Sixth-seeded Clemson saw No. 2 Arizona go on a run at the end of the first half of Thursday night’s Sweet 16 matchup in the West Regional, and the Tigers knew the Wildcats would keep fighting back after trailing by as many as 13 points.

They were right, as Arizona overcame that deficit after halftime and took its first lead of the game with around 14 minutes remaining. But Brad Brownell’s Clemson team was ready to respond.

Clemson regained the lead shortly after the Wildcats (27-9) went ahead, and the Tigers (24-11) ended up making some clutch plays down the stretch of a down-to-the-wire, 77-72 victory at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles – none bigger than the and-1s that brothers Chase and Dillon Hunter each had in the final 30 seconds to close out the win.

Clemson is now headed to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, with its only prior appearance coming back in 1980.

“We talked about it at halftime – guys, they’re going to make another run or two. We used the phrase, ‘We’re built for this.’ We can handle this,” Brownell said after the game. “We have confidence in our team. We’ve won some big-time road games this year, we’ve played a very challenging schedule.”

After losing three of four games going into the NCAA Tournament, including a loss to Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Clemson has bounced back big in March Madness with wins over New Mexico, Baylor and Arizona.

One of four ACC teams to make the Sweet 16, Clemson now has a shot to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.

The Tigers will take on No. 4 seed Alabama in the Elite Eight on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“Again, my point that the ACC is much better than everybody maybe assumes is bearing fruit again, and I just think the league prepares us for these kinds of games,” Brownell said. “I’ve got an older team. These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success. So, I’m just really happy that they were able to withstand it, and we executed some things really well down the stretch.”

–Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports