The NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen round is here, making it one of the best times of the year. We have seen upsets and great games already, with one underdog story still being written. After an impressive win over No. 11 New Mexico, the No. 6 Clemson Tigers basketball team took down the No. 3-seeded Baylor Bears in the Round of 32.
Clemson almost blew the game, building over a 15-point lead at one point. But they held on for the massive win, with four members of the team scoring at least 10 points. It was a total team effort that helped Clemson stay alive in their hunt for a championship. The Tigers were outscored in the second half of the game by Baylor but built a big enough lead to withstand the comeback. The final score of the game came in at 72-64.
With Clemson being the lower seed, it's considered an upset. But if you watched this Tigers team all year, you know how good they can be. Clemson will now take on the No. 2-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen tonight, which is just another challenge ahead for this resilient group.
Baylor was always going to make it a game, it's just a reality when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. College basketball is typically a game of runs and luckily for Clemson, they dominated in the first half of play. As a team, Clemson shot 6/17 from beyond the three-point line, so this will be something to watch going forward.
The team was led by guard Chase Hunter, who dropped 20 points, six assists and two rebounds. Hunter has averaged 12.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season, appearing in 34 contests. The Tigers will need him to step up once again against Arizona if they want to compete this run.
The Tigers will need to prove that they can hit big shots against Arizona if they want to pull another upset. The Wildcats thrive in open space, so Clemson will need to make sure they take smart shot attempts throughout the game. Clemson will also need to limit their turnovers, as they had 11 in the game against Baylor and nine against New Mexico.
Taking down Baylor proved that this Clemson team is legit, so they have to like their chances to compete with Arizona. It won't be easy, but if they play similarly to how they did against the Bears, the Tigers could be heading to the Elite Eight.
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Matt Levine works as a contributing writer for Newsweek, covering multiple sports. He graduated in 2021 with a Master of ... Read more
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