Clemson’s Turnover Woes Erased in Win Over Georgia Tech

The Clemson Tigers improved vastly in its ball security comepared to Tuesday’s loss to NC State

Clemson managed to handle Georgia Tech to get back on track | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After Tuesday night’s 80-76 overtime loss to NC State, the No. 18 Clemson Tigers had an opportunity to bounce back on Saturday at Georgia Tech.

Bounce back they did.

The Tigers (now 17-4, 7-1 in ACC play) defeated the Yellow Jackets 77-63 at McCamish Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, riding a complete team effort and an improvement in one of the pitfalls of the team’s loss to the Wolfpack.

Against NC State, Clemson turned the ball over 13 times, resulting in 19 points for the Wolfpack.

“Some of our passing and a couple of decisions by our guards, I didn't think were as good,” Brownell said after the loss. “I thought our turnovers were killers. Obviously, points off turnovers. I didn't think our guards played as well tonight as they've been playing. We had some poor decision-making and took some bad shots.”

Fast-forward to Saturday’s battle in Atlanta, and Clemson’s head man was much more pleased with his team’s offense following just 10 turnovers, a few of which happened once the game was in hand.

I also asked Brownell about how #Clemson took care of the ball today.

Safe to say, he was pleased.

Full answer: pic.twitter.com/GNKKeoA4uk

— Drew Cagle (@_dcagle) January 24, 2026

Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire echoed a sentiment that has been a throughline with nearly every opponent Clemson has faced this season: the Tigers are built from the right stuff, and don’t beat themselves.

“Brad [Brownell] is a really good coach,” Stoudamire said. “He does a good job. He had his team prepared. I told my guys leading up to the game, it's a game of margins, especially playing against them. Things that they care about, things that are instilled in them on a consistent basis, they're going to do.”

The strength of the Tigers starts on offense. When all five players are a threat to score (four scored in double-figures against the Yellow Jackets), and turnovers are kept in check, Clemson can beat anyone on the schedule. Limiting turnovers in that fashion can help the defense by keeping opponents out of transition and slowing down the game’s pace.

As Clemson aims for a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in March, the team must continue to build on performances like Saturday’s. The Tigers attempted four more shots from the field than Georgia Tech did, a metric that NC State head coach Will Wade emphasized after Tuesday night’s game.

“It's a possession game,” Wade said. “He who gets the most shots usually wins, but they got one more shot than we did.”

Against Georgia Tech, Clemson’s lack of turnovers and higher number of field goal attempts were both critical factors in the win. The team will look to build on that success when it returns to action next Saturday at home against the Pittsburgh Panthers.