Clemson’s season came to an abrupt end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The 5th-seeded Tigers fell to 12th-seed McNeese 69-67 in the opening round of the Midwest Region, but for much of the afternoon, the game was not as close as the final score indicated.

“We picked a tough day to not play our best,” head coach Brad Brownell said after the game. “Certainly they had a lot to do with that. I didn’t do a very good job with my guys and we weren’t really prepared for the zone to man. Haven’t seen a lot of that this year, maybe a little bit with Stanford and it bothered us.”

The Cowboys jumped on Clemson early, controlling the entire first half to take a 31-13 lead into halftime. It was the Tigers’ largest first-half deficit all season. Despite Brownell’s team holding a size advantage, McNeese outscored Clemson 26-8 in the paint over the first 20 minutes, with the Tigers shooting just 5-of-24 from the floor.

McNeese was also able to win the battle on the boards 43-36, which included outrebounding Clemson 18-13 on the offensive glass. The Cowboys got 35 points from their bench, while the Tigers mustered just five.

“I thought their athleticism inside and their quickness certainly was a factor,” Brownell added. “The offensive rebounds they got, extra possessions really helped them. We had a hard time getting any rhythm and I think that’s what’s disappointing for me. I couldn’t help my guys get into any rhythm in the game.”

Despite the the utterly disappointing performance on Thursday, Brownell was still proud of what his team was able to accomplish this season. The Tigers set new school records for wins in a season (27), ACC wins (18) and win percentage (.900) and ACC road wins (9). The team also finished the regular season with a school record eight consecutive ACC victories.

“I’m super proud of these guys and the kind of season we had,” Brownell said. “Obviously 27 wins and the way these guys do it, the way they carry themselves as men, they’re just terrific people and leaders and so it’s been a privilege to coach (them) and I hate that it had to end the way it did today.”

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images