Should Clemson Consider Starting Lineup Change After Third Straight Loss?

Clemson basketball has had the same starting lineup since its win over Cincinnati in the middle December. However, times could be changing two months later.

The Tigers fell to Wake Forest on Wednesday night in a game that they were out of quicker than losses of past. Clemson trailed by as much as 20 in the first half alone before mounting a comeback in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Head coach Brad Brownell’s team has now lost three straight, and when teams are at a crossroads, it means that changes could end up being made within the team.

The most visible one? Changing the starting lineup. He brought up that idea after assessing how his starters came out slower than usual.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” Brownell said after the game. “We’re certainly looking at it. Maybe we need to change our lineup, I don’t know, but we can’t keep getting behind like we have.”

If that lineup switches up the starters, who should be the new-look lineup?

The big change could be the guards, due to how the duo of Jestin Porter and Dillon Hunter have played during this three-game stretch. The two have averaged eight points together during this losing streak, and a switch in the lineup could change that.

Especially if the guard playing behind them is Ace Buckner. The slashing redshirt freshman added 13 points in the loss to the Demon Deacons on Wednesday, playing in 20 minutes. That was the same amount as Porter and a minute less than Hunter.

He’s been the top point getter in the backcourt, and pairing him with a floor general like Hunter, it could get him going off the dribble to make strong drives. Then, using a player like Porter off the bench, it could bring in a microwave who can get his mojo back.

That will be something Brownell will continue to encourage over the next few days until the Tigers’ next game on Saturday.

“They just, they got to regroup,” he said. “They got to regroup, gain their confidence and get back into an attack mentality.”

As for the frontcourt, Brownell has options, and he most likely has a four player choice for three spots. It’s been Jake Wahlin, RJ Godfrey and Carter Welling as the starters in the frontcourt, but Nick Davidson has been the rotation piece, and perhaps the best producing forward at times throughout the season.

Wahlin had a strong outing in the loss, scoring a team-high 17 points and brings a 6-foot-10 frame that helps bring a longer frame defensively. Welling had 13 points of his own as well, remaining as the team’s big man going forward.

Brownell has positive things to say about the both of them after the loss.

“I thought we had several guys,” he said. “Carter Welling was really good, thought he competeed at a high level. I thought Jake really competed.”

Take a trip back to last season. Clemson suffered a double overtime loss to Georgia Tech. Then, Brownell switched then-starter Chauncey Wiggins for Hunter, and the Tigers wouldn’t lose another game, nine straight wins, until Hunter broke his hand in the ACC Tournament.

Sometimes, a change brings a new rhythm that gets the offense going. If Brownell decides to tap into that, and it ends up working, it would be perfect timing for opponents like Louisville and North Carolina, who remain on the schedule.

Perhaps a bit of reality has settled in for the Tigers, and all they need to do is rise above it.

“You got to still encourage them,” Brownell said. “They are getting a taste of reality. It’s hard. I think, sometimes, when you’re winning like that, you don’t maybe understand how hard it is to win.”

Only time will tell if Clemson shuffles its lineup on Saturday, when it hosts Florida State at noon from Littlejohn Coliseum.