Despite Close Cincinnati Win, Brad Brownell "Proud" of Clemson Basketball's Efforts

December has been a brutal month for head coach Brad Brownell and the Clemson Tigers, but there’s a lot to take away with some strong finishes.

Clemson defeated Cincinnati in the team’s final game before the holiday break, and the players will head to their respective homes before their next matchup on Dec. 31 in Syracuse. The Tigers closed out their non-conference schedule, and learned a lot about their team.

Brownell, after the win, credits the Bearcats heavily for their performance. The team welcomed back guard Jizzle James for his second game, and the Clemson head coach said that Cincinnati is a better team with him on the floor.

“We actually opened the door for them and, you know, they’re a much different team with Jizzle James,” Brownell said. “They’re much better. They have another guy that can get by you, make plays, so this was a really good win.”

Clemson led by as much as 27 before the Bearcats pushed it to a one-point contest with 40 seconds to go, the closest the game ever was since the opening tip. The Tigers have overcome a lot over the last two weeks, including close losses to ranked-Alabama and BYU.

Regardless of how the game went, the win is all Brownell wanted, and he’s proud of his team for earning it.

“I’m really proud of this group,” he said. “We had a very good non-conference, 10 wins, right? Played some really good teams, saw a lot of different things like tonight.”

One thing that he will challenge his team to do in the new year, however, is play complete basketball. A slow start against the Crimson Tide, a buzzer-beater loss to the Cougars, to name a few, Brownell wants to see a full 40 minutes of tough, physical basketball.

If that is played, the Tigers could be playing at a level like some of the best teams in the country. Brownell also gives credit to the opposing coaches.

“We’ve played a lot of good halves against the high major teams,” he said. “We haven't played a full 40 minutes great, but I think some of that is, it’s hard to do that. The other teams are good too. . .their coaches are going to make adjustments.”

Going into the break with a 38-18 advantage, similar to the BYU loss, Brownell knew the switch would flip on the Cincinnati bench, where he expressed his disappointment for his team.

“We knew the game was going to flip to some degree, probably at some point, unless we got up to the great start in the beginning of the second half,” he said, “and I was a little disappointed with our guys for that.”

As Clemson goes into ACC play in two weeks, the weeks that the players have been having won’t be as rigorous as what was going on in December. Finals week, plenty of travel with close deadlines and illnesses, where Brownell says a few players “have the sniffles,” it will be a good holiday week filled with plenty of recovery.

“I just, I think we were physically worn down finals week,” Brownell said. “Just tired, and so yes, this is coming at a very good time for our guys.”

Will Clemson play that full 40-minute contest when ACC play is happening? Only time will tell, but this recovery time is more important than ever.