By Will Vandervort.
Two inches.
That’s how close Clemson head coach Brad Brownell and point guard Rod Hall were to answering questions on Friday about avoiding a letdown following a huge win as opposed to what really happened.
What happened was Damarcus Harrison’s game-winning three-pointer as time bounced off the rim, allowing 10th-ranked Notre Dame to escape Littlejohn Coliseum this past Tuesday with a 60-58 victory.
It was gut-wrenching defeat for the Tigers, who had a four-lead and the ball with a little more than four minutes to play.
“Most of these games come down to a couple of possessions and unfortunately the crazy thing about basketball is that if Damarcus’ ball goes two more inches, everybody in here is completely different,” Brownell said. “The questions are completely different. ‘How do you get your guys focused after such a big win and a top 10 win?’
“We are talking about two inches and everything changes based on two inches. But that is sports and that is the reality of sports. That’s what makes it great.”
What also makes it great is that Clemson has another opportunity to make it right. The Tigers will host Virginia Tech today at noon in Littlejohn Coliseum, while hoping to snap a two-game losing streak.
“All you can do right now is get your guys prepared to play as well as you can and see what happens,” Brownell said.
“You just hope your players are as locked in as you are as a coach,” he continued. “I think our players are. Our players have had good preparation and you hope they are excited and ready to compete. This is a chance to win another ACC game so we would like to have a winning record in the ACC and we are going to compete to do that.”
Hall says the last few days have been difficult because they know they let a great opportunity slip by in the loss to Notre Dame.
“It is still sticking with us because we felt like we should have won that game,” he said. “We made a few mistakes and a couple of calls did not go our way. Everyone is still thinking about it, but we are trying to move on at the same time.”
Brownell says his team has had some spirited practices and has been encouraged by that.
“Everybody was disheartened. I thought we played pretty well. We had a couple of mistakes at the end and a tough call or to. We ended up losing a game that we played well enough to win against very good opponent,” the Clemson coach said. “But now we have to recharge and get our minds right.
“Virginia Tech is a dangerous team because of their ability to shoot.”
The Hokies (10-14, 2-9 ACC) are coming off a week’s rest, plus a come-from-behind victory over Georgia Tech the last time out. New coach Buzz Williams has Virginia Tech playing hard, while playing four small players in hopes to stretch the defense.
“They are coming off a real nice win against Georgia Tech so they are going to come in here feeling good about themselves with really nothing to lose,” Brownell said. “When you play teams like that, that can shoot, those are dangerous games.
“We will really have to be on point defensively because they like to run a lot of the Princeton type offensive schemes. So it will be a game in which you have to be locked in to win.”