Clemson Tiger Preview

Date: Monday, November 26th

Time: 6:00pm CST

TV: ESPN2

Location: Clemson, SC

2017-18 Record: 25-10 (11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference)

2018-19 Record: 5-1 (0-0 Conference)

Rank: #16 (AP & Coaches)

Coach: Brad Brownell (9th Season)

Previous Season

Clemson had a very strong run last year. Not only did they do well in the conference but also ended as one of the top teams in the country. The Tigers ended the regular season sitting fourth in the ACC along with Miami, North Carolina State, and North Carolina. They made it through the conference tournament until they lost to Virginia in the semis.

They received an at large bid in the NCAA Tournament where they defeated New Mexico State and Auburn before their season ended at the hand of Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen.

Current Season

Clemson came into this season with a lot of hope. Preseason polls had them at #7 in the ACC but that is more to the effect of how strong the conference is and not how bad the Tigers were expected to be. They only lost a handful of players last year and have brought back most of their production from the previous season.

The Tigers are sitting at 5-1 with the lone loss to the folks from the Iowa border, Creighton. They lost to the Bluejays in a hard fought game 87 to 82 last Wednesday in the Cayman Island championship game. Creighton’s Ty-Shon Alexander lit the Tigers up for 36 points as the Jay’s pulled off the win.

Outside of that game, the season has been somewhat of a cakewalk for Clemson. Their closest game was to 72-69 over a 4-2 Akron team who isn’t expected to do well this year in the MAC. It is turning into a little bit of a head scratcher with a majority of last years team still in place. However, they very well could have needed a good loss to wake them up.

They are lead by Marquise Reed at guard. The 6’3” senior is leading the team with 19.8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He was voted second team preseason All-ACC by the media and has so far proved them right in their votes. While his three point shooting leave something to be desired he will go in for whatever shots you give him. He had 27 points in their loss to Creighton.

Elijah Thomas is going to be a problem at center for the Huskers. He is 6’9” and is averaging 10.9 points and 7 rebounds per game. Elijah is big and talented and give’s the Tigers a very nice threat at forward. He was also recruited by Nebraska before picking Clemson for those of you tracking the recruiting pages at home.

Also of note is guard Shelton Mitchell. He is right behind Reed in points with 14.7 and will help push the ball down the court quickly.

Prediction

This is a really seasoned and experienced Clemson squad. They return three starters from last years NCAA tournament team and the bench has plenty of minutes from last year and now. They are better than Texas Tech on offense and if Nebraska gets cold the game could easily get away from the Big Red.

I hate to say it but I saw a lot of the Huskers of old last week against Texas Tech. Until Nebraska can start penetrating defenses, not rely on 3’s, and eliminate scoring droughts then they will struggle against talented and well coached teams. They got beat by Creighton last week and I doubt they want to lose to another team from the state anytime soon.

Clemson University 78 University of Nebraska 71