Four Important Takeaways From Clemson's Loss to NC State

Clemson basketball took its first loss in ACC play on Tuesday night to the NC State Wolfpack, losing 80-76 in overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers snapped their nine-game winning streak in the loss and picked up their first loss at home in Tuesday’s game.

Here are four takeaways from Tuesday’s contest.

Free Throw Shooting Must Improve For Success

To put it simply, if Clemson shot the ball from the charity stripe just a little better, it would have had much better chances to win its tenth straight.

NC State only shot one more free throw than Clemson, but had a better percentage from the line than the Tigers struggled to do. The Wolfpack shot 22 of 25 from the free-throw line, an impressive 88%.

The Tigers only made 15 of their 24 chances in the loss. That's about 62.5%.

Head coach Brad Brownell’s team was 8 of 14 in the second half and overtime. Make at least four more, and the Tigers would have stayed undefeated on the floor.

“Free throws and turnovers,” RJ Godfrey said after the game. “We got to do better at that, especially myself. I think I missed what, three tonight? It can’t happen. So, we’re going to respond.”

Clemson is 12th in free-throw percentage in the ACC, and that must change going forward as the conference games remain close.

Sloppy Guard Play Can Lower Clemson’s Ceiling

In recent games where Clemson guards have taken over games, they couldn’t get in a rhythm, either passing or shooting.

Starters Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter each recorded turnovers in the loss, including over a stretch where the Tigers had about six turnovers in just under seven minutes. That helped the Wolfpack grow the lead to as much as 11.

Hunter said the team started slow and wasn’t in a groove early, which hindered success.

“So, we gave them their flow, like they were able to come in here and just feel energy like, ‘Oh, they can play with us.’ So, that was our bad; that was on me as a leader to get the team going, starting out in a good way, but we are going to bounce back,” he said.

Bench pieces Ace Buckner and Butta Johnson hit some important shots, but they both had three and two turnovers, respectively. Against teams like Virginia Tech, Duke and Louisville, which remain on the schedule, that needs to be cleaned up to bring success to Clemson.

Does Brownell Have That Big Shot Player?

Tuesday’s loss had a similar script to the Alabama loss. Clemson went down early, but forged a comeback that couldn’t be completed.

The Tigers had a similar situation, especially down the stretch. With a game that was between a deficit of three and five over the last 13 minutes, Clemson couldn’t get a run to get a two-score lead of its own. Fortunately, it forced overtime, but the Wolfpack pulled away to win their first Quad 1 win of the season.

“I mean, obviously we were getting the ball inside a lot in the second half. . .but you know, that’s part of it,” Brownell said. “We’re fine. We’ll learn from this; this happens.”

Shots missed by almost everybody put the game at a stalemate down the stretch. Johnson missed a pair of open looks, and Hunter had an open three that would’ve given Clemson a three-point lead with 31 seconds to go, to name a few.

However, this team is not showing any signs of panic with things like that.

“This, you know, is a lesson,” Hunter said. “We’re not really taking it as like a downhill battle. We’re always fighting, so come back Thursday ready to work.”

Tigers Have Some Cushion Before Important West Coast Stretch

Tuesday’s loss doesn’t hurt Clemson at all, being a Quad 1 loss, the Tigers’ third of the season. The team dropped two spots in the NET rankings.

Brownell’s team will travel down the road to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech on Saturday, a Quad 3 opportunity, before hosting Pitt next Saturday to bounce back before an important stretch. For the Tigers, those should be games they win to gain momentum.

Beginning in February, Clemson will travel to California to play Stanford and the Golden Bears, respectively. Both of those games currently serve as Quad 1 opportunities, and teams like North Carolina struggled multiple time zones away from home. The Tar Heels dropped both games.

Hunter will ensure that his team is ready to play this weekend to boost confidence.

“Like Georgia Tech, they’re a real good opponent,” Hunter said, “just beat NC State the last game, so we know it’s going to be a challenge for us and going in there with the right mindset is good for us, and they’re a good team, so we’re ready to compete.”