Clemson Basketball: Three takeaways from the comeback win over South Carolina
Clemson and South Carolina going head to head in any sport will always draw interest and bring out some intensity but rarely has the hardwood in December had so many eyes on it for these teams.
In a battle of unbeaten, Clemson came from behind in the second half for a 72-67 win that not only moved the Tigers to 8-0 but also gave their archrival a notch in the loss column for the first time in 2023.
Clemson handed South Carolina their first loss of the season on Wednesday night.
1. Battling from behind against a talented team will be beneficial in the long run.
- Finding themselves trailing at the halftime buzzer by seven was unfamiliar territory for this team as they hadn't been in that situation in nearly a month since being down five to Davidson in early November. However, as the schedule gets tougher these types of games are going to be huge for the development of this team and proof, albeit at home, that they can stick together when they need to.
2. One big run.
- Not only were the Tigers down by seven at the break but they eventually found themselves trailing by as many as 11 with 15 minutes remaining in the contest. It was right as the game was about to get away from them that this team immediately put together an 11-0 run over the next four minutes of action to tie the game at 44. It was impressive for the timing but also because it came from the efforts of four different players making big-time buckets instead of just one guy getting hot. The run started with Chase Hunter's mid-range jumper, then Chauncey Wiggins with a quick two off of a turnover, RJ Godfrey with a layup, Joe Girard with a huge three and finally Godfrey with another bucket close to the basket to bring the game even. Nothing was decided by that point, as the game continued to go back and forth, but Clemson made sure the game never got too far away from them again after that.
3. Balanced offensive attack
- While in past games there had been a reliance on ACC Leading Scorer PJ Hall to dominate, this time around resulted in all five starters scoring in double figures. This was especially crucial when transfer Jack Clark and veteran guard Alex Hemenway were still unavailable to play. It was Chauncey Wiggins, likely the least talked about player on this Clemson starting unit, who led the team in scoring with 15. Even 6th man RJ Godfrey, who only had two buckets on the night, came off the bench and made sure both of his makes counted as evidenced above in their big second half-run. Guys like PJ Hall and Joe Girard will continue to get theirs but if the rest of the supporting players around them continue to step up then this will be a team no one wants to run into in March
