Clemson basketball is heading to its first Sweet 16 since 2018. The No. 6 Tigers never trailed and took down No. 3 seeded Baylor 72-64 with defense and selfless offense.

The last five minutes were nearly a nightmare, though, but Clemson held on for dear life as head coach Brad Brownell said on the broadcast.

Baylor cut what was once a 15-point lead , 61-46, to two points but RJ Godfrey’s four-straight free throws sealed the deal. Here’s the 411 on the Tigers’ silencing all doubt from the end of the regular season.

–Clemson’s win over Baylor marked the Tigers’ first win over a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament since Clemson beat No. 3 BYU on the way to its only Elite Eight in 1980.

–The Achilles heel for Clemson this season has often been foul trouble for its big men. It struck in the first half as PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin were both sent to the bench with two fouls in the last five minutes. Hall never got to make his true mark on the game and ended up fouling out in the final minute. The Tigers scraped out thanks to impressive play from its veteran guards.

–Free throws ended up deciding the game and there was a clear discrepancy.  Clemson was 20 of 24 from the line while the Bears were 16 of 26. Swap those numbers and we could be talking about a far different result.

–Chase Hunter led that charge, picking up from his first round excellence effortlessly. With the bigs in foul trouble, he played like the three-level scorer Brownell has always described him as. Hunter finished with a team-high 20 points and six assists. He was tasked with the hardest defensive assignment and added two steals in the process.

–Joseph Girard III was back to his normal self, scoring 13 points and adding three assists. It’ll go under the radar, but his efforts on the defensive end were some of the best we’ve seen from Girard in 2024.

–Baylor relied heavily on its match-up zone defense, but Clemson picked it apart from the opening tip. The Tigers were selfless with 16 assists on 23 made field goals and it’s how the Bears were forced to play man-to-man.

-Playing with a lead is something Clemson hasn’t done often in 2024 but it’s been suffocating for both opponents in the NCAA Tournament. It allowed Brownell to coach his style and limit the possessions for a high-octane offense. Baylor scores 80.5 points per game but scored just 64 points, far under its average.

–Two men carried the Bears offense: RayJ Dennis and Ja’Kobe Walter. Walter finished with 17 points and six rebounds as the main shooting threat. His co-star, Dennis went on a flurry at the end of the game that nearly ended in a win with a 27-point total.

–Taking on the No. 7 three-point shooting team in the nation, behind the arc was the Tigers’ domain in FedEx Forum. Clemson went 6 of 17 while limiting the Bears to 6 of 24. The win wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Baylor 16 of 30 in its first-round win over Colgate.

–The starting lineup all made their impact on the offensive end. All five scored at least seven points while combining for 62 points.