The No. 24-ranked Clemson men’s basketball team (17-4, 9-1 ACC) will face off against the Florida State Seminoles (7-14, 5-5 ACC) in Tallahassee, Florida, this Saturday.
The Tigers are looking for a performance like their previous one on Tuesday when they dominated Georgia Tech and cruised to a 72-51 win at home. They are also looking to retain the sole spot at the top of the ACC conference, with the Virginia Cavaliers only 1.5 games behind.
Clemson is also looking to hold its No. 24 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 and has a tough task on Saturday, especially with numerous injuries in the backcourt.
Florida State, who started the season 1-10, have been able to stabilize their season, going 6-5 in the last 11 games. The Seminoles have had to face large amounts of talent as well; they will have faced five teams in the top 25 after playing the Tigers on Saturday.
Injuries have been the main problem for the Tigers this season, who could be without their top three guards on Saturday.
Starting point guard Chase Hunter has been nursing a foot injury for the last three games, and senior Alex Hemenway has missed the last nine games with plantar fasciitis. Now, the Tigers will have to be without Brevin Galloway, as the graduate guard had an emergency injury Thursday and could be out for at least one week.
It has been a season of “the next man up” for head coach Brad Brownell, who will potentially rely on young guards Dillon Hunter and Joshua Beadle to get the job done on Saturday. Brownell has also utilized many of the freshmen as of late, such as RJ Godfrey and Chauncey Wiggins, who both saw extended minutes against Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
In the frontcourt, there is nothing new, as the duo of Hunter Tyson and PJ Hall has continued to paint the story of the Tigers’ successful season. Hall has erupted as of late, terrorizing defenses and averaging 21.3 points in the past four games. Tyson has done just the same, averaging 15.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.
On the other side of the court, the Seminoles have a trio of guards who contribute to a lot of their success. Leading them in scoring is junior guard Darin Green Jr., who averages 14.1 points per game and shoots an impressive 40% from beyond the arc.
Joining him in the backcourt is sophomore guard Matthew Cleveland, who also averages 14 points per game and grabs eight rebounds per game, using his 6-foot-7 frame to be a valuable option on both ends of the court.
Junior guard Caleb Mills is a threat as well in this impressive backcourt. He averages 13 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Tipoff is set to be at 5:00 p.m. EST, with the game to be broadcasted on the ACC Network.
