ACC Tournament Preview: Can Brownell, Tigers Finally Challenge for Title?
In a year where none of the Tobacco Road teams finished in the top four, and the ACC's elite has been reshuffled, Clemson has an opportunity to seize their first conference title in basketball.
"I think everybody's gonna tell you they feel like they could win it every year," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. "But I think the truth there are a lot more teams that feel like they can certainly play well into the tournament, deep into the tournament, and have a terrific shot. We're one of those, you know, but you have to play well over several days."
Slotting in at fifth in the final ACC regular-season standings, Clemson must go through Tony Bennett's No. 1 seeded Virginia to make it to the final, a matchup that has not faired well for the Tigers in recent history.
That's looking just a little too far ahead.
The Tigers rank 22nd in the country in KenPom rankings for their schedule strength, and big man Aamir Simms has been the catalyst for the Tigers all season long in the frontcourt averaging 13.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists in only 29.1 minutes played per game.
The fifth-seeded Tigers will open up the tournament Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in second-round play against Miami which, coming off of a win against Pittsburgh, is playing some of its best basketball of the year.
The Hurricanes have been mauled by injuries all year long but still field a starting five that has given foes problems, despite their 13th seed.
"Miami does play racehorse basketball," Brownell said. "So, they don't need as many players. They're not picking up full court; they're not in passing lanes. They play more of a contained pack in defense. They kind of play a methodical, grind you up offense where they really are efficient. They run a few things that they run really well where they get some ball movement, get some ball reversal."
Clemson managed to win both games against the Hurricanes, but the margin of victory for both matchups in the regular season only saw the Tigers win by a combined nine points.
In their last affair, Jim Larrañaga's Miami team only saw seven players on the court in the full 40 minutes. The Hurricanes were still able to keep the game in single digits and had chances down the stretch to put themselves in a position to win.
Miami guard Isaiah Wong will be of primary concern for Brownell on Wednesday. Wong is averaging 20.5 points against the Tigers on the season and is coming off a 20-point outing in 37 minutes played against Pittsburgh.
"(Wong) is a great player," Brownell said. "He had 20, 21, whatever it was today. (Kameron) McGusty, he's a really good player; he had 30 or 31 the other night against Boston College. They've got good players. And you know, at the end of the day, they probably had 10; now they're down to about six or seven. But the guys they start, that starting five, they can really play. They're dangerous that way. And when you got two guys like McGusty and Wong that have gone for 28 and 30 in games on any given night, it makes them a dangerous team."
Clemson's defense will be what carries them in this tournament if it's going to make a deep run. The Tigers currently field the 13th-ranked scoring defense in the nation and embrace their defensive ability as a strength.
"We know we're gonna have to defend at a high level," Brownell said. "Wong played really well against us, and you know he's going to make some tough shots. That's just the way it is. We got to guard him as best we can. We got to make him take tough shots, try not to let him get easy ones. (Against Pitt) they got out in the fastbreak very well off turnovers, they got to the free-throw line, and they made their free throws. So you know those are two areas we've got to concentrate on as well."
If they win, the Tigers will face fourth-seeded Georgia Tech in the third round. The series between the two saw a regular-season split that the Yellow Jackets could have easily won.
The first matchup in Atlanta saw Josh Pastner's team catch the Tigers in a slump, beating Clemson by 18 points on their home floor for the second of three straight losses coming for the Tigers off of their first COVID-19 shutdown in January.
Clemson bounced back in buzzer-beating fashion on Feb. 12 when a Nick Honor bank-shot three with 1.1 seconds gave Clemson a two-point win.
If the Tigers can reach the semifinal, they'll likely draw Virginia, a foe Clemson hasn't beaten Virginia since 2013, a streak of 11 straight losses for the Tigers. If Brownell wants to get over the hump and make the championship game, the Tigers' toughest test might come before they ever reach the final.
"At the end of the day, we just need to worry about the first one," Brownell said. "We're excited about it, you know, looking forward to playing here tomorrow. I know there are a lot of teams in the tournament that feel the same way."
