CLEMSON — It might have been cold and snowing outside Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday, but inside No. 22 Clemson was plenty warm and dry, as it downed Pittsburgh for a 15th consecutive time.

The Tigers got 12 points from Carter Welling and Nick Davidson as they downed the Panthers, 63-52. R.J. Godfrey added 10 points in the victory. Pitt got 12 points each from Damarco Minor and Roman Siulepa.

With as much as three to four inches of snow falling in the Upstate of South Carolina, Clemson led for all but 47 seconds in Saturday’s win. Pitt’s 52 points marked the seventh time this season the Tigers have held an opponent under 60 points.

Clemson led by as many as 20 points, 62-42, in the second half. It was head coach Brad Brownell’s 200th victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

“I did not know that,” Brownell said. “I am proud of it obviously. That is a lot of wins. That is a lot of good players. That is a lot of good assistant coaches that have helped along the way.

“Certainly, proud of the longevity and the consistency that our teams have played. You need to have a good home court and we do. I think our students do an unbelievable job, especially the ‘Grit Pit.’ We have built a nice little fan base, so Littlejohn has become a difficult place to play. In college basketball, that is critical. You have to have a good home court in order to be successful. Thankfully for us, we do here at Clemson.”

BIG RUN

Clemson led by 17 points at halftime, thanks in large part to the way it finished the last 10 minutes of the first half. The Tigers outscored Pitt 20-5 in the last 10:37.

The Panthers made just two field goals in the 10:37 span. They were 2-for-17 from the floor in that stretch. They also turned it over four times and had two shots blocked.

While Pitt was struggling to score, Clemson made 10 of 20 shots in the opening half and was 5-for-11 from behind the arc.

“It was kind of a workman-like win for us,” Brownell said. “We were kind of rusty at times, but we did some good things in the first half on both ends. We got them to miss some shots. We were fortunate… They probably missed some shots that were makeable shots.”

The Panthers cut the Clemson lead to nine, twice, early in the second half, but got no closer. Clemson was able to up its lead to 20 points, 62-42, with 4:57 to play.

The Tigers finished the afternoon hitting on 46 percent of their shots, while holding the Panthers to 38 percent shooting. Clemson forced 14 turnovers, 8 steals, and held the Panthers to 5 of 26 shooting (19 percent) from 3-point range.

Pitt outrebounded the Tigers 33-25, including a 16-5 advantage on the offensive glass. However, the Tigers and Panthers each scored 11 points on second chance points.

The Panthers had a 26-22 advantage with points in the paint, while Clemson’s bench outscored Pitt’s 26-6. Both teams also had 13 points off turnovers. The Tigers committed 11 turnovers overall.

VERY GOOD DEFENSE

The Tigers are the ACC’s second-best scoring defense, and it showed in the first half. They held Pitt to just 6 of 28 shooting from the field overall (28 percent) in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers were just 2-of-18 from 3-point range (11 percent).

Pitt came into the game ranked as one of the ACC’s top 3-point shooting teams.

“Three-point defense we knew was important,” Brownell said. “Obviously, in the first half of the game up there (in Pittsburgh) they shot it well. They made it hard on us. We did a better job in the second half.

“I thought we did a pretty good job today, but there were times when we fortunate that they missed some shots that they can make.”

NOW THAT’S PLAYING DEFENSE

Clemson (18-4, 8-1 ACC) held Pitt to 16 points in the first half, the fewest points allowed by the Tigers in a half since they held both Maryland and Wake Forest to 15 points in the 2020-’21 season.

The last time a Brad Brownell-coached Clemson team held an opponent to under 20 points in a half was on February 15, 2025, when the Tigers held Florida State to 19 points in the first half of a 72-46 victory. 

STREAK IS ALIVE

Clemson’s win over Pitt (9-13, 2-7 ACC) marked the Tigers’ 15th straight in the series. The Tigers’ last loss to the Panthers came on March 8, 2014 in Clemson. The Tigers are now 15-2 all-time over Pitt under Brownell.

The Tigers also improved to 8-1 all-time against Pitt at Littlejohn Coliseum, including 8 straight wins here.

BROWNELL OWNS CAPEL

Brownell and Pitt head coach Jeff Capel have squared off 11 times as coaches in the ACC. They also matched up nine times when both were coaching in the CAA. Brownell was at UNCW and Capel was at VCU (2002-06). Brownell leads the overall series between the two, 17-3, including 11-0 at Clemson.

UP NEXT

Clemson heads to the West Coast on Wednesday and will play Stanford. Tip is set for 10 p.m., EST. The Tigers will stay in California and play Cal next Saturday at 8 p.m., EST. They head into the West Coast trip with a 12-game road winning streak in ACC competition, tied for the league’s fourth longest streak in history.