Clemson reaches the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980 beating Arizona 77-72
When Clemson has encountered rough stretches this season coach Brad Brownell has told his team We re built for this we can handle this
How a Thunder championship could turn a 100 parlay into 1 7M -- if the bettor keeps his ticket
LOS ANGELES -- — When Clemson has encountered rough stretches this season, coach Brad Brownell has told his team, “We're built for this, we can handle this.”
In their biggest game of the season Thursday night, the Tigers proved their coach correct.
Chase Hunter scored 18 points and Clemson advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, beating Arizona 77-72 in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night.
The sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11) led most of the game, but didn't put it away until Hunter converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining.
“We have confidence in our team,” said Brownell, who's in the Elite Eight for the first time in a 22-year coaching career that includes one previous Sweet 16 appearance in 14 seasons with the Tigers. “I’ve got an older team. These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success. And so just really happy that they were able to withstand it, and we executed some things really well down the stretch.”
PJ Hall added 17 points for Clemson, which will face No. 4 seed Alabama on Saturday with each program seeking to make its first Final Four. The Crimson Tide beat top-seeded North Carolina 89-87.
Clemson — which wasn't in the March Madness field the previous two years — last reached a regional final in 1980, when there were 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Jaden Bradley scored 18 points, Oumar Ballo had 15 and Caleb Love 13 for second-seeded Arizona (27-9), which had a horrific shooting night, going 5 of 28 (17.9%) from 3-point range.
Bradley went 2 of 4 from 3-point range, but no one else made more than one 3. Love missed all nine of his attempts beyond the arc.
“I feel like some of them were good looks and shots we’ve made all season, and today they just didn’t go in,” said coach Tommy Lloyd, who was ousted in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his three seasons at Arizona. “To have that sort of shooting night and get yourself in the game where you have a position to win, and I think it’s incredible. And it just shows the resiliency and toughness of these guys.”
The Tigers have held all three of their NCAA opponents to worse than 40% shooting. It was the second time they held a team under 20% from the perimeter; New Mexico went 3 for 23 in the first round.
“Limiting rhythm 3s and good open 3s was a huge key to the game,” Hall said.
After Bradley’s 3-pointer got Arizona within 72-70, Hunter put it out of reach when he drove for a layup while being fouled by Bradley. Hunter's free throw made it a five-point game.
“I just wanted to make a play," Hunter said. "At the end of the day, I wanted to get to the basket, wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen, and that’s what I did.”
The Wildcats had the edge in the paint and in transition, with all of their two-point field goals coming on layups or dunks, but the Tigers were 29 of 59 from the field (49.2%).
Ian Schieffelin finished with 14 points and Hunter's brother, Dillon, made a layup for the final margin, his only basket of the game. Joseph Girard III, Clemson's second-leading scorer, was held to four points.
Clemson led 39-31 at halftime. The Tigers were still up by eight two minutes into the second half before the Wildcats went on a quick 8-0 run. Love's three-point play tied it at 43-all with 16:43 remaining.
Two minutes later, a driving layup by Love gave Arizona its only lead, 46-45. But the Wildcats’ edge lasted only 20 seconds as Jack Clark hit a 3-pointer to put Clemson back on top.
It was tied at 56-all midway through the second half before Clemson responded with a 9-2 run, including a layup by Hall and a 3-pointer by Schieffelin.
“We harp on toughness. In the beginning we weren’t so tough, but I feel at the end we did a great job battling and trying to get stops,” Bradley said. “But Clemson did a great job with their plays and their shot-making, and we couldn’t really get over the hump.”
Clemson scored the first four points and jumped out to a 16-6 lead less than nine minutes in on RJ Godfrey’s turnaround jumper. The Tigers started 7 of 13 from the field while Arizona was 2 of 13.
Hall’s layup gave Clemson a 29-16 advantage — its largest lead of the game — with 6:43 remaining in the first half.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Ballo supplied one of Arizona’s rare highlights late in the first half with a one-handed dunk on an alley-oop. Bradley made a great pass from the corner in traffic before Ballo slammed it with his right hand to bring the Wildcats within 37-31 with 56 seconds remaining. Chase Hunter tried to jump up and deflect Bradley’s pass, but to no avail.
BIG PICTURE
Clemson: The Tigers were also a sixth seed in the West Region the last time they made the Elite Eight in 1980. Clemson lost to eventual national runner-up UCLA 85-74 in the regional final.
Arizona: The Wildcats have lost to a team seeded at least four spots below them in each of their last six NCAA Tournament appearances. That’s the longest such streak by any team since seeding began in 1979, according to OptaSTATS.
------
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson returned to start the second half of Monday s Game 2 against the Pacers after exiting the contest late in the first quarter with a right foot injury
Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach hit consecutive home runs for Minnesota in the first inning off Seattle starter George Kirby and the a href https apnews com hub minnesota-twins Twins a hung on to beat the a
Marcell Ozuna kept up his torrid start with two more homers and Chris Sale pitched six innings against his former team leading the Atlanta Braves to a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox and a sweep of their two-game interleague series Wednesday
Jordan Montgomery allowed two runs through seven innings Eugenio Su rez homered and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on to beat Cincinnati 4-3 on Wednesday night extending the Reds skid to a season-high seven straight
Chris Flexen pitched six sharp innings Paul DeJong homered again and the Chicago White Sox avoided their seventh sweep this season by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Wednesday night
Pacers-Knicks DFS Picks (5/8/24)? All NBA odds are via FanDuel Sportsbook. Date and Time: Wednesday, May 8th,
8:00 p.m. ET. Spread: Knicks -4.5 (-112).
Sleeper Predictions Today: Tyrese Haliburton Pick on Sale! (May 8)? The top Sleeper predictions today in the NBA include some under the radar
plays like a Tyrese Haliburton pick on sale and Obi ToppinWhere to Watch Liga MX: TV Channels, Live Streams, Start Times – Thursday,
May 08? Find out how to watch all of the Liga MX matches today, Thursday, May 08.
You won't believe what happens when Chivas faces Toluca in the Liguilla.? The Final Phase of the Clausura 2024 will kick off this Wednesday for
Guadalajara and their opponent will be no easy task, as Toluca have
What you should know ahead of Chivas vs Toluca? Chivas is ready to kick off its participation in the Fiesta Grande of the
Clausura 2024, as this Wednesday it will host Toluca in the firstWhere to find Chivas vs Toluca on US TV: May 8, 2024? Find out how to watch Chivas vs Toluca on US TV and streaming in the Liga
MX Clausura quarterfinal 1st leg live from Mexico.
Pachuca vs. Club America: How to watch, TV channel, live stream? Club América and Pachuca will face off Wednesday night in the first leg of
the Liga MX Clausura quarterfinal.
SpaceX launches 23 satellites from Florida on 1st leg of Starlink
doubleheader (video)? SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from
Florida today (May 8), on the first leg of a planned spaceflightSpaceX successfully launches its Starlink 6-56 mission? KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX successfully launched its Starlink 6-56
mission Wednesday afternoon. What You Need To Know
Alabama schools announce delays for Thursday, May 9 due to severe weather
threats? Multiple rounds of strong to severe storms will be possible in Alabama
starting tonight, and a tornado watch has been issued for part of the
School delays start time due to storm - May 8? School delays start