On the tail of a commanding win over Charleston Southern, the Clemson Tigers return home to take on the Saint Francis Red Flash at Littlejohn Coliseum.

In their first game of the year, the Tigers (1-0) picked up right where they left off last season with a 27-point win. Returning stars Chase Hunter, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds, and Ian Schieffelin, recording eight points and nine rebounds, led the charge.

Graduate transfer Myles Foster also made his presence known, adding 17 points off the bench.

On the other hand, Saint Francis (0-1) did not have the same success to start the year, dropping its first contest to Dayton, 87-57. However, freshman guard Jeremy Clayville proved challenging to stop in his first collegiate game, scoring 14 points.

Two transfers, Valentino Pinedo and Daemar Kelly, found themselves in the Saint Francis starting lineup in their first game with the new squad. The young Red Flash team hopes to mesh better in its matchup against the Tigers.

The Tigers will rely on a solid core to lead them. Hunter, entering his sixth year, came into the season expected to lead Clemson offensively after averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 assists per game in the Tigers’ Elite Eight run last season.

The new addition of Cincinnati transfer Viktor Lakhin gives the Tigers help down low after the crucial loss of long-time center PJ Hall.

Schieffelin will also demand defensive attention down low, especially on second-chance opportunities.

Hunter and the team come into the matchup heavily favored. They will look to get their early season jitters out this month. In a few weeks, the Tigers will go up against Kentucky, closely followed by Miami, to begin their December campaign.

However, the team still needs to battle against multiple competent teams that hope to upset the team that came one game short of the Final Four just eight months ago.

The game will tip off Friday at 7 p.m. at Littlejohn Coliseum.