Clemson gets to Elite Eight with win over No. 2 seed Arizona
LOS ANGELES — When Clemson has encountered rough stretches this season, coach Brad Brownell has told his team, “We’re built for this, we can handle this.”
In their biggest game of the season Thursday night, the Tigers proved their coach correct.
Chase Hunter scored 18 points and Clemson advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, beating Arizona 7772 in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night.
The sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11) led most of the game, but didn’t put it away until Hunter converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining.
“We have confidence in our team,” said Brownell, who’s in the Elite Eight for the first time in a 22-year coaching career that includes one previous Sweet 16 appearance in 14 seasons with the Tigers. “I’ve got an older team. These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success. And so just really happy that they were able to withstand it, and we executed some things really well down the stretch.”
PJ Hall added 17 points for Clemson, which will face No. 4 seed Alabama on Saturday with each program seeking to make its first Final Four. The Crimson Tide beat top-seeded North Carolina 89-87.
Clemson — which wasn’t in the March Madness field the previous two years — last reached a regional final in 1980, when there were 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Jaden Bradley scored 18 points, Oumar Ballo had 15 and Caleb Love 13 for second-seeded Arizona (27-9), which had a horrific shooting night, going 5 of 28 (17.9 percent) from 3-point range.
Bradley went 2 of 4 from 3-point range, but no one else made more than one 3. Love missed all nine of his attempts beyond the arc.
“I feel like some of them were good looks and shots we’ve made all season, and today they just didn’t go in,” said coach Tommy Lloyd, who was ousted in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his three seasons at Arizona. “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.”
The Tigers have held all three of their NCAA opponents to worse than 40 percent shooting. It was the second time they held a team
under 20 percent from the perimeter; New Mexico went 3 for 23 in the first round.
“Limiting rhythm 3s and good open 3s was a huge key to the game,” Hall said.
After Bradley’s 3-pointer got Arizona within 72-70, Hunter put it out of reach when he drove for a layup while being fouled by Bradley. Hunter’s free throw made it a five-point game.
“I just wanted to make a play,” Hunter said. “At the end of the day, I wanted to get to the basket, wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen, and that’s what I did.”