NC State basketball opponent scouting report: Clemson

NC State basketball 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC after a home win over Louisville last week. Now the Wolfpack will be returning from an 8-day Christmas break and back on the road to start a tough four-game ACC stretch. NC State is at Clemson for a 4 p.m. tipoff on Friday.

The game can be seen on ACC Network.

Here is a rundown of what to expect from Clemson.

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Clemson overview

Thus far in the ACC, the top five teams in the conference appear to be on a fast track for safely securing an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament — Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Then comes a group of perhaps four teams that are hoping to be in that conversation come March.

NC State is in that tier.

So is Clemson, which makes the game Friday a big one, especially for the Pack since this is a road contest.

The Tigers have nice home wins over Penn State and Wake Forest, the latter by 20 points. But their NCAA Tournament resume also suffers from bad losses at South Carolina and home to Loyola Chicago, a pair of teams ranked in the 200s in the NCAA’s NET ratings.

Overall, the Tigers are 10-3 on the season, including 2-0 in the conference, heading into the NC State contest. In addition to thumping the Deacons, Clemson picked up a valuable league road win by topping Georgia Tech.

Rankings

NCAA’s NET rankings: Clemson checks in at No. 77 (out of 362 teams). NC State basketball is No. 55.

ESPN’s BPI: The Tigers are No. 57. The Pack is No. 47.

KenPom.com: Clemson is No. 62. The Wolfpack is No. 53.

Three Clemson players to watch against NC State basketball

Junior center P.J. Hall: A season ago, Hall was honorable mention All-ACC and the second-leading voter in the ACC Most Improved Player Award that went to NC State basketball star Dereon Seabron. Hall averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 boards per contest while blocking 38 shots in 30 games.

Offseason knee surgery slowed Hall early in the season, but he has scored 20 points in four of the last six games for the Tigers, including 25 points to go with 10 rebounds in the win at Georgia Tech in Clemson’s most recent outing.

Hall (6-foot-10, 240 pounds) is an efficient scorer. He shoots 56.5 percent from the field and has made 10 of 23 three-pointers (43.5 percent).

Redshirt junior guard Chase Hunter: Hunter has been the breakout star this season for Clemson. He is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per contest, more than doubling his output a year ago of 6.7 points a game.

Coming into this season, Hunter had made 32 career threes while shooting at a 27.6 percent clip. This year, he has made 26 of 56 treys for 46.4 percent. Hunter has scored in double figures in all but one game for the Tigers this season and made multiple threes in seven contests.

He also sets up Clemson’s offense. Hunter is averaging 4.8 assists per contest.

Super senior forward Hunter Tyson: There was a time where the Monroe, N.C., native looked like he may emerge as a NC State basketball recruiting target. He slowly worked his way up the Clemson bench to become a starter a full-time starter a season ago, and then decided to return for an extra year of eligibility.

Tyson, thus far, is making the most of that added season, averaging career-bests 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. The 6-foot-8, 217-pounder has always been known as a nice shooter, and this season he is making 41.0 percent of his attempts beyond the arc (25 of 61).

Like Hunter, Tyson has scored double digits in all but one game.

Three things NC State basketball should expect from Clemson

1. A good-shooting team: Clemson is an efficient-shooting team. The Tigers connect on 47.6 percent of their shot attempts overall. They also have a habit of taking good three-point shots (Clemson leads the ACC in assists per game). That’s reflected in their ACC-best 39.4 percentage mark from beyond the arc.

Every player in the likely starting five for Clemson against NC State has made double-digit three-pointers this season.

Clemson is third in the conference in field goal percentage and free throw shooting (77.0 percent).

2. A strong, veteran starting five: Hall, in his third season at Clemson, is the least experienced expected starter against NC State. Boston College transfer and guard Brevin Galloway is in his sixth season of college basketball. Guards Hunter and Alex Hemenway are in their fourth years, while Tyson is in his fifth.

Hemenway is just 0.2 points away from giving the Tigers a starting five with all five players in double digits.

What’s unusual about the Tigers’ lineup is that all but Galloway have been in the same Clemson program for all their collegiate years.

3. A team that is not easy to get easy shots against: Clemson does not turn you over or block a ton of shots. But opponents do not get good looks against the Tigers. Clemson is third in the conference in field goal percentage allowed at 40.9 percent, and they typically hold teams to one shot. The Tigers are third in the league in defensive rebounds per contest.