Clemson’s men’s basketball team is still perched atop the ACC despite having lost consecutive games for the first time this season.

But if the Tigers hope to stay in contention and continue their bid for an NCAA Tournament berth, Brad Brownell knows there are some aspects of his team’s game that need to improve down the stretch.

Clemson (18-6, 10-3 ACC) has a week off to reset following its loss to Miami over the weekend. The Tigers’ setback kept them just half a game ahead of Virginia and Pitt and a full game ahead of NC State and the Hurricanes in the ACC standings. So, at worst, Clemson will remain tied for the conference lead heading into what will be a Quad 1 opportunity Saturday at North Carolina.

It’s the first of just seven regular-season games remaining, four of them being played away from Littlejohn Coliseum. Brownell said his team will need to display a different level of toughness, particularly on defense, if it hopes to pull out more competitive games than not the rest of the way.

“We’ve got to be a little tougher minded to get a few stops that you need to get if you’re going to win some of these close games,” Brownell said.

Clemson’s spot atop the league for now has been hard-earned. Five of its ACC contests have been decided by four points or fewer with Saturday’s 78-74 loss being the latest. The Tigers had their chances after cutting Miami’s double-digit lead to just three with 1 minute, 36 seconds left, but the Hurricanes made 10 trips to the free-throw line in the final minute to keep their distance.

“These games all come down to the last couple of minutes, and it’s a couple of tough possessions,” Brownell said. “We’ve got to do a little better job there.”

But it’s not just on the defensive end where the Tigers need to up their grit.

Brownell said he continues to be disappointed in his team’s effort – or lack thereof – on the offensive glass, which played a part in a winnable game slipping away against the Hurricanes. Clemson shot nearly 48% from the field and made 10 3-pointers, but the Tigers finished minus-10 on the glass and rebounded just two of its misses. Meanwhile, Miami scored nine second-chance points thanks in part to nine offensive boards.

Senior forward Hunter Tyson pulled down 10 more rebounds as part of his 12th double-double this season, but the Tigers had only 18 other rebounds as a team. Brownell said Clemson needs more in that department from its other bigs, including PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin, who combined for just seven rebounds despite each playing 15 minutes or more.

Brownell also put some of the onus on himself for Clemson’s rebounding margin sitting at just plus-1.4 through 24 games this season. 

“I think a lot of it is want to,” Brownell said. “Or made to, and I probably don’t do as good of a job with that as (Houston coach) Kelvin Sampson, (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo, guys like that. Some teams, that’s their thing. Rebounding is their thing, and obviously as coaches, we are what we emphasize. You can’t emphasize 12 or 13 things. And if you’re going to be a great rebounding team, that’s got to be the thing you talk about every day.

“Ben Middlebrooks is a good offensive rebounder. I think he has want to. I think he likes offensive rebounding. I think he goes after every ball. PJ doesn’t. He goes after some and he doesn’t go after others, and I’ve got to do a better job of coaching him for that. That’s on me. But I do think a lot of it is just straight-up desire.”

Brownell said he still sees some positives in his team’s play, too. Clemson turned it over just nine times against Miami after committing at least 17 in three of its previous four games, and he said he feels like the Tigers are starting to get some rhythm back offensively with guards Chase Hunter, Alex Hemenway and Brevin Galloway back in the lineup after missing multiple games because of injury.

But with little room for error over the next month, the Tigers need to tighten things up.

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