023-24 season. The Dons were 23-11 overall and 11-5 in league play to finish third in the West Coast Conference. That included an impressive 14-2 mark at home.

Penn State is coming off a 16-17 season. The Nittany Lions finished 11th in the final Big Ten standings. Their best wins were a 90-89 victory over Illinois on February 21 and an 87-83 win over Wisconsin on January 16.

Fordham went 13-20 last season and 6-12 in the Atlantic 10.

Florida State defeated Colorado to win last season’s Sunshine Slam. The Seminoles were one of eight teams to participate in the tournament, which began in early November.

What Clemson, Alabama and Tennessee all have in common

NCAA Basketball: The Clemson Tigers finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 15 in the final USA TODAY Sports Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The Tigers joined Alabama and Tennessee in some rare company with that ranking.

With the final men’s college basketball polls tallied for the 2023-24 season, Clemson is in some rather unique company among the three major men’s college sports.

Clemson finished at No. 14 in the final AP poll and No. 15 in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, both released Tuesday, April 9.

It is Clemson’s highest finish in the AP poll since 1997; the Tigers also finished 14th that year.

The Tigers’ run to the Elite Eight ended with the team finishing 24-12 overall. Among ACC teams, Clemson finished behind only North Carolina (29-8) and Final Four participants Duke (27-9) and NC State (26-15) in the polls.

National champion UConn finished its season 37-3 overall after a resounding 75-60 victory over Purdue on Monday night. UConn became the first school to repeat as national champions in men’s basketball since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

Clemson’s final ranking in the men’s basketball polls puts the Tigers in some pretty elite company.

As longtime Clemson Sports Information Director and broadcaster Tim Bourret noted in a social media post to X (formerly Twitter), only Clemson, Alabama, and Tennessee finished the 2023-24 seasons ranked in the final top 25 polls in both football and basketball — while currently ranked in the top 25 in baseball.

Clemson ranked No. 20 in the final AP and coaches football polls after last season’s Gator Bowl victory over Kentucky; Alabama was No. 5 with Tennessee at No. 17.

The Tigers are currently ranked No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. Tennessee is No. 4 in the poll while Alabama is No. 17.

Where Clemson ranks in way-too-early men’s college basketball Top 25 for 2024-25

NCAA Basketball: The Clemson Tigers placed in the top 15 of USA TODAY Sports’ way-too-early rankings for the 2024-25 men’s basketball season.

It’s been less than 24 hours since UConn was crowned as national champions for the second straight year after a resounding 75-60 win over Purdue at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Who knows what the college basketball landscape will look like in a few weeks, let alone in a few months? The transfer portal changes by the day, if not by the hour. See: Arizona’s Oumar Ballo, Wisconsin’s AJ Storr and Florida Atlantic’s Johnell Davis, just to name a few.

The coaching carousel has also yet to stop after former Kentucky coach John Calipari took the college sports world by storm when he bolted the Bluegrass State for SEC rival Arkansas.

There’s also players that could turn pro, as well as those that could opt in for a fifth college season by using their COVID-19 waiver. That includes Clemson’s PJ Hall and Chase Hunter.

Lots of (basket)balls are still up in the air, but that never stops sports minds from thinking far in advance. To that end, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, and Eddie Timanus have put together their way-too-early Top 25 rankings for the 2024-25 college basketball season.

In those rankings, Clemson checks in at No. 13 following the team’s run to the Elite Eight. The Tigers had their best season to date under coach Brad Brownell, beating New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona to reach the West Regional final of the NCAA Tournament against Alabama.

Per Myerberg, Smith and Timanus:

“A repeat of the Tigers’ journey to the Elite Eight will be a challenge, but a number of the key players could be back if they choose to use their extra year. That group includes standout postman P.J. Hall, as well as guard Chase Hunter and reserve forward Jack Clark. Joseph Girard III is gone, but Ian Schieffelin, voted the ACC’s most improved player in 2023-24, is also slated to return.”

Clark recently entered the transfer portal but could opt to return to Clemson if he doesn’t find a better fit to his liking.

The Tigers’ non-conference schedule is a long way from being set, but their ACC schedule was announced in late February. Clemson will host Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and conference newcomers Cal and Stanford at Littlejohn Coliseum in 2024-25.

The Tigers will travel to NC State, Virginia, Miami, Louisville, Pitt, Boston College, and SMU for road games. They’ll also face three schools at both home and away: Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Joe Girard’s heartfelt message to Clemson fans

Clemson Basketball: Few players in the history of Clemson basketball left more of an impact in just one season than senior guard Joe Girard did.

Few players in the history of Clemson basketball left more of an impact in just one season than Joe Girard did.

The Glens Falls, N.Y. native, who transferred to Clemson from Syracuse after legendary coach Jim Boeheim announced his retirement last year, helped lead the Tigers to only their second all-time Elite Eight appearance — and first since 1980.

With his decision to transfer to Clemson, Girard gave the Tigers not only an instant scoring threat; he lended a certain layer of credibility to the program.

Girard averaged 15 points per game for Clemson and played in all 36 contests this season. He had a 25-point night in the Tigers’ ACC opener at Pitt and had nine games with 20 or more points, including a season-high 26 against Boston College on January 13.

Girard scored 19 points in the Tigers’ 89-82 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Girard took to social media to issue a special heartfelt message to Clemson fans.

“Clemson family,

“I just wanted to give you all a big thank you! Although I was only here for a year, you guys gave me a home away from home.

“To Coach Brownell & staff, the managers, and my incredible teammates, thank you for giving me another historic run in March Madness capped off with an Elite 8!

“The decision to transfer here was everything I wanted and more.

“I’m proud to be able to call myself a Clemson Tiger for life. Tiger Pride! -JG3 Out”

WATCH: Clemson players receive warm welcome home after Elite Eight

Clemson Basketball in March Madness: The Clemson Tigers received a warm welcome home when it landed Sunday night following its 89-82 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Clemson’s season came to a disappointing end in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Buoyed by a second-half surge that included 23 points from Mark Sears, No. 4 seed Alabama defeated the Tigers, 89-82, at Crypto.com Arena to advance to the Final Four.

Clemson got out to a 26-13 lead in the first half before the Crimson Tide overtook them with a 22-6 run to end the half.

Sears, who started the game 0-for-6 from behind the arc, made up for it in the second half by connecting on seven of his next eight 3-pointers.

Joe Girard ended up leading the Tigers with 19 points after a slow start, and Ian Schieffelin added 18 points. PJ Hall (14 points) and Chase Hunter (12 points) gave Clemson four players in double figures Saturday.

While the end result was a disappointment for the Tigers, Clemson fans were no less thrilled to welcome the team back home from the City of Angels after the team had made only its second all-time Elite Eight appearance.

The Clemson Athletic Department took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday night to share a pair of videos of the reception the team received from the Tiger faithful.

Watch below:

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

Clemson Basketball in March Madness: Here’s where Clemson Tigers fans can watch, stream and listen to Saturday’s Elite Eight contest vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles.

Alabama coach Nate Oats dubbed it “the basketball Rose Bowl.”

No word yet on whether Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney will be there to witness it.

Nevertheless, it’s on to the Elite Eight for No. 6 seed Clemson, which will take on No. 4 seed Alabama in the West Region final of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

It will be the second time the Crimson Tide and Tigers have met this season. Clemson defeated Alabama, 85-77, back on November 28 in Tuscaloosa as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge.

With a trip to the Final Four on the line, it’s hard to bet against the Tigers in a rematch.

They survived No. 3 seed Baylor before knocking out No. 2 seed Arizona, 77-72, in Thursday’s Sweet 16 contest. Chase Hunter has been phenomenal throughout the tournament, and he scored another 18 points in the win against Arizona.

Clemson’s defense has held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting in its first three games of the tournament.

Alabama got to the Elite 8 by taking down No. 1 seed North Carolina, 89-87, in a thrilling comeback on Thursday. Grant Nelson scored 24 points to keep the Tide rolling in the Dance after a late-season slump in SEC play threatened to derail Alabama’s season.

The Crimson Tide is the led by senior Mark Sears, who averages 21.4 points per night. Sears totaled 18 points against North Carolina on 7-of-14 shots. ‘Bama’s biggest strength — and subsequently its achilles heel — is its 3-point shooting. When the Tide gets rolling, they have any number of deadly assassins from behind the arc, including Sears and Rylan Griffen (11.2 points per game).

Neither Clemson nor Alabama have ever reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Series Notes and History

Clemson leads the all time head to head series, 8-4. The two schools first met in basketball in 1929. The Tigers have won the last three meetings in the series, including its November win in Tuscaloosa. In that game, Hall had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Hunter and Joe Girard combined for 31 points. Saturday’s game will mark the fifth meeting between the Tigers and Crimson Tide since 2015.

Where To Watch

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

Date: Saturday, March 30

Time: 8:49 p.m. EST

Where: Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center)

TV: TBS/truTV

Live Stream: B/R Sports add-on via Max app

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | Westwood One Sports (national broadcast) | TuneIn App | Varsity App | SiriusXM (Channel 202)

Broadcast Teams

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

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, JD Powell

Westwood One Sports: Spero Dedes, Austin Croshere

Nate Oats says Clemson-Alabama is “the basketball Rose Bowl”

March Madness: Instead of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers meeting on the gridiron to decide postseason glory, they’ll meet on the basketball court in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament Saturday.

It’s Clemson vs. Alabama again.

Fans of college sports are accustomed to seeing the Tigers and Crimson Tide square off against one another under the bright lights in the postseason.

There’s just one thing different this time around.

Instead of Alabama and Clemson meeting on the gridiron to decide postseason glory, they’ll meet on the basketball court at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament Saturday.

Alabama coach Nate Oats called it “the basketball Rose Bowl” Friday.

Neither Clemson nor Alabama have ever reached the Final Four, and both Oats and Tigers coach Brad Brownell want to be the first to add their names to their schools’ respective history books.

It doesn’t escape either Oats or Brownell that both men are coaching at schools that are most associated with success on the football field. Alabama and Clemson met four consecutive years in the four-team College Football Playoff between 2015-2018, three of which occurred in the national championship game.

In basketball, the schools met in this season’s ACC-SEC Challenge back on November 28 in Tuscaloosa, an 85-77 Tigers victory.

“We’ve won a lot, but we’ve never been to a Final Four,” Oats noted. “So making a Final Four would be very big for the program, would show that we’re competing with all of the best programs in the country for the biggest thing. You’re trying to win a national championship. Final Four is that step right before winning a national championship, and we haven’t been to a Final Four yet.”

Before Thursday’s 89-87 victory over No. 1 seed North Carolina, Alabama hadn’t reached the Elite Eight since 2004.

Clemson’s last trip to the Elite Eight was even further back — in 1980. Some 44 years later, the Tigers are back after beating No. 2 seed Arizona 77-72 on Thursday.

Brownell was asked the same question about his program relative to the university’s success on the gridiron. Brownell was quick to say that Clemson would always be known as a football school.

“The first thing you better realize, and I’m sure Nate feels the same way, if you’re the head basketball coach at Clemson or Alabama, you’re not going to become a basketball school. You’re going to be a football school,” Brownell told reporters Friday. “You better embrace that early on. That’s OK with me. I’m great with that. I have a great relationship with Coach Swinney. I want us to be great at everything, and we’re really good at a lot of sports at Clemson.”

Brownell noted that Clemson men’s soccer has won two of the past three national championships in that sport. The school also features a baseball team that entered this weekend 22-2 overall and ranked No. 2 in the country. Tigers softball is ranked in the Top 25, as well.

“We’ve got a great group of coaches in our athletic department,” Brownell said. “Certainly we’re known as a football school and will be one forever and we’re all really proud of that. But I’m just doing the best I can to make our program as good as it can be, and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish the last 14 years. Certainly this year has been really special.”

Tipoff for Saturday’s Clemson-Alabama game is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on TBS and truTV.

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.

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