Three Guards, Two Decades, One Win
On a night that changed college basketball forever, thanks to UMBC ousting top-ranked Virginia, finally proving that Cinderella's slipper will indeed fit a #16 seed. Clemson's veteran guards also took the spotlight and introduced themselves to fans of March Madness.
Clemson's two decade drought from the Round of 32 came to an end following a 79-68 win over New Mexico State behind incredible play from the Tigers’ three-headed monster of Gabe DeVoe, Marcquise Reed, and Shelton Mitchell.
For Clemson, there were certainly some intense moments early on as New Mexico State banked in an opening three-point shot.
Then the Aggies hit several jumpers from the perimeter giving the appearance that a game filled with madness might be brewing. Brad Brownell noted after the game, "I thought the first half both teams were excited to play, got after each other a little bit."
But the Tigers' veteran guards weren’t interested in being the next tournament upset.
Once the threesome took over the game there was no looking back, and Clemson answered every run that the Aggies put together, but the Tigers had heard about being upset by the #12 seed all week.
"You heard about it a lot, but we just worried about the guys in the locker room, come out and play the game the same, came out and stayed with our game plan and came out with a win," said DeVoe.
Clemson's guards combined to score 60 points in the game as Mitchell poured in a season-high 23 points on 8–of-13 shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point line to lead the way.
His backcourt partner DeVoe added 22 points hitting on 10-for-15 from the floor with two three’s of his own, one coming on a “heat check” fastbreak. While Reed, who has been Clemson’s best offensive weapon this season, chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds to help the Tigers advance.
Credit goes to both teams as they delivered a torrid pace early on pushing the ball in transition in the early minutes.
The matchup had all the makings of a barn burner, as both squads came out firing, but Clemson’s defense clamped down, and the Tigers delivered Brad Brownell a trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson's trio of guards scored in every way imaginable.
Reed sliced off screens to the bucket, DeVoe finished in the paint and dropped shots from deep, and Mitchell’s steady left-handed jumper was pure.
"There has been a lot on our guys, Gabe and Shelton and Marcquise. They have had to shoulder the load in a lot of situations. They are good guys," Brownell said. "They can play. If we just give them space and tell them to make plays. It's as simple as that. I'm just proud of our guys for believing in our team, believing in what we do, how we do things."
Brownell gave them space and the guards took advantage.
Early in the contest, Reed turned the corner off a screen, penetrated to the hoop for a nifty layup sparking the Tigers. Eli Thomas then got into the action stepping out and knocking down a shot to give Clemson a 19-15 lead.
Moments later, Clemson went on a 20-9 run and midway through the first half extending their lead to 35-24 on an Aamir Simms three-pointer. This wouldn’t be the last time we would hear from Simms who finished with nine points shooting 4-4 from the floor and perhaps the games defining moment.
At the break, Clemson held a 44-32 lead and the guards combined to score 29 in the opening half.
Things weren't much different in the second frame as the Tiger guards continued to flex their muscles.
A three-point play from Mitchell early in the second half gave Clemson their largest lead of the night at 18 with 16:56 remaining.
A few minutes later it was freshman Aamir Simms who brought Clemson fans back to their feet.
Simms took the ball coast-to-coast and elevated over an Aggie defender and hammered home a vicious slam giving Clemson a 56-40 lead. That dunk punctuated the Tigers’ advantage in the open floor as Clemson led 15-0 in fast break points at the time.
By the end of the night, the Tigers held a 19-2 advantage in that category, yet the Aggies refused to go away.
Late in the game a 10-2 run by the Aggies trimmed the Clemson lead to 68-62 before Mitchell answered with a three-pointer with 5:28 left.
"The longer the game went, the less plays we ran and we allowed our guys the freedom to make plays. Get out of each other's way a little bit, because I think it was easier to play in space than it was to try and run action and force passes and do different things against that kind of pressure," Brownell noted.
To that end, Clemson went on a late 7-0 run that took the game clock to just under 2:35 remaining and gave Clemson a 75-62 lead.
On the inside, you have to give a lot of credit to Eli Thomas his nine first-half rebounds were huge and against a scrappy New Mexico State team.
Thomas finished with 6 points and ten rebounds, but more importantly avoided foul trouble and spent 30 minutes on the floor giving Clemson the inside presence they needed against the Aggies.
The Aggies were led by Zach Lofton who scored 29 points, and Jemerrio Jones chipped in with 13 points and snagged 14 rebounds.
No. 5 Clemson moves on to face the Midwest's No. 4 Auburn Sunday night at 7:10 PM on TBS.