Clemson celebrates punching their tickets to the Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament for first time since 2018
The Clemson Tigers delivered one of their best performances in the past few years in their Round of 32 matchup in the NCAA Tournament vs. the Baylor Bears. The Tigers used some impressive defense to stifle the Bears’ offensive attack, and in the process prevailed 72-64 in nerve-wracking fashion. With the win, they advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.
Clemson certainly knew how special the moment was and they didn’t waste any time in celebrating the big win in their locker room.
Chase Hunter delivered a masterful performance for the Tigers, pouring in 20 points in one of the bigger wins in recent memory for the program. He was scorching hot from deep, connecting on three of his five shots from beyond-the-arc. Hunter drilled an impressive double clutch three in mid-air at the end of the first half.
Plenty of the Tigers’ players were emotional in the locker room and it’s understandable. Getting to the Sweet 16 is always a major accomplishment, especially getting past a talented squad like the Baylor Bears.
PJ Hall chipped in 11 points, three rebounds, and one assists, but fouled out. He had to watch the final minute of the game from the bench. The star forward was in tears reminiscing how well his teammates responded after their loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
Joseph Girard III poured in 13 points for Clemson, and Ian Schieffelin also chipped in 11 points and six rebounds.
The Clemson defense was absolutely exceptional on Sunday
The Clemson defense forced 10 Baylor turnovers, which proved to be critical in the end. They also held the Bears to under 40 percent from the field for the game (38.9%). The Tigers were somehow able to limit Baylor, one of the nation’s top three-point shooting teams, to one of their worst outings of the year. The Bears only made 6 of 24 shots from beyond-the-arc, shooting just 25%.
Even though Baylor got poor shooting performances from both, they still got 27 points (Ja’Kobe Walter) and 20 points (RayJ Dennis) from two of their biggest stars to make it close in the end.
Baylor had a chance to tie the game with 36.2 seconds left, but Walter missed two free throws. Then Clemson’s R.J. Godfrey drained four clutch free throws to seal the victory. Girard hit two three throws as well to ice the game for good.
Up next for the Tigers, they’ll face off against the No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats. That one will take place on Thursday, March 28th. Tip-off is set for 7:09 PM EST. And the game will be nationally televised on CBS. For a look at some of the other games, you can find the schedule here.