Clemson looks to clinch its 10th straight win tonight with a victory over No. 14 North Carolina as the Tigers prepare for their second ACC matchup this season at 7 p.m., inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
Head coach Brad Brownell sat down with the media on Monday, along with guard Marquise Reed and center Elijah Thomas, to preview tonight’s game.
Here is what we heard.
The Tigers (11-2) rallied at Wake Forest for a rare road win to open ACC play last Saturday. The Demon Deacons led by 10 points late in the second half before the Tigers rallied for 15 unanswered points in the final five minutes for a 73-68 victory.
“The team is coming off of a really nice win. I’m proud of our guys,” Brownell said. “We didn’t play great against Wake, but we competed hard especially down the stretch and just kind of hung in there.
“We couldn’t ever get the lead. We just kept playing. We were fortunate to make a few plays. Certainly, defensively, we stole the ball a couple times, and we were able to string together a couple baskets in a row, which had been difficult throughout the game. But we made good things happen late and found a way to win.”
Late in game, Reed said his team had confidence in they could comeback.
“We huddled up and said, ‘We’re going to win.’ We had faith. We just kept fighting, and that showed a lot of mental toughness for our team,” he said.
Thomas said it all came back to how hard they worked in the preseason.
“We gritted it out. Our preseason was about grit and growth, and we showed our growth and our grit,” Thomas said.
The Tigers’ confidence has only increased with every game this season, especially during the month of December where the Tigers went 7-0, the first unbeaten month since 2008.
Reed said the team’s “togetherness” has been the key to their confidence being so high.
“Everybody is confident in their game. We have great players all around the board that start and come off the bench,” the sophomore said. “We basically have two starting fives. “Once our togetherness picks all the way up, we’re going to be hard to stop.”
Thomas credits his teammates to being his driving factor this season.
“This team, the success, all the accolades that’s coming with us winning, and playing here. I feel like I’m integrating myself into the Clemson basketball culture. I have a family-oriented team. We all really care about each other,” he said.
The Tigers have since turned their focus to North Carolina.
“Certainly now we have our hands full with a very talented North Carolina team,” Brownell said. “They are experienced, big and strong. Jackson and Berry are two terrific guards. Meeks and hicks are really good inside. Certainly rebounding and transition defense are always important when you play a North Carolina team.”
The Tar Heels (12-3, 0-1 ACC) are led by forward Justin Jackson, who is averaging 17.4 points per game, followed by guard Joel Berry and his 13.9 points per game. Forward Isaiah Hicks and forward Kennedy Meeks work the paint, averaging 12.6 points per game and 5.2 rebounds, and 13.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, respectively.
Reed remembers playing North Carolina when he played at Robert Morris. Now, he’s ready to play the Tar Heels in Littlejohn as a Tiger.
“I’m very excited. I owe them one coming from Robert Morris,” he said. “They beat us by a lot. It was a large crowd. I loved the atmosphere. After that, I was just like ‘I want to play here, in a crowd like this, every night.’ So I’m definitely playing with a chip on my shoulder.”
Thomas said he is looking forward to defending the Tigers home turf.
“There’s a lot of excitement. They’re a really good team, their top-ranked in the country, top ten I believe. But it’s just another game for us. We have to go out and play them and win. We have to defend our home turf,” Thomas said.
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