Clemson, too accomplished to wear Cinderella’s slipper, was nevertheless the lowest seed to advance to this year’s Sweet 16 besides North Carolina State, the South Region’s No. 11 seed. The Tigers will draw either No. 1 North Carolina or No. 4 Alabama in Saturday’s West Region final for a chance to reach their first Final Four.
Arizona’s fall was no fluke: Clemson took firm command early with an energetic, swarming defense, led nearly wire-to-wire and closed out the victory with a dazzling series of offensive plays in the closing minutes, including a banked-in three-pointer by Schieffelin, a brilliantly executed inbounds play that found Hall for a dunk and a tough driving layup from Hunter, who earned a free throw for his efforts.
“This was a big time game by our guys,” Tigers Coach Brad Brownell said. “We’re built for this. We can handle this. The ACC is much better than everyone assumes. The league prepares us for these types of games.”
As the Tigers pieced together a balanced scoring attack, the Wildcats, who entered Thursday ranked third nationally in offensive efficiency, never got into gear. Arizona’s proximity to Southern California produced a big edge in crowd size — with former Wildcats star and longtime NBA player Richard Jefferson mingling among his fellow die-hards behind the team’s bench — but it didn’t translate to early momentum.
The Wildcats missed their first six shots and didn’t score until nearly four minutes into the game, falling behind by double digits midway through the first half. There wasn’t much for the anxious Arizona fan section to cheer for until Keshad Johnson finished a rare transition opportunity with an emphatic dunk shortly before halftime.
For Arizona senior guard Caleb Love, especially, it was a night to forget. The Pac-12 player of the year missed his first five shots, threw an ill-advised lob pass off the backboard, carelessly stepped out of bounds and tossed up a deep air ball — all before halftime. The North Carolina transfer had four points and three turnovers in the first half as Arizona’s offense struggled to find seams in Clemson’s disciplined and tightly packed half-court defense.
Love, who switched sneakers at halftime in an apparent attempt to change his luck, finished with just 13 points on 5-for-18 shooting, and he missed all nine of his three-point attempts. Hall credited Hunter’s defense on Love, calling his teammate “the best two-way guard in America.”
Physical center Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats with 15 points and 15 rebounds but his teammates combined to shoot just 5 for 28 (17.9 percent) from beyond the arc against a Tigers defense that utilized zone looks to discourage drives.
“Clemson did a good job and kind of got us on our heels offensively early in the game,” Arizona Coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We settled for a lot of tough shots. … We had the ability to get to a Final Four and we didn’t. That happens. It’s nothing to look down upon. There’s probably eight or 10 teams that can say that this year.”
Clemson carried a 39-31 lead into halftime and braced for a frantic Arizona push, which came shortly after the break. Shortly after the Wildcats tied the score at 56 with just under 10 minutes to play, Schieffelin lofted a high-arcing three-pointer from the top of the key that kissed in cleanly off the glass.
“I thought it was going to hit the back of the rim,” said Schieffelin, a 6-foot-8 forward. “That’s March for you. Shots like that are going to go in. I did not call bank. Either way, it counts. I’ll take it.”
Down the stretch, Schieffelin twice found Hall, a 6-foot-10 forward, with high-low passes through traffic that led to baskets, and he rose high to block a Love driving attempt. Nodding to Schieffelin’s comfort on the perimeter, Brownell evoked the name of Bill Laimbeer, though the Tigers coach noted his player probably wasn’t familiar with the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons center.
Clemson’s most elegant work came on an out-of-bounds play with a little more than a minute to play: Sensing that Arizona was leaving the paint open to deny perimeter opportunities, Hall slipped to the hoop from the outside, collected an easy pass from Hunter and finished an uncontested dunk to restore Clemson’s two-possession lead.
“They had been switching a lot of off-ball screens out of bounds,” said Hall, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. “Chase led me right to the rim, and it worked. It was a good play.”
Arizona’s Jaden Bradley countered with a quick three-pointer out of a timeout, but Hunter, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who posted a team-high 18 points, calmly responded with a driving layup with 25 seconds remaining. As the final seconds ticked off, the wobbling Wildcats lost track of Dillon Hunter as they tried to foul. Clemson’s sophomore guard converted an open layup, sending the Tigers’ crowd into a frenzy.
“We got off to the great start,” Brownell said. “These guys hung in there and finished the game against a really good team. Today was our day.”
Apsny News English
