With challenging conference play less than a month away, Clemson has exceeded expectations as it heads north to face No. 10 BYU in the 31st annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Clemson, 7-2, comes into the matchup against BYU, 7-1, looking to rebound and avoid its first losing streak of the season after a close, 90-84, loss to the No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge last Tuesday.
While a loss is a loss, Clemson and head coach Brad Brownell showed that the Tigers can compete with just about any team in the nation, erasing a 19-point deficit in their recent contest. The Tigers’ trend of spreading the ball continued in the valiant effort, with five players scoring double-digit points.
Seniors RJ Godfrey and Dillon Hunter paced the effort, as Godfrey finished with 19 points and four rebounds, and Hunter added 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. True freshman Zac Foster and Nevada transfer Nick Davidson also made a major impact off the bench, combining for 23 points and eight rebounds.
That performance now sets the stage for a high-profile showdown with BYU, as the Cougars arrive at Madison Square Garden riding early-season momentum and a four-game win streak, with their lone loss coming against No. 5 UConn.
True freshman AJ Dybantsa has led the offensive attack for the Cougars, averaging a team-high 19.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8 forward is a consensus top-three pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
Veteran guard Richie Saunders is right behind Dybantsa in terms of production, recording 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting an efficient 51% from the field and 42.6% from beyond the arc.
Baylor transfer Robert Wright III has been the primary facilitator for the top-10 Cougars, leading the team with 6.2 assists per game. Additionally, he has emerged as a potent scoring threat to begin the season, averaging nearly 17 points per contest on 48% shooting from the field and 42.4% from 3-point range.
While Clemson may boast a top-52 defense — allowing 66.7 points per game — in college basketball, its perimeter defense will face a stiff test against such gifted scorers. Especially after that unit was exposed throughout the Alabama loss, where combo guard Labaron Philon Jr. poured in 29 points with small forward Amari Allen adding 20 more in his first career start.
However, Clemson holds the upper hand in terms of depth. Hunter is the only Tiger averaging at least 25 minutes per game, as Brownell’s 10-man rotation keeps fresh legs on the floor late into contests.
That depth contrasts heavily with BYU, which has struggled to find consistent production from its thin bench as Dybantsa, Saunders and Wright average over 30 minutes per game. There is only one Cougar who averages more than four points off the bench, namely sixth-year guard Dawson Baker, with 7.5 points.
Tipoff is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden, as Clemson looks to improve to 8-2 in its most challenging nonconference contest yet. ESPN will broadcast the matchup.
