NCAA Tournament Preview: Tigers Seeded Higher Than ACC Champs, Face Scarlet Knights in First Round
A strong body of work ended up mattering more for Clemson in the selection committee's eyes.
After losing in their first ACC Tournament game to No. 13 seeded Miami, Clemson (16-7, 10-6 ACC) was gifted the No. 7 seed inside the Midwest Region, matching up against No. 10 seeded Rutgers (15-11, 10-10 BIG10). No official game time has been announced.
Whichever team advances in this matchup will face-off against the winner of No. 2 Houston and No. 15 Cleveland State.
"Now the biggest thing about this tournament is we don't want to just go to the tournament, I mean we want to win the tournament; so I think the guys understand that, and everybody's had had a great sense of edge and approach in practice these last two days. Like I said, I think we're just ready to get on the road." Clemson guard Clyde Trapp said after the revealing of the full field of 68 teams Sunday.
Clemson has a favorable matchup to their playstyle, as the Scarlett Knights finished 205th amongst Division I teams in scoring offense and 109th in scoring defense, likely something the Tigers and head coach Brad Brownell can use as an upper hand and utilize their No. 12 ranked scoring defense to make Rutgers uncomfortable.
"I mean, it's nice to compete against somebody else," Brownell said Sunday. "But both teams will quickly be familiar with a lot of what the other team does. They'll know us pretty well; they have plenty of time to get to know Clemson, and we've got plenty of time to try to get to know Rutgers. So that part, it'll be about players making plays, guys making shots, being able to control their emotions, being in big games, and handling all that's involved with that."
Brownell's team ranks 100 spots behind Rutgers in terms of scoring offense sitting at 305th, and Clemson's offensive play can lead to too many unnecessary turnovers for in the backcourt. Both teams pride themselves on team defense, and this first-round matchup will be a low-scoring, physical affair.
"It's definitely an honor," Clemson forward Aamir Simms said. "I think a lot of people are quick to write us off, but this whole year we just battled all types of adversity. It's just special for Clyde and me, definitely to get back here after that freshman year and what we accomplished. We've been hungry to get back to this stage, and now that we have the opportunity, we're definitely going to make the most of it. It means a lot for us, this school, and coach Brownell."
Unlike Clemson, all three of the Scarlet Knights' seniors rest in the backcourt.
Guards Ron Harper Jr., Jacob Young, and Geo Baker all lead the way for Rutgers with 15.4, 14.4, and 10.1 points respectively on the season and hope to keep Trapp, Nick Honor Al-Amir Dawes hands full similar the way Miami managed on Wednesday.
Tigers' senior big man Simms will have his hands full, likely facing off against 6-foot-11 junior forward Myles Johnson. In 24.5 minutes averaged, Johnson put up 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks for Rutgers and was the Scarlet Knights' ultimate defensive anchor.
"I've seen Rutgers in bits and pieces here, watching it on the BIG10 Network. They have experienced guys, a team that's going to be very hungry, very physical, and very good defensively," Brownell said.
"Geo Baker's another guy that's a really good player (for Rutgers). They have a good big man inside (Johnson), great hands, great shot blocker; I don't know what, he's like 6'11. He's got a tremendous wingspan and presence around the basket area defensively. Steve (Pikiell) has done an unbelievable job there. They were going to the tournament last year. So they've got guys that are used to winning, and you know, they're going to be juiced because they didn't get to go last year, and they haven't been in a while, so this is a big, big moment for them."
Rutgers endured a gauntlet of BIG10 conference games and still managed a .500 record. While Clemson had one of their highest ACC finishes in recent memory, both teams' conference put a large field of teams into the bracket, the BIG10 finishing with eight and possibly nine if Michigan State wins its play-in game, and the ACC fielding seven.
"You just want it to be a good experience for the kids, man; these guys pour their hearts out, and then the amount of work and hours. These are those life memories that I talked about that these kids are creating, and you just want it to be an experience that they enjoy," Brownell said.
You don't want it to be like, 'Hey, you guys can't leave your room ever,' you know what I mean like you're just sitting up, and we're going tomorrow, you won't play until Friday. I'll be a little nervous about you just leaving your game or the hotel room, to be honest with you. I mean, the ACC tournament was different. But I just want the kids to have a good experience. Obviously, winning a game to start would be great just to kind of get into the tournament and be excited about advancing, but up until that time, I don't want it to be so regimented that they don't enjoy any of the experience."
