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Ian Schieffelin's growth headlines how Clemson basketball powered into polls this season
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- Ian Schieffelin's growth headlines how Clemson basketball powered into polls this season
Clemson basketball is off to another strong season as it eyes back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
The No. 16 Tigers (9-1) earned their first ranking in polls this season after defeating No. 5 Kentucky and ACC rival Miami last week. They are 11th in the NET rankings , which evaluates a team's record and résumé and is a critical system used to evaluate March Madness teams. Entering Wednesday, they are 3-1 against Quad 1 opponents and undefeated against Quad 3 and 4 foes.
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Clemson has won six consecutive games behind guard Chase Hunter 's scoring and forward Ian Schieffelin's tenacious rebounding. Its next test is against Memphis (7-2) on Saturday (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2) at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Here are three keys behind Clemson's hot start to the season:
Clemson basketball's Ian Schieffelin has elevated his game
Schieffelin won the ACC's most improved player last season, averaging 9.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. With star PJ Hall gone, Schieffelin became a bigger emphasis on opponents' scouting reports, and he has raised his performance.
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Schieffelin is averaging 12.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists — all-career highs. His rebound total leads the nation, and he has five double-doubles. He earned USBWA Oscar Robertson national player of the week last week and recorded a career-high 20 rebounds against Kentucky .
Schieffelin has been sensational with his hustle and experience despite battling soreness and tightness in his calf.
"He has a willingness to sustain effort and consistently go after the ball, which most guys give in after a while and don't," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said Wednesday.
RANKED: Clemson is ranked in college basketball polls after wins vs Kentucky, Miami
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Clemson basketball has one of the top defenses in the country
The Tigers are 19th in the country in scoring defense, allowing 62.4 points per game. They held Kentucky, the No. 1 scoring offense with an average of 92.6 points, to 66, and Penn State , the No. 6 scoring offense with an average 88.7 points, to 67. Both totals were season lows for the teams.
Clemson is filled with stout and willing defenders starting with guard Jaeden Zackery and Viktor Lakhin . The transfers have boosted the Tigers with Zackery leading the team in steals with 21, and Lakhin being tied for first in the ACC in blocked shots with an average of 1.7. Despite being 6-foot-1, Zackery typically guards an opposing team's top offensive player. Lakhin, 6-11, roams the paint and alters shots with his length.
"If we shoot it bad, we're a team that can lock you up and hold you under 60 (points)," Hunter said. "Then, when we're on, we can score 80, 90 (points) and beat you that way."
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Clemson's offense also helps limit possessions for opposing teams. It is tied for 309th out of 364 in pace factor, an estimate of a team's possessions per 40 minutes. Its methodical offense can keep it out of high-scoring games and limit opposing teams' fast-break opportunities.
Clemson basketball's offense is maintaining last year's score production
Clemson averaged 77.4 points per game last season behind Hall and Joseph Girard III , who accounted for 43.2% of the team's scoring in 2023-24. There were questions about who would score for the Tigers since Hall and Girard departed after leading the team to a 24-12 record, an appearance in the Elite Eight and a No. 15 national ranking.
Yet the Tigers have nearly matched their scoring from last season through their first 10 games. They are averaging 77 points with Hunter scoring the most (15.9 per game). Schieffelin and Lakhin (11.0) are the other two Clemson players to average double-digit scoring. Forward Chauncey Wiggins (9.5) and Zackery (8.5) are the next two scoring leaders.
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Clemson has been helped by its bench production with a unit that can go six players deep. Guard Dillon Hunter headlines the group, averaging 6.1 points, and freshman guard Del Jones and graduate forward Myles Foster score around four points a game. Despite the offense's production, Brownell said it is still figuring itself out.
"We're still working through things. I don't think our consistency is where it needs to be," Brownell said.
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: Three keys why Tigers are hot, ranked in polls
