Clemson Basketball: Tigers Looking to Bounce Back at Home Against BC

After a lopsided loss at Notre Dame, 72-56 on Wednesday, Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers (10-6, 2-3) entertain Earl Grant’s Boston College Eagles (6-8, 1-3) in the friendly confines of Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday at 6:30 pm. The Tigers are 6-1 at home losing only to the Virginia Cavaliers last week.

Despite a very cold shooting night against the Irish, the Tigers are still out of the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams and hope to rebound against BC. PJ Hall, Hunter Tyson, Nick Honor, Al-Amir Dawes and David Collins lead Clemson statistically with four of the five starters averaging double digits in scoring. The Eagles, under first year coach Earl Grant, have stumbled often early this season, unable to find their footing.

This game, on paper, looks like an almost sure victory for the Tigers but factor in this team’s old nemesis, inconsistency, and it could make this game closer than statistical analysis might predict. However, if the Tigers are to have any shot at making the NCAA Tournament, these are the games they must win. Especially at home.

Brownell’s team must play with a sense of urgency after the way they lost in South Bend. They must regroup and restart their upward trend. Grant, in his inaugural season is trying to build a quality program but it takes time.

Predictions, at this point in the season are little better than reading tea leaves but if one believes the latest bracketology, Clemson is on the bubble and it’s schedule bodes well for them to make the cut.

However, all this is predicated on a return to the type of play exhibited during the recent five game win streak they had going before COVID stepped in to either postpone or cancel the Duke game. Like last year, it seemed like every time the Tigers got traction, it was interrupted, killing any mojo, and all momentum. Not intended as an excuse but rather realistic explanations.

With a good, vocal and motivated crowd on hand in Clemson on Saturday, the Tigers should dispense with the under matched Eagles without too much difficulty.

On Wednesday, the Tigers travel to Syracuse and that hot house of a venue, the Carrier Dome, to face the Orange, while the Eagles travel to Louisville to face the Cardinals.