Four Takeaways From Clemson's Ranked Win Over No. 24 SMU

Clemson men’s basketball has now won six straight following its 74-70 win over No. 24 SMU on Wednesday night. The win was the Tigers’ first-ranked win of the season, and if they win this weekend, they will hear their name called in the AP Poll.

Here are four takeaways from the game.

Clemson Will Win ACC Games This Season Solely on Defense

SMU entered the contest scoring north of 91 points per game. The Mustangs were top 15 in the country in scoring, but that didn’t matter on Wednesday night.

Clemson forced frustrating basketball out of SMU, only allowing 25 points after the first half. That’s the lowest amount that the Ponies saw all season and their first halftime score below 30 points.

However, that’s what forward RJ Godfrey wants out of his team, and what he wants the other teams in the ACC to understand about the Tigers: they can lock teams down.

“Our defense has been stout, especially the last three games, but, you know, we’re a team that plays hard,” he said after the win. I know we had a pretty good non-conference and, you know, I think our defense is how we hold up.”

Clemson held SMU to 16.7% from three in the first half to grow an early lead. Despite the Mustangs’ attempt at a comeback, it was no good.

Poor Deep Shooting, No Problem

Another eye-popping statistic from Wednesday’s game is that Clemson shot under 30% from beyond the arc in the win, a credit to how the team scores and defends.

The Tigers only made nine of 31 three-point attempts, but it has happened before when Clemson has to use its defense and mid-range scoring to win games. Players like Godfrey and Nick Davidson bring elite shot-making around the rim, especially with SMU’s 7-foot-2 center, Samet Yigitoglu, manning the middle of the paint.

Dillon Hunter isn’t concerned with the low percentages from deep, saying his team will find opportunities when it matters most, like in the win.

“That’s the main thing, like basketball, you’re going to miss and make shots 50-50 all the time,” Hunter said. “So, we’re not focused on the misses. We get stops, and then you’re going to get other opportunities, we get stops. So, just continue with that.”

Godfrey did say that hitting more in the future would allow the team to “take a little deeper breath”, which is handy for those big games later on this season.

Clemson’s Future Can Play With The Best

True freshman Chase Thompson played 13 minutes in the win, and against a high-powered offense and big frontcourt, he didn’t bat an eye.

Head coach Brad Brownell was happy for him postgame. Thompson finished with seven points and a rebound, hitting a corner three-pointer in the first half to bring back some confidence that he’s been missing.

Brownell believes Wednesday showed what he can bring to the table in the future.

“He’s been working really hard, and I know he’s been a little frustrated and thought he was terrific,” he said. “Showed what kind of player I think he’s going to be here at Clemson in the future.”

The 6-foot-8, 215-pound prospect showed tremendous athleticism against the ranked opponent. He will be needed in future games as well, especially when Godfrey, Davidson or Carter Welling get in foul trouble and need another body in the paint.

Other players like Zac Foster and Ace Buckner bring the energy to the second shift, which will be important for the remainder of the season.

Tigers Continue to Hold On Late-Game Against Valuable Opponents

Visions of the BYU loss a month ago saw Clemson blow a 22-point lead in what would have been a statement win against a top 10 opponent. The same almost happened against SMU, but the team was resilient.

The Mustangs stormed back late, erasing a 15-point lead with seven minutes remaining to cut the lead to as low as four. However, this time, the Tigers settled down and got away with a ranked win.

“I think we just, you know, we have found ways to make some plays,” Brownell said, “whether it’s a big stop or making a free throw or just, you know, a basket late.”

In these late-game scenarios, Brownell also doesn’t sense any panic out of the group. Clemson has shown that since the BYU loss, all six of its wins have been by seven points or less. That’s difficult to do without breaking down.

“I want our team to play aggressively, but most games that we’re going to be in, if we win them, are going to be like this. We have an older team. They’ve done a good job in these games of finding ways, whether it’s stops or scores or whatnot.”

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday evening, playing at Notre Dame to finish off the week.