No. 22 Clemson Basketball Storms Past Miami Hurricanes, Win Ninth Straight

In a battle between two undefeated teams in conference play, the No. 22 Clemson Tigers defeated the Miami Hurricanes at Littlejohn Coliseum, winning 69-59 on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers (16-3, 6-0 ACC) didn’t trail all game, getting up early and playing stout defense to stifle a Miami (15-3, 4-1 ACC) offense that entered the game top 25 in scoring. Clemson is now only one of two teams that remain without a win in the ACC, joining Duke.

With the win, Clemson has now won nine straight wins, going to a perfect 6-0 in ACC play. That’s the first time since the 2022-23 season that the Tigers have gone undefeated in their first six games to open conference play.

Defense was the name of the game once again for head coach Brad Brownell’s team. The Tigers forced 12 first-half turnovers, recording 11 steals within the first 20 minutes to grow the initial lead. 14 of Clemson’s total points were scored off turnovers.

Miami entered the contest averaged 87.8 points per contest. After Saturday’s game was played, the Hurricanes had a season-low 26 points in the first half and the lowest total that it has had scored all year so far.

The team opened the game with an 8-0 in front of a near-sold out Littlejohn crowd, picking up three turnovers instantly during that stretch to have the Hurricanes play from behind during most of the contest.

The Hurricanes lingered around in the second half, switching to zone and giving Clemson a little trouble offensively. The Tigers continued to then forced their opponent to a scoring drought of over three-and-a-half minutes, going on a 7-0 run of their own.

After an emphatic slam by Jake Wahlin, Clemson led by 15, the largest lead it had all game. It sent the Littlejohn Coliseum crowd into pandemonium.

Even after Miami attempted to close the distance, Dillon Hunter silenced any hope at the 3:42 mark with a five-point swing of his own, finished by the only three-pointer he hit all game.

Carter Welling led Clemson in scoring with 18 points and nine rebounds, the most he’s scored under Brownell this season. Jestin Porter had 11 of his own, and RJ Godfrey finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

Hunter, Godfrey, Porter and Nick Davidson all finished with two steals or more in the win. Clemson shot an impressive 47.1% from deep to help secure the ACC win.

The win marks three straight wins over the Hurricanes for Clemson, which will be marked as another Quad 1 win. Brownell’s team is now 4-2 in these games so far this season. That will be pivotal for the program’s NCAA Tournament position, as well as receive a bump in its AP Poll ranking.

Clemson will be back in action on Tuesday night, when the Tigers will play the NC State Wolfpack at Littlejohn Coliseum.