Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
No. 24 Clemson will try to maintain its outstanding start in ACC play when it travels to Florida State on Saturday evening. The Tigers have won nine of their first 10 conference games, including a 72-51 blowout against Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Florida State had its two-game winning streak snapped in an 86-63 loss to No. 20 Miami earlier this week.
Clemson lost to South Carolina in a disappointing game in early November, but it has been an outstanding team since then. The Tigers have won 16 of their last 19 games, with the losses coming against then-No. 25 Iowa, Loyola Chicago and Wake Forest. Outside of their loss to the Demon Deacons on Jan. 17, they have won their other nine ACC games, taking over first place in the conference standings. The Tigers are one game ahead of No. 7 Virginia and two games ahead of three other teams. They have a NET rating that is outside the top 50 though, so they cannot afford to slip up against unranked teams.
No. 3?? ??@pjhall020's emphatic block on a dunk attempt earns a spot on @SportsCenter's Top 10 plays ?????? pic.twitter.com/NL0O3a0TdJ
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) January 25, 2023
The Tigers have been outstanding offensively, ranked inside the top 40 nationally in effective field goal percentage (53.8) and turnover rate. They are also the fifth-best free-throw shooting team in the country, knocking down nearly 80% of their attempts from the charity stripe. Their one weakness offensively has been a lack of offensive rebounds, sitting at No. 333 in that category. This should be an advantageous matchup, as Florida State’s defense is out the top 230 in field goal percentage, turnover rate and rebounding. Clemson has been playing without its top two guards in Chase Hunter and Alex Hemenway, who are both sidelined due to foot injuries. Brevin Galloway has stepped up by scoring at least 14 points in three of the past four games, while Hunter Tyson is averaging team-highs in points (15.5) and rebounds (10).