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Right now 'frustrating and angry' is how to describe Clemson basketball after loss to NC State
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- Right now 'frustrating and angry' is how to describe Clemson basketball after loss to NC State
CLEMSON – Clemson basketball's crushing one-point loss to NC State on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum was a blemish on its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Tigers (17-8, 7-7 ACC) had a three-game winning streak and were tied for fifth place with three other teams including the Wolfpack in the ACC standings. Clemson was looking to separate itself from the pack, but NC State guard DJ Horne's go-ahead floater with less than 10 seconds put a hold to those plans in the 78-77 win.
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"Guys in the locker room, it's tough right now, but from what I can see, it's not soaking," Clemson forward PJ Hall said. "It's pretty frustrating and angry."
Clemson had a chance to win the game in the final moments, but guard Chase Hunter missed a contested layup. The Tigers had a timeout remaining, but coach Brad Brownell did not call it. It was the second time he held on to a timeout in the closing seconds – he also did it against Virginia on Feb. 3.
"Chase made a great play," Brownell said. "He got it in there with speed. They did not do as good a job as Virginia did in the same scenario, and he got around them and got to the rim. They came over and contested it hard."
The Tigers are now 0-4 in one-possession games in ACC play (2-5 overall) and are 4-2 against Quad 3 opponents in NET rankings. They are still on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time under Brownell, but they have to take care of business down the stretch to continue that trajectory. ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Tigers as a 5-seed Friday.
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Out of Clemson's remaining six games, only two teams (Pittsburgh and Wake Forest) are ahead of them in ACC standings. The Tigers must finish strong to boost their resume and to possibly land an ACC Tournament quarterfinals bye.
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"That's part of why we're all upset today," Brownell said. "This would have been a big win to push us ahead of the glob."
Still, the Tigers are a capable, experienced team and played well enough to win Saturday. They built a 12-point lead with 10:19 remaining in the game, their bench contributed and four players scored double figures. But, they have to continue to put teams away like they did during their three-game win streak.
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Clemson will have a chance to bounce back against Georgia Tech on Wednesday at the McCamish Pavilion. The last time The Tigers faced the Yellow Jackets, Georgia Tech won 93-90 in double overtime on Jan. 16.
"We will be ready," Hall 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: 'Frustrating and angry' is how to describe Clemson basketball after loss
