Clemson Basketball: Three takeaways from the first loss of the season
As much fun as this Clemson team has been to watch for the first nine games of the season, the likelihood of pulling off an undefeated season was about as high as Brad Brownell calling and asking us what we wanted for Christmas.
Knowing that the first loss was inevitable and yet not wanting to rest in that considering it was a winnable game, what went wrong and what can be improved upon before their next contest?
Clemson dropped their first game of the season at Memphis
Turnovers turned the game
- Clemson had 15 turnovers to Memphis' 6. That's a huge advantage for a Memphis team that relies on its athleticism to beat other teams up and down the floor. Too many mistakes, particularly from star PJ Hall as he accounted for 5, were too much to overcome. Hall did put up 21 points to lead the team in scoring but going 0-4 from 3 combined with being sloppy in possession resulted in an off night for the big man. Teams will continue to pressure Clemson, as it's not a team viewed to have many ballhandlers, so finding a way to stay calm and make the right play, especially in the late critical moments, will be huge moving forward.
Starters need help
- With the understanding that Jack Clark and Alex Hemenway are still out, this team has to find someone off the bench who can contribute more than the 5 total bench points that were scored on Saturday. Compare that to the 25 points put up by Memphis' bench and you start to understand why Clemson looked like it ran out of gas a little down the stretch.
One positive
- While the bench didn't carry its share, Chauncey Wiggins certainly did. Averaging just over five points a game coming into the contest, he ended up with 19 on 8-12 from the field and 3-6 from 3. Those numbers will earn the trust of your teammates and coaching staff and it was clear that even the broadcasters were impressed with the multitude of ways Wiggins was scoring. The 6'10 sophomore out of Grayson, Georgia may have just had a breakout, and if so, that's dangerous news for the rest of the ACC.
