Skip to main content

After suffering one of their worst losses in recent memory at home against Boston College on Saturday, Clemson will now hit the road and head to Syracuse looking to get back on the winning track.

The Tigers (10-7, 2-4) were up by as many as 23 points in the first half against a Boston College (7-8, 2-3) team that had not won an ACC road game in almost two years, only to see the Eagles storm back and hand Clemson a devastating 70-68 loss at home. Afterward, head coach Brad Brownell accepted full responsibility.

"I gotta take responsibility," Brownell said. "I couldn't get my team to get back the spirit of the fight that we started. And that's all me. That's my job."

Clemson got off to arguably its best start of the season in the loss as the Tigers raced out a 34-11 lead, with 7:11 left in the first half. However, the Eagles would finish the half on a 21-5 run, cutting the lead to 39-32.

"We got off to the best start that we probably started all year and made every shot and everything was terrific," Brownell said. "And you know, I kept trying to caution my guys, we're not gonna make every shot and so we're gonna have to continue to fight and we probably just lost a little bit of our competitive spirit there for a few minutes."

Clemson will now head to Syracuse (8-9, 2-4) having dropped three of their last four games. In the past two losses, Brownell thinks the Tigers' lack of size in spots has really hurt his team.

"Our physical deficiencies at times show up in games," Brownell said. "And we're not as big, we're not as strong. Our bodies aren't as big. We get knocked around a little bit, pushed around a little bit and, you know, it shows up a lot of times defensively."

Another area the Tigers have struggled with is closing out games. Multiple times this season Brownell has watched his team let sizeable second-half leads disappear, and that is something the head coach said his players are still working on.

"You put you put yourself in a last-place situation and drive and, you know, tough shot in there, need somebody to get an offensive rebound or you get fouled and then you don't make free throws, some of that is basketball," Brownell said. "The defensive discipline to get stops down the stretch, some of those things, this team has not always done that yet. And that's, that's been hard for us."

How to Watch: ACCN (Dave O’Brien; PxP and Randolph Childress; Analyst)

How to Listen: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson/Tim Bourret)

Series History: Clemson leads 7-5

Player to Watch: If Clemson is going to get back on the winning track on the road against the Orange, Brownell will need more from PJ Hall. The sophomore forward scored 12 points in the loss to BC, but only had two rebounds and turned the ball over five times.

"PJ's got to be able to find ways to get more done," Brownell said. "And we, you know, we've got to help him. And he's got to play better. He's got to make plays, got to make a winning play. We didn't have tough offensive rebounding."

"That's what happens every once in a while. Your best player isn't gonna play great every night. He's played great most nights this year, Tonight, he had a little tougher time in there."

Betting Line: Clemson +3.5, Over/Under 106, according to FanDuel

Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!