Opponent preview: What to know about 19-8 Clemson
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Syracuse dropped its seventh Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season on Saturday against Duke. The arrival of the Blue Devils brought the largest on-campus crowd in college basketball this season, but also a sluggish SU performance and 77-55 loss. It was the Orange’s eighth straight loss to Duke, and dropped them to No. 101 in the NET rankings, the main factor in NCAA Tournament selections.
That means — barring a surprise ACC Tournament run that ends in Syracuse hoisting a trophy — SU will be lucky to even make it into the NIT Tournament. The Orange have plenty of work to do to get into the postseason conversation, though a win at Clemson (NET No. 81) on Wednesday evening would certainly help. The Tigers were once a top-25 team atop the ACC standings, but have dropped four of their last five games, including a 10-point loss to a dismal Louisville team over the weekend.
Here’s everything to know about Clemson (19-8, 11-5 ACC) before the Orange’s visit on Wednesday night:
All-time series
The series is tied, 6-6.
Last time they played
Syracuse and Clemson met in the Dome last January, with SU coming out on top, 91-78. The Orange poured in 51 points in the second half — Buddy Boeheim scored 25 points, four of which were made 3s, and Joe Girard III scored 23 points, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jesse Edwards had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Jimmy Boeheim added 13 points and 10 boards. Syracuse as a team shot 53.4% from the field, and made 41% of its 3-pointers.
The victory improved SU to 9-9 overall, and 3-4 in ACC play. Syracuse tried its hand at a three-guard lineup that included Symir Torrence, Girard and Buddy, moving Jimmy to the power forward spot. While the offense got a boost in the win, Syracuse let Clemson shoot 48% in the second half, and the Tigers came back from a double-digit deficit to get within six with 3:53 left. The Orange, though, finished the game on a 13-6 run.
KenPom odds
Clemson has a 68% chance of winning, with a projected score of 75-70.
The Tigers report
This year’s Clemson team is led by senior forward Hunter Tyson, a fifth-year who has followed the once-traditional path of a college basketball player. He worked his way up from a freshman averaging just eight minutes per game to a star nearly averaging a double-double. At 15.3 points per game, Tyson leads the Tigers — and ranks 15th in the ACC — in scoring. He is fourth in the league, and second in players under 6-foot-11, in rebounding. Tyson has hit double digit points in all but three games this season, too.
Clemson also has three other players notching 10-plus points per game, with 6-foot-10 center PJ Hall’s 15.2 ranking just behind Tyson. Hall is coming off a 28-point, eight-rebound performance in the loss to Louisville, and at 240 pounds, he will be a tough force for Edwards to move inside. Hall leads the Tigers in percentage of possessions used and percentage of shots taken.
Chase Hunter sets Clemson’s offense up, leading the team in assists at 4.2 per game while also recording 14.3 points. Hunter has hit 15 points in his last three games, while senior guard Brevin Halloway (10.8 points per game) has done so twice in the last four Tigers’ contests.
How Syracuse beats Clemson
The Orange have gone 5-5 in road games this season, recently beating both Boston College and Florida State away from the Dome. They have two important games coming up this week, beginning with Clemson and ending with a game at Pitt next Saturday.
Any SU win against a solid team begins with a strong performance from Edwards. The center posted only five points against Duke, his worst performance since getting smothered for just four against UVA in early January. In games where Edwards has scored at least 15 points, Syracuse is 8-2 this season.
SU will also need production from the forward positions, which has proved to be a tall ask through nearly 30 games this season. The Orange’s four forwards combined for 10 points against Duke, with Justin Taylor and Chris Bell both held scoreless over a combined 31 minutes. If some combination of Taylor, Bell, Maliq Brown and Benny Williams can find a way to consistently score against Clemson, and earn a high number of minutes as a result, Syracuse should be able to keep up with the Tigers’ offense, which ranks fifth in the ACC.
Stat to know: 80%
Clemson ranks third in the nation — and leads the ACC — in free throw shooting at 80%, over five points higher than Syracuse’s average. The Tigers, though, don’t shoot a ton of free throws per game, getting less than 20% of their points from the charity stripe and ranking 131st nationally, per KenPom. Against an SU team that ranks seventh in the country in opponent free-throw attempts divided by field goal attempts per game — meaning teams aren’t shooting that many free throws against the Orange — Clemson’s opportunities will likely be limited.
Still, if this game is close and comes down to the final minutes like it’s projected to, the Tigers’ high numbers at the line could make the difference.
Player to watch: PJ Hall, center, No. 24
Mike Krzyzewski called Hall “the most improved player on the planet” last year, when the center led the Tigers in scoring at 15.5 points per game — nearly a 12-point improvement from the year before. Hall has scored at a similar rate this season, continuing to be a key part of Clemson’s team.
The Tigers used Hall at a much higher rate than anybody else on offense, though that may be diminished somewhat against the 2-3 zone. On the other end, though, Edwards will be forced to score against a big body, something Jim Boeheim said he’s struggled with this season, particularly against Virginia and, at times, NC State.
