Painter’s Preview: Tiger Basketball Week 7
Clemson Men’s Basketball came into last week strong with a big time win over Kentucky on their belt; however, an early morning tip-off had the Tigers lose their first game as a ranked team this season. Clemson welcomed in a talented Memphis roster coached by former NBA Player Penny Hardaway into Littlejohn Coliseum for an 11:00am game this past Saturday. Despite the Tigers’ slow starts to both halves, Clemson was leading late in the contest with a chance to put it away. However, Memphis hit a late field goal to tie the game, and a questionable coaching decision from the Tigers with 20 seconds left allowed for Chase Hunter to throw up a buzzer beater that missed sending the game to overtime. During overtime, the Tigers could not slow down Colby Rogers and Tyrese Hunter leading to a three-point clinic in a 87-82 win on the road for Memphis.
Key Tiger Takeaways:
New Big Man in Town: Clemson entered this season questioning whether or not they were going to be able to replace or replicate the production from P.J. Hall. Through the first 11 games, I can say that Transfer Center Viktor Lakhin is doing well at following in the footsteps of Hall. Hall was a Clemson Legend that put the Tigers into a position to reach the Elite Eight for just the second time, and whoever decided to play in Hall’s spot had some expectations to live up to. Lakhin came into Clemson from Cincinnati after an injury wondering whether or not he could return to the potential seen in his Sophomore season. So far, Lakhin’s experience has added enough to put Clemson in a position to be successful for the second straight season. Viktor is coming off a 23 point performance against Memphis which is the second highest point total the Russian has ever reached (ESPN). Lakhin was a consistent bright spot for the Tigers all game even through some difficulties throughout the game. He has found place within Clemson’s roster and will be a consistent contributor for the rest of the year as long as the tall Center stays out of foul trouble.
Too Early for Basketball: As mentioned above, the early morning tip-off was visibly affecting the Tigers as they started out slow to start both halves during the contest. This early struggle ended up being the difference in deciding the winner because of the 10-0 and 8-0 run that Memphis had to start both halves. Coach Brad Brownell mentioned that Clemson’s unreadiness is on him; however, hopefully, the Tigers will not have to deal with such an early tip-off for the rest of the season. I commend Coach Penny Hardaway for having his team ready to go early in the day on the road, and his ability to do that gave Memphis the game.
Shooting Struggles: The Tigers struggled all game long shooting the three pointer, shooting just 32% from behind the arc (ESPN). In a normal contest, Clemson may be able to get away with shooting that percentage from the three-pointer with some better defense; however, Memphis and their two sharpshooting guards made it impossible for the Tigers to win shooting that percentage. Memphis’ Colby Rogers and Tyrese Hunter shot 11-18 combined from the three-point line hitting more 3’s than our Tigers hit throughout the entire affair. Allowing two guys to hit more shots behind the arc is not a winning recipe in any contest, and the Tigers have notoriously struggled stopping guys from deep as Mark Sears eliminated Clemson in the Elite Eight hitting seven 3’s (ESPN).
Questionable Coaching: Coach Brad Brownell has improved his coaching ability over the past couple of seasons and has even turned my head in a number of ways. However, their decision to not take a timeout to set up a final play with 15 seconds remaining is baffling to me. Instead of drawing up a play, the Tigers settled for Chase Hunter taking a long difficult three-pointer with the game tied. Hunter did not hit this difficult shot leading to an overtime loss at home for Clemson. Coach Brownell should have called a timeout in that position; however, that game is over, and we will see how Coach Brownell and his staff improves in those situations throughout the year.
Clemson’s Upcoming Games:
At South Carolina, December 17, 2024
Clemson is going on the road to Columbia to play a 7-3 South Carolina roster that has gained a lot of momentum after a weird start to their season. South Carolina is on a 4 game win streak after losing 3 of their first 6 games to Xavier, Indiana, and North Florida (ESPN). Third-year Head Coach Lamont Parris is hoping to lead the Gamecocks back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season after losing their Round of 64 game to a lower seeded Oregon (“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com”). Coach Parris lost his top three guys from last season; however, Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles has heavily increased his role leading the team in points and rebounds and almost averaging a double-double (ESPN). Boyles is a former 4-star that has dominated the paint this season, but he has not produced in big time games and has struggled with turnovers. Boyles is averaging just 7.5 pts/g and 6 rbs/g against ranked opponents which is no where near his 16 pts/g and 9.6 rbs/g across the whole year (ESPN). Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin and Viktor Lakhin are hoping to hold Boyles down in production as Xavier and Indiana had to ensure a road victory. Helping Boyles out in the paint is Transfer Center Nick Pringle. Pringle is a former Alabama Crimson Tide, and his 6’10 frame gives the Gamecocks more needed height within their lineup. Pringle has averaged almost 10 pts/g with 7 rbs/g, and the South Carolina big men will pose a tough challenge for Schieffelin and Lakhin (ESPN). Around these guys, South Carolina trusted their development and brough in a Portal talent to fill out their backcourt. Leading their back court are longtime Gamecocks Zachary Davis and Jacobi Wright along side Transfer Guard Jamarii Thomas. Davis is a bigger framed wing-player that is involved within their rebounding game as well. While Wright and Thomas are more ball-handling threats for South Carolina, they can easily damage opposing teams with their three-point ability as well. Clemson has a tough task on their hands slowing down this roster that is slowing coming together; however, defense travels. The Tigers have been one of the best defensive teams in the country so far this year, and I do not expect that to change on the road against a rival. This game will come down to the Tigers’ scoring ability, and after two rough games, I believe Clemson will bounce back. Clemson will win 72-65 in a physical rivalry game.
Wake Forest at Home, December 21, 2024
After a tough rivalry affair on the road, the Tigers will welcome in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday December 21 at 2:00pm right before the Clemson Football team kicks off in Austin, TX. Wake Forest currently sits at 8-3 and will most likely be 9-3 before them and the Tigers meet. The Demon Deacons had high hopes entering this season after a 21 win year and returning star Hunter Sallis; however, Wake Forest has not lived up to that hope yet in big time games (“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com”). However, the Demon Deacons are currently 1-0 in ACC play and if they reach 2-0 after beating Clemson, those high hopes for the year will easily be restored. As mentioned, Wake Forest is led by Senior Guard Hunter Sallis. Sallis decided to return to Winston-Salem after a breakout season coming from Gonzaga. He averaged 18 pts/g and has averaged 16.3 pts/g to start his 24-25 campaign (ESPN). Sallis has done his best to put the Demon Deacons in a position to win so far this season, but they are just 3-3 against non Mid-Major programs (ESPN). Helping out Sallis is fellow Senior Guard Cameron Hildreth. Hildreth is averaging almost 12 pts/g with 5 rbs/g; however, Hildreth and Sallis have struggled shooting the three-pointer causing Wake Forest to struggle finding shots. Both guys are shooting under 25% from behind the arc which is not helping the Demon Deacons in those big-time match-ups (ESPN). The only player consistently shooting over 40% from deep is Senior Forward Tre’Von Spillers. Spillers has a 6’7 frame and is almost averaging a double-double going for 10.6 pts/g with 9.5 rbs/g (ESPN). Spillers is an App. State Transfer that plays with an Ian Schieffelin style of basketball that Tiger Fans have become so accustomed too. Behind those three guys, Wake Forest does not have much production as they have attempted to play a multitude of guys that just have not worked out. Because of the struggles that Wake Forest has had so far, Clemson will win this game at home even if it feels like a let down spot for the Tigers after a physical game on the road. Clemson will win 73-59 in a game that the Demon Deacons struggle to score against the hard-nosed Tiger Defense.