Tigers Are Back in the Groove
The Clemson Tiger basketball team appears to have righted the ship. After losing three straight games in the month of January, all by double-digits, the Tigers have won three of their last four games—and will look to extend their current two-game winning streak to three games Friday (8 p.m.), as they play host to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
"Three of the last four games we've played really well and fought and beat some really good teams, so I'm proud of these guys," head coach Brad Brownell said.
The difference in the Tigers' recent run of success, which has them firmly inside the NCAA bubble—an 8-seed according to ESPN, and as high as a 6-seed by CBS Sports, can be attributed to offense leading to defense.
"As of late, making shots early has helped our team stay energized defensively," Brownell said about the Tigers' most recent win. "The first half was one of the best halves of the season for us so far. Our defense was outstanding. Our guys continued to do a good job on defense in the second half. We never let our lead slip to single digits.
"Really proud of my players for the way we competed this week. This was a really good week for us after a poor game at Duke. Our defense was outstanding in the first half. In the second half, I thought we played well for the most part minus a few turnovers. We had a lot of guys play well. It was kind of like the wins we had early in the year when everybody contributed."
The Tigers enter Friday's game after a scheduled week off. However, this is not the first extended break the Tigers have had this season.
In fact, it was a 10-day layoff, due to COVID-19 protocols, that led to the Tigers' three-game skid in the middle part of January. But Brownell is not concerned about this six-day layoff like he was coming out of their COVID break, because this is totally different.
"It's not like a COVID break. That's hard. This is a hard year, folks," Brownell said. "There are no outlets for these kids. It's like basketball, school, your room. Your morale, the morale of your team goes up and down. Some of it's based on their play, some on other things...it's much different than a COVID break when you're in a room for four days."
