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How Clemson basketball, Brad Brownell took a leap as a program after upsetting Kentucky
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- How Clemson basketball, Brad Brownell took a leap as a program after upsetting Kentucky
CLEMSON — Clemson is ready to be a consistent college basketball program.
The Tigers (8-1) made a statement against No. 6 Kentucky (7-1), winning 70-66 on Tuesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. Ian Schiefflin recorded his fourth double-double of the season and posted a career-high 20 rebounds to defeat the Wildcats in the SEC/ACC Challenge. Three other players scored in double figures, and Clemson held Kentucky to its fewest points of the season.
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The fans stormed the court to celebrate.
The victory was the culmination of what Clemson coach Brad Brownell has built in the past seven seasons.
"We're under the shadows of football, for sure," Brownell said.
Since the 2017-18 season, Clemson has made the NCAA tournament three times, reached a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight and has the fourth-most wins in the ACC. Its facilities have been renovated and in the process of more additions. Last season, it made the Elite Eight for the first time in 44 years.
The enthusiasm of last season's run carried over into this season despite losing notable players like PJ Hall and Joseph Girard III . Fans waited hours outside of Littlejohn Coliseum in cold weather to watch Clemson host a blue-blood program.
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"Obviously, to have Kentucky come to Littlejohn, it speaks to that people are recognizing that we've had a good program here for about the last seven or eight years," Brownell said.
Clemson overwhelmed the Wildcats with its physicality and forced them to place at its pace. The Tigers went after every loose ball and made key blocks and scores to extend leads and ignite their home crowd. Clemson also excelled situationally with guard Chase Hunter making the final basket in the first half with nine seconds left and scoring four critical free throws to deny Kentucky's rally.
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Tuesday's win showcased last season's run in the NCAA tournament wasn't a fluke. Instead, it was an essential building block for the makeup of Brownell's program moving forward, and his team has carried that momentum over to have a strong start this season.
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"It just shows that we can still do it," Hunter said. "People kind of maybe downed us this year, maybe 'We didn't have this or that,' but we're a team that fights. We showed that (Tuesday), and we showed that we can compete with anybody."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball: Tigers upsets Kentucky, displays growth as a program
