Three Takeaways from Clemson's blasting of Auburn in the NCAA Tournament
San Diego’s Ron Burgundy said it best:
“Well, that escalated quickly.”
It’s hard to believe Clemson’s round of 32 game against Auburn was once tied at 13. After that point early in the contest, there really wasn’t much of a game at all.
Clemson completely dominated, humiliated, and thumped the SEC’s best team. A team that had averaged 83 points a game in the regular season was beaten into submission 84-53. It was over quickly and swiftly.
Clemson shined in all areas and kept its foot on the gas pedal throughout the entire game. It was easily its best game of the season and for that to happen in the second game of the NCAA Tournament is an extremely good sign.
The Tigers are peaking and look to ride this wave into another heated battle with blue-blood Kansas, the first matchup between the two teams.
But much like Clemson’s recent football victories over the Auburn Tigers, the ACC Tigers walked to the locker room to celebrate. To dance.
Here are three takeaways from Clemson’s dismantling victory in the round of 32.
All Smiles
When the game was tied at 13, Clemson began to flex its muscles.
The Tigers went on a quick 10-0 run and then Aamir Simms stole the ball. He gave the ball to Gabe DeVoe who threw a touchdown pass to Elijah Thomas on the other end of the floor, who laid the ball in with ease.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl called a timeout. Thomas ran to his teammates with a huge smile on his face.
That smile never left Thomas, who had 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Once he started smiling, you began to notice the rest of the team starting to flash some smiles of their own.
DeVoe (22 points) flashed one after a no-look assist and another after he splashed a three-pointer from the logo at center court.
Simms showed a smile after one of his blocks in the paint, where Auburn had no answers and was outscored 34-14.
You saw smiles from the bench as walk-ons Lyles Davis and Isaac Fields stepped on the court in the final moments of the game.
Brad Brownell even gave a smile at halftime when he was being interviewed before heading to the locker room. Heck, how can you not be having fun when you end the half on a 30-6 run?
After the game, Brownell was as happy as ever.
“As much as anything I'm happy for our players,” Brownell said. “Our players, the amount of time they put in and certainly guys like Donte Grantham and Gabe DeVoe, two seniors that have been with me for so long.”
It was as fun for this team as it was dominant, and that’s when Clemson is at its best. When they’re having a ball.
A Group Effort
In a Tournament where we’ve seen multiple double-digit leads squandered in the waning moments, Clemson didn’t let up until the final whistle blew.
It was a statement.
It was DeVoe, who again got Clemson going offensively and his 44 combined points in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament was what Clemson needed if it was going to advance.
It was Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell who bookended the trio of guards with another stellar performance on both ends. The three guards had 18 rebounds and 48 points combined in the win.
It was Thomas inside, who obliterated his mismatch down low against an Auburn team that lost its interior big man in the regular season. We learned if Thomas has a mismatch and it’s exploited, Clemson has a strong advantage.
It was Simms, who was a big ball of energy and blocked shot after shot to wear down the will of Auburn. It was A.J. Oliver, who came in off the bench and added six points and six rebounds in only nine minutes.
The Tigers outrebounded Auburn 50-32, as lopsided of a margin as you’ll see this season. One of Brownell’s game goals is for Clemson to get three consecutive stops at different times in the game. Clemson accomplished that goal in a 10-minute span when Auburn missed 18 consecutive shots and didn’t score for 10 minutes.
That exemplified the grit of this group, who Thomas said was able to dominate because of one thing: their head coach.
“Brad Brownell. It’s that simple,” Thomas said while wearing a Clemson baseball cap with the word “Omaha” stitched on the back. “A lot of people doubt my coach. He’s one hell of a coach. He’ll never do anything wrong for us to misjudge him. He’s going to always tell us the right things and the right way to win.”
Yes, it was a valiant group effort, and it has been this way all season long. Now, the Tigers are dancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997.
“Why not us?”
Shortly after Clemson’s victory when the television cameras turned off, DeVoe took out his phone and went on social media.
The senior guard, who has been through so much during his time at Clemson, sent a tweet that resignated with Clemson fans everywhere.
“Why not us?” the tweet read.
In a time of year where we are supposed to embrace the madness and expect the unexpected, we have to ask: Why not Clemson?
Why not the team that made it this far? The team that is constantly reminded that it was picked to finish 13th in conference; the team everyone had on upset alert in the first round of the tournament.
Why not Brownell? A coach whose seat was as hot as DeVoe’s shooting stroke this time a year ago after a season full of collapses, including what people thought was the final straw after losing to Oakland.
He knew his team would be destined for big things before the season even began. With Donte Grantham, Brownell believed Clemson could be a Final Four team. We don’t know where Clemson will finish the season, but we do know Clemson is two wins away from reaching a place where no one thought they could go.
The next step is another mountain to climb, this time against the BIG 12’s best. The Kansas Jayhawks have been in this position so many times before while Clemson has only been to the Sweet Sixteen three other times before.
But Clemson’s veteran-led team acts like they have been here before. And in March, looking the part is almost as good as playing it.
To be one of the final eight teams standing in March and beat an overwhelming favorite, Clemson is going to have to prepare, practice, and play just as well as it did in the domination of Auburn in San Diego.
Elite.