After a heartbreaking overtime defeat against the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, the NC State men’s basketball team will need to regroup quickly in preparation for a Clemson club that is very different from its last opponent.
Clemson is one of those rare teams in the NCAA that just makes you scratch your head in bewilderment. On some days, the Tigers have looked like a legitimate bubble team that could gain one of the final spots in the NCAA Tournament. On others, they appear to be a lackluster group, wallowing in its own mediocrity.
Look no further than the Tigers’ nonconference schedule to analyze Clemson’s puzzling ways. On Nov. 28, Clemson knocked off the LSU Tigers by a score of 64-61 in the Paradise Jam tournament held in the Virgin Islands. LSU is currently sitting at 39th in the RPI rankings and has been a frequent vote getter in the weekly Top-25 rankings.
On Dec. 7, Clemson overcame another team that college basketball fans will probably be watching come tournament time: the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas is ranked 25th in the USA Today poll and 22nd in the RPI standings.
Things start to get confusing when looking at Clemson’s non-conference matchups against teams that do not hold membership within one of the NCAA’s five power conferences.
Clemson compiled two very bad losses on Nov. 17 and 21 when the Tigers fell to Winthrop and Gardner-Webb. In addition, the Tigers nearly managed to lose to High Point on Nov. 28 and got clobbered by SEC bottom-feeder South Carolina on Dec. 19.
Much of Clemson’s inconsistent play is derived from the Tigers’ inability to put points on the board, which backs up the statement that this will be a very different matchup for the Wolfpack.
Notre Dame entered this past weekend’s contest averaging 81.9 points per game, good for ninth-best in the NCAA and tops in the ACC. Clemson, on the other hand, averages an abysmal 62.8 points per game, good for 290th in the NCAA and dead last in the ACC.
To better put that statistic in perspective, over the course of Clemson’s 19 outings, the Tigers have scored 70 points or more on just five occasions and failed to score at least 60 points seven different times.
However, what Clemson lacks in scoring ability, they make up for in scrappy defensive play. Clemson holds its opponents to just 61.5 points per game. If the Tigers can keep the game within the 60s, then NC State could be in for another dogfight late in the game.
Players to watch for on the Clemson roster will be redshirt sophomore Jaron Blossomgame and junior Landry Nnoko. Blossomgame is a 6-foot-7 stretch forward, averaging 13.3 points per game along with 8.2 rebounds per game.
Blossomgame plays hard in the paint, but he also has the ability to step back and knock down an open three. Look for either redshirt junior Ralston Turner or freshman Cody Martin to start the game defending Blossomgame, but depending on the lineups on the floor, you might also see a big man like sophomore Kyle Washington guarding Blossomgame.
Nnoko is probably Clemson’s best post player, standing at 6 feet 10 inches and averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
State should have no trouble with Clemson if the Pack is able to play efficiently on the offensive side of floor. However, if the Wolfpack succumbs to Clemson’s suffocating defense for long stretches during the game, the Tigers should have a very good opportunity to pick up a critical ACC victory, and State would take a huge hit in the eyes on the tournament selection committee.
