Tigers not intimidated by Kansas being a ‘Blue Blood’
By: will-vandervort March 22, 2018

OMAHA, Neb. — When Clemson players were asked by Kansas and national reporters about the daunting task they had in facing one of the “Blue Bloods” in college basketball, they were all kind of taken back a bit.

Granted Clemson basketball is not known as a national power like its football and baseball programs are, but it’s not like the Tigers play in the Big South, Colonial or Horizon leagues either. Clemson plays other college basketball “Blue Bloods” in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Syracuse every year.

“I don’t think we are one of those teams that are going to be star struck that we are playing Kansas,” guard Shelton Mitchell said Thursday from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, as the Tigers get set to play the top-seeded Jayhawks in the semifinals of the Midwest Regional on Friday. “We play in the ACC. We play against Duke. We play against North Carolina. We play against all of those teams multiple times in a year.

“I don’t really think it is about who we are playing or paying attention to the name. I think it is more about following our scouting report and stuff like that.”

The Tiger (25-9) are more likely to be worried about the large following the Jayhawks will have at the CenturyLink Center. Omaha is only a three-hour drive from Lawrence, Kansas.

But center Elijah Thomas says playing on the road in the ACC will have them ready for the atmosphere they will see come Friday night.

“I don’t think we pay attention to the atmosphere,” he said. “Again, we are in the ACC. The Cameron Crazies, UNC’s crowd, NC State, all of those teams. They have major crowds. Luckily, we are not at Allen Field House so the whole entire Kansas community will not be there.

“I’m pretty sure it will be a pro Kansas crowd, but we will be ready.”

As for being in awe or intimidated by Kansas, a program that is playing in its 31st Sweet 16, Thomas said they don’t look at it that way at all.

“For me, I have been playing against top talent since I was in high school, middle school, you name it,” he said. “I play in the ACC. You are going to play against the top teams in the country in conference games.

“For us, it is just another game. We are going to finish preparing tonight. We have been preparing since we beat Auburn. We are going to follow Coach’s game plan and take it from there.”