GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clemson looked like a basketball team that was tired of those questioning its at-large credentials for the NCAA Tournament.

Ian Schieffelin largely agreed with that sentiment in the aftermath of NC State’s latest woodshed beating provided by the Tigers.

“It’s definitely something that bothers you,” the Tigers’ junior forward said.

Supposedly needing a quality win to buoy its tournament hopes, Clemson came through with an 80-54 victory late Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum. PJ Hall and Schieffelin paced four double-figure scorers with 15 points apiece, and Clemson (23-9) finished off a dominant three-game sweep of the Wolfpack (23-10) with the second-largest ACC Tournament win in program history, leading by as many as 28 in its fourth win in five games.

Most importantly, the third-seeded Tigers, who won their three games over an NC State team many believe is going dancing by a combined 65 points, picked up a fourth Quad 1 victory of the season. Clemson will have a chance to add another one to its postseason resume in Friday’s semifinals against No. 2 seed Virginia.

“I’d say it’s a bit motivating, but also we’re just trying to take it one game at a time and one day at a time,” veteran forward Hunter Tyson said. “Go out there and do our best, and I think we did that tonight.”

Clemson shot 50% from the field, made 11 3-pointers and outscored the Wolfpack 20-4 in bench points. Chase Hunter scored 11 points and dished out nine assists while Tyson notched his 16th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers, who also got eight points apiece from Dillon Hunter and Ben Middlebrooks.

On the other end, Clemson’s defense was smothering. The Tigers held NC State’s two all-conference guards, Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner, to just 21 points on a combined 8 of 30 shooting en route to their ninth double-digit win against a conference foe this season. Clemson’s last five victories – all but one coming since Feb. 22 – have been won by at least 18 points.

“I thought we had to win today for sure to make sure,” said Clemson coach Brad Brownell, whose team is trying to overcome a pair of Quad 4 losses on its resume to make the NCAA Tournament. “To me, we should be in.”

Clemson ran into some early foul trouble when Brevin Galloway picked up two fouls within the first 5 minutes, but the Tigers got some key contributions from outside of the usual suspects to help them take a 39-36 lead at the half.

Already without fellow guard Alex Hemenway (appendectomy), Clemson coach Brad Brownell had to call on Dillon Hunter and fellow freshman Josh Beadle for extended minutes. The pair combined to log 19 in the first half, and Hunter made the most of his.

A coast-to-coast bucket and a strip and a layup from the youngster came as part of a 13-0 run that gave the Tigers a 24-20 lead with less than 8 minutes left in the first half. Hall had 11 first-half points, including three 3-pointers, while Schieffelin made four of his first five shots to contribute nine points before the break – four more than his season average.

Clemson took control from there, opening the second half on a 16-6 run that gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead. An ensuing 12-4 spurt put things out of reach for the Wolfpack, who made just seven shots after halftime and misfired on all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.

“They don’t let you get comfortable,” Smith said.

The performance bought Clemson at least one more chance to continue making its case.

“Just go out there and do our job,” Tyson said. “We’ll let everybody else talk about what they think about it, but as long as we’re out there doing our job, I think that’s all that matters.”

Photo credit: Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports