Three Takeaways from No. 15 Clemson's win over Georgia Tech
The energy was low in Littlejohn Coliseum for most of the afternoon against Georgia Tech.
Clemson jumped out to an early lead and took its foot off the gas. The Yellow Jackets, led by sensational guard Josh Okogie’s 22 points, took advantage and built an 11-point lead early in the second half.
The Tigers, coming off of the straight losses, were reeling at home. There began to be murmurs of ‘here we go again,’ among the fans. Clemson had no business trailing a below average Georgia Tech team.
So Clemson tightened things up on defense and was finally able to string together the stops needed to get back in the game and eventually win it. The Tigers ended the game on a 28-9 run over a ten-minute span to win 75-67.
Clemson could finally exhale after its recent struggles and can build on this momentum into the final week of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Clemson’s win over Georgia Tech:
Shelton Mitchell’s return.
He didn’t start in his first game back from injury, but Shelton Mitchell contributions on the floor were immediate and a major reason why Clemson was able to complete its comeback.
Our Lawton Swann nailed it this morning with his take on how Mitchell’s return reignited a struggling Gabe DeVoe.
The senior shooting guard came into the game making just two of his last 14 three-pointers, but made his first three on Saturday afternoon, including one on the game’s first possession.
Mitchell got back into his groove in the second half when Clemson needed him the most. His 12 second-half points and ability to run the offense were instrumental down the stretch.
His and-one layup with 5:35 left in the game when Clemson was down six sparked an otherwise lifeless crowd in the final minutes of the game. His stat line wasn’t anything monumental, but you could tell there was an immediate difference on offense when Mitchell took point.
With him on the floor, Clemson has another scorer who can get into double-figures every night. You could see the pressure that was under DeVoe and Reed in previous games to do it all on offense slowly melt away as the moments went by.
"His speed in transition really opens up the offense a lot. It allows me to get easy looks. He just brings an element that he only has for our team," DeVoe added.
Moving forward, Clemson surely is glad to have Mitchell back on the floor. With a final push to its season in sight, his return couldn’t have come at a more important time.
Clemson is exhausted.
The biggest takeaway from Brad Brownell’s postgame press conference was his reiteration that his best players looked extremely tired.
“We just looked a little spent,” Brownell said.
Reed had been doing his best to carry the load offensively in the previous couple of games with Mitchell’s absence. You’d think he would have gotten treatment for back pain after his 28-point performance against Virginia Tech where he shot 20 threes.
The stress not only placed on him, but all of the starters after Clemson lost another key piece proved to be too much. Brownell has always said his team’s lack of depth on the bench means there is a greater importance to execute on both ends of the floor.
Brownell mentioned multiple times after his tenth ACC win on Saturday he needs to monitor how physically exhausted his guys are and do his best to rest them up over the next 48 hours.
“I just felt like we were a little slow. We might be a little bit tired right now,” Brownell said. “I thought Marcquise looked a little bit tired today. It took him a while to get going.
Brownell continued a few moments later, “I thought David Skara was tired. I’ve really got to evaluate this over the next couple of days. We are not going to win as a tired team. Our guys have really put in a lot of effort, especially the Marcquise’s and Gabe’s and David Skara’s these last three games. We just looked a little spent. We just didn’t have it, and I think you saw some of that the way Georgia Tech were beating us to loose balls and out-toughing us on some plays.”
With an incredibly big game against Florida State coming up in terms of postseason standings, it’s vital for everyone to be well rested.
Florida State is bigger than a revenge game.
Speaking of the Seminoles, the Tigers will be looking for sweet revenge after they blew an 18-point lead in the second half to fall in overtime on Valentine’s Night.
But Wednesday night’s contest is more than just a revenge game for Clemson. Clemson will need to win this one to almost ensure a spot in the top four of the ACC once the season concludes.
With only two games remaining against Florida State and Syracuse, the 9:00 PM game against Florida State is Clemson’s toughest task left. A lot can happen throughout the ACC between now and tournament time, but a win in front of Clemson’s home crowd for the final time this season would be the cherry on top of a season where Littlejohn only saw one loss.
Especially with Clemson and Florida State vying for fourth place in the ACC.