Clemson wins three of the four factors, and as predicted, State had plenty of problems hanging onto the ball, turning it over on nearly a third of their possessions. Absolutely horrid.
(Continues)
Horrid could also describe the shooting percentage for both teams, but State looked particularly horrific. Plenty of missed shots close to the basket, including a gimmie layup that would've given the Pack a 35-33 second-half lead that instead led to an easy bucket on the other end for the Tigers. That Clemson basket ignited a 15-3 run that essentially put the game away.
Guard play will continue to haunt this team this year...there really just doesn't seem to be any other way to slice it. Costner and McCauley can't do it all, and until we get at least one confident ballhandler that can defeat the press, don't expect the turnover issues to get solved anytime soon.
One bright spot: the return of Trevor "Turd" Ferguson, who struggled offensively but played tremendous perimeter defense against the Tigers' Terrence Oglesby. Ferguson was in his hip pocket all afternoon, denying him the ball at every turn. Oglesby was averaging over 12 points per game prior to the contest...he finished with just three, shooting one of five from the floor, missing his lone three-point attempt. Tremendous work from Turd.
All in all, though, there's not much shame in losing to the #12 team on their homecourt. If the turnover issues can be corrected, this team can win their fair share of games in the league. Like, for instance, against Florida State, whom the Pack will face on Tuesday.
you can't expect them to go on the road against a ranked team and win, but the way Clemson played, it should have been closer. clemson played very poorly and we bailed them out with our even worse play. our guys were intimidated in the paint. they were not going up strong with their shots.
ReplyDeleteMust say that the Clemson fans have now provided me with my new fave Ferguson nickname: "Ron-ald Weas-ley!"
ReplyDeleteGood stuff.