Clemson Basketball a little banged up but eager to get back to work
No. 20 Clemson returns home to Littlejohn Saturday afternoon looking to regroup after a 59th consecutive loss in Chapel Hill.
Clemson (15-3, 4-2) cannot afford to lose two games in a row before heading on the road to face a top-5 Virginia team. The snowball effect of losing a couple of games consecutively could leave some lingering effects on the Tigers, so Saturday’s game against Notre Dame is important.
The Irish have never lost to Clemson and are 5-0 in the series. Notre Dame has lost its last three games including a loss to North Carolina by one point and a double-overtime loss at home to Louisville.
Senior Bonzie Colson is out for Notre Dame for several more weeks after fracturing a bone in his foot on December 29. Colson was averaging 21.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and over two steals and two blocks per game. According to und.com, he’s the only college player to hit those averages this year and the only player to reach those averages since Sports Reference started tracking statistics in the 1992-93 season.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell believes that Notre Dame has responded well since his injury.
“I think they really defend well,” Brownell said. They've got big strong athletic guards. Good size, toughness. They rebound the fire out of the ball so you don’t get many second chances. They present some problems in different ways other than some past Notre Dame teams.”
Clemson also comes into the game a little banged up.
Brownell said Shelton Mitchell and Donte Grantham both had to sit out some at practice yesterday. The Tigers are coming off of playing three games in five days. That’ll be something to look for as the game progresses Saturday afternoon.
“We had to sit (Shelton) in practice yesterday, to be honest with you and Donte too for that matter, a little bit,” Brownell said. “We’re a little banged up. A Lot of competitive games so far and we’re really trying to manage it here in the next day or two to make sure that those guys feel good about where they are physically. It’s going to take a lot to beat these guys.”
Brownell was most disappointed Tuesday night in his team for not coming out playing with the “poise and arrogance” he wanted them to have. It’s too separate ends of the spectrum, but this change of attitude could be crucial for Clemson on Saturday and for the rest of the season.
He admitted he knows his team isn’t as athletically gifted as some of the other teams in the country, so the stress of executing well and having the right attitude is extremely important.
“You got to play well to win. That’s not easy to do every night,” Brownell added. “I thought we showed spurts of really good play against North Carolina, but we also had some bad play. We just got to regroup. I love where this team is and I love how these guys are working and connecting with one another.”
Before he left the media room on Friday afternoon, Brownell stood up, thanked the media for their time, and gave a big smile.
“Time to go to work,” Brownell said as he left the room and headed to practice.
The Tigers face Notre Dame at 4:00 PM Saturday afternoon to try and keep up the good work they’ve accomplished so far this season.