Three Takeaways from Clemson's loss at Virginia Tech
The Tigers traveled back to Clemson with their tails between their legs after a third consecutive loss, this time at the hands of Virginia Tech.
Marcquise Reed’s career-high 28 points weren’t enough offense for Clemson to sustain as Clemson struggled immensely to find some offense in the most critical moments of the game.
This was the second game in a row where a lack of scoring at key moments cost the Tigers in the end. In basketball, it comes down to making shots. Simply put, the Tigers didn’t do themselves any favors by not putting the ball in the basket.
Going forward to the final three games of a season that has flown by, and now has ups and downs, Clemson needs to find an offensive rhythm if it’s going to make any noise in the ACC or NCAA tournament.
And yes, the Tigers are still in prime position to make the NCAA tournament no matter how they finish. But if Clemson wants the seed it deserves, a strong finish is what it needs.
An offensive performance like what we saw at Virginia Tech can’t happen again.
Here are three takeaways from Clemson’s 65-56 loss to the Hokies on Wednesday night.
Shelton Mitchell is as valuable as Donte Grantham
Losing Donte Grantham was a catastrophic blow to Clemson’s season. That is until we saw the Tigers continue to win despite the senior being on the sidelines.
Everyone thought Clemson would be dead in the water with its obvious best, and most versatile, player’s college career over, but the Tigers kept winning.
But to lose Shelton Mitchell for an extended period was the straw that’s broken Clemson’s back. Mitchell’s concussion suffered in the final few seconds of Clemson’s two-point overtime loss at Florida State turned out to be just as crushing of a blow to the Tigers as Grantham’s torn ACL.
When Mitchell left the court in Tallahassee dazed and not under his own power, Clemson’s offense with him. The distributing point guard had done such a good job of setting up his teammates and fellow guards for open looks. He could force the attention to himself, then drive-and-kick out to Gabe DeVoe or Reed.
He’s also a threat to make an open three at any given moment. With Mitchell on the floor, Clemson’s offense executes better. Without him, it’s become the “Marcquise Reed show.”
Brownell noted post game in Blacksburg, Reed feels the pressure to do it all with Mitchell out, especially with DeVoe struggling the way he has been the last two games.
“He probably has to do too much right now,” Brownell said on Reed’s performance. “There’s a lot being asked of him and our other guys got to help him offensively to spread things out a little bit.”
When the ball is in Reed’s hands, there is a calm that hushes over Clemson’s offense. He’s a scorer, but can’t be Clemson’s primary ball-handler and scorer at the same time. Opponents know if DeVoe is taken out of the game plan, life is even harder on Reed and Clemson to make plays.
If Mitchell plays at Virginia Tech, there’s an argument that Clemson probably wins that game. If Grantham could have played instead of Mitchell, would the Tigers have pulled it out? It’s an interesting thought.
The team is still strong enough to perform, execute, and win with either of the players. Without both of them, it’s not possible to do all three.
Mitchell has always been the type of player that has flown under the radar, but his value and importance should never be undermined again once he retakes the floor.
Clemson’s bench can’t afford another goose egg.
With Mitchell out, there’s been more of an emphasis on players having to step up in a new role. Bench players needed their presence to be felt on the floor and in the stat sheet.
Against Duke, Clemson got a little bit of help from Mark Donnal’s ten points in nine minutes of play in the first half. Even Clyde Trapp made the one shot he took that afternoon to give Clemson 12 bench points to Dukes seven.
But in 41 minutes of combined play at Virginia Tech, the bench trio of Donnal, Trapp, and Scott Spencer was nowhere to be found. They combined to shoot 0-for-9 from the field with zero points, one rebound. That’s it.
It’s as if they didn’t board the plane to Blacksburg. The game got to the point where if any other player on Clemson’s offense besides Reed took a shot, you automatically assumed the ball wasn’t going to fall through the net.
If the pressure wasn’t on Clemson’s starters to have to do everything before, then the starting five probably feels like a submarine at deep sea level after that game. Virginia Tech’s 19 bench points to Clemson’s zero were the difference in the game.
Brownell let his guys know about it, too.
“We obviously didn’t get much out of our bench today,” Brownell said. “We played some guys and they couldn’t make shots. It puts a lot of pressure on your older guys. We had three guys that almost played double-figure minutes and didn’t scratch. That just puts too much pressure on your starters.”
Clemson’s bench can’t afford to not show up in any other game this season. They should be the difference maker.
Brownell couldn’t have said it any better himself: “I told our guys off the bench, ‘you have to be able to play better. You got to make more shots. We got to have it.’”
A realistic finish.
If Mitchell can get back on the court in the next few days, a 3-0 finish is possible, but a 2-1 finish is realistic to end the season.
The Tigers end with games against Georgia Tech, No. 25 Florida State, then go on the road to Syracuse before the ACC tournament. It’s a fairly manageable schedule, but life in the ACC always finds a way of tripping you up even in the most manageable games.
As for Clemson’s hopes for a double-bye in the ACC tournament, there is still a chance, but the Tigers will need some help.
Clemson, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State are all tied for fourth place with 9-6 records in conference play. The Hokies and Wolfpack each own the tiebreak over Clemson.
Virginia Tech finishes its regular season with three tough games against Louisville, No. 5 Duke, then on the road at Miami. N.C. State hosts Florida State on Sunday, which is a game all Clemson fans will have their eye on, and then Georgia Tech and Louisville.
In the battle for the fourth seed in the ACC tournament, every game matters in the final stretch. Clemson’s game against Florida State next Wednesday at 9:00 PM is now a must-win game.
But with Clemson projected to finish 13th in the ACC at the beginning of the season, a top-5 finish in the ACC would exceed all expectations. A realistic finish for the Tigers is still a good one, no matter what seed they end up as.