By Will Vandervort / Photo ClemsonTigers.com.
As Clemson gets set to host 10th-ranked Notre Dame tonight at Littlejohn Coliseum, it finds itself in the middle of a log jam halfway down the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Thanks to an abysmal second-half performance at Miami, which cost the Tigers an opportunity to separate somewhat from the rest of the pack, Clemson finds itself joined by Pittsburgh and Miami with five conference losses, while NC State is sitting there with six. Florida State isn’t too far behind with seven defeats in conference play.
So what is it going to take for the Tigers or someone else to break up this log jam and make a push at the two through five teams in the standings?
“I don’t have any great advice, except maybe some consistent play and maybe a little bit of luck,” said Clemson head coach Brad Brownell.
The Tigers (14-9, 6-5 ACC) have an opportunity at 7 p.m. to make a push at the top five against the Irish. Clemson sits just a game and a half back of Notre Dame, who is currently listed in second place – a half-game ahead of Duke and North Carolina. Louisville is one game back.
The Irish (21-4, 9-3 ACC) have lost two of their last three games, including a 30-point loss at No. 4 Duke last Saturday.
“This is quite a big challenge going against a team that is quietly becoming an NCAA Tournament team in Clemson,” said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey.
With Clemson sitting in sixth place in the standings and with a chance to move up, Brey knows he is going to get the Tigers’ best effort. The Irish rank second in the ACC in scoring, while Clemson is second in the conference in points allowed.
“They are going to physically defend you and they are so well coached on that end of the floor,” he said. “They are physical at every position so it is a grinding game when you play against them. We are going to be in another tough atmosphere and another one that we have not been in.
“We are still in the first rotation of some of these road atmospheres. Certainly, Cameron was new and shocking to us and our program has never been to Littlejohn. It is a national TV game; they are trending towards the NCAA Tournament so we will have a tough game on our hands and a battle down there.”
The good news for Brey is that his starting point guard knows a thing or two about the atmosphere and experience at Littlejohn. Notre Dame, which beat the Tigers by four points in double overtime last year, is led by Jerian Grant, the younger brother of former Clemson standout Jerai Grant and the nephew of Horace Grant, who was the ACC Player of the Year at Clemson in 1987. Jerian’s and Jerai’s dad, Harvey—Horace’s twin brother—also lettered at Clemson.
Jerian is averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 assists per game.
But no matter what Notre Dame can or cannot do on the offensive end of the court, tonight’s game will ultimately come down to one underlining factor. Can Clemson, who has not beat a top 10 team at home since 2009, do just enough on offense to put itself in position to separate from the rest of the pack, while truly becoming that NCAA Tournament team that Brey believes it is?
“A lot of these games wind themselves down to the last two or three possessions and in a lot of these games you sometimes have to be fortunate, a guy is going to step up and make a shot or you get a call to go your way and guys make big free throws,” Brownell said. “I think there are a lot of teams that are very competitive and the talent is very even with a lot of the mid-level teams and even with some of the teams at the bottom right now. Some of those teams are playing extremely well, and are hard to beat, but I don’t know if there is really one thing that anyone is going to do.
“Someone might get a hot hand. A player might get hot and play well for a couple of weeks, but otherwise is just about fighting, scratching and clawing and winning a couple of close games.”
And tonight, the Tigers will try to see if they can be that team.