Clemson defeats Arizona to advance
LOS ANGELES >> The Clemson basketball team was unfazed by pregame “U of A” chants.
Chase Hunter scored 18 points and converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining, and Clemson used stifling perimeter defense and clutch shooting to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, beating Arizona, 77-72, in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
“That was definitely a big moment for our team,” Hunter said postgame about his game-sealing basket. “When that went in I had confidence we were going to win that game.”
“Chase Hunter is the best twoway guard in America now,” Clemson senior center PJ Hall said, who scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11), who advanced to face either topseeded North Carolina or No. 4 seed Alabama.
Clemson last reached the final eight in 1980, when there were only 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Brad Brownell was making his second appearance in the second weekend of March Madness in his 14 seasons with the Tigers.
“I just think our guys have a lot of belief in each other, and I certainly have a lot of belief in my team,” Brownell said. “And we're playing good basketball right now.
“And anything can happen in these tournaments. You've got to have really good players. I have good players. When you have players you try to do the best job you can as a coach to put them in positions to be successful. And when these guys capitalize like they have been, good things are going to happen.”
“It's incredible to go through some trials and tribulations to get where we're at now,” Hall added.
Hunter, a senior guard, added seven rebounds and five assists to his team-high point total. Junior forward Ian Schieffelin added 14 points and seven rebounds.
After upsetting No. 3 seed Baylor in the second round and rallying around Brownell, the Tigers came into the game with momentum.
“It always means a lot when your players have your back,” Brownell said before the game.
Arizona (27-9), the Pac-12 regular-season champion was held to 37.3% shooting (25 for 67) overall and had a particularly horrific showing from 3-point range, going 5 for 28 (17.9%). Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love had 13 points, but missed all nine of his 3-point shots as the Wildcats failed in their bid to reach the Elite Eight for the 12th time overall and the first time since 2015.
Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley had 18 points to pace Arizona off the bench, and senior center Oumar Ballo had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Love, a senior guard, converted a layup to cut Clemson's lead to 7572 with 15 seconds left.
“I think our guys deserve a ton of credit,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said postgame. “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.”
However, sophomore guard Dillon Hunter, Chase's younger brother, went unaccounted for behind Arizona's defense when the
Wildcats were supposed to foul and made a layup through contact for a 77-72 lead with nine seconds left.
“Little bro got that and-one and sealed it for us,” Chase Hunter continued. “Big play, secured the win.”
The Tigers led by as much as 13 in the first half and were locked in early defensively, which forced the Wildcats to miss their first six shots. Clemson led 39-31 at halftime.
However, Arizona responded with an 8-0 run early in the second half, highlighted by Ballo's big dunk off a no-look pass from sophomore guard Kylan Boswell to trim the margin to 43-40. A three-point play from Love tied the score at 43-all.
“We dug deep and we got ourselves back in the game but we were just never able to take that next step,” Lloyd continued.
Chase Hunter, who scored Clemson's first six points of the second half, put the Tigers back up 45-43 with a mid-range jump shot.
Love's steal and layup gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 46-45, but 3-pointers from Jack Clark and Joseph Girard III gave Clemson a 53-48 lead.