Although the Clemson men’s basketball team’s season did not end the way many expected, there were still a lot of great moments from it, whether it was Nick Honor hitting a buzzer-beater three to beat Georgia Tech or Aamir Simms’ 25-point performance in a win over Miami (Fla.). The following is a comprehensive review of the Tigers’ 2020-21 season.
Clemson went on a five-game winning streak to start the season by beating top-tier teams, Purdue, Maryland and Alabama, in the process. As many would expect, Simms contributed to the cause from the very beginning. He averaged 11.6 points per game in Clemson’s first five games, including a 24-point performance versus Purdue and a 16-point performance versus Maryland.
After a close loss to unranked Virginia Tech, Clemson recaptured its momentum and rattled off four straight wins, including an incredible 77-67 victory over No. 18 Florida State, in which senior guard Clyde Trapp had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. His performance helped contribute to the Tigers’ 17 forced turnovers and season-high 49 rebounds. This win also allowed Clemson to be ranked (No. 19) in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time all season. After the Tigers played Florida State, they beat unranked North Carolina State 74-70, which moved the Tigers to No. 12 in the nation. This was the highest Clemson had been ranked since the 2017-18 season, when the Tigers made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Then, a COVID-19 shutdown happened. After a positive test occurred around the Clemson men’s basketball team, contact tracing forced the Tigers to cancel their games against North Carolina on Jan. 9 and Syracuse on Jan. 12. This also forced Clemson to take part in a mandatory 10-day quarantine, preventing the team from practicing together. Making matters worse, once they finished quarantine, the Tigers had to play No. 18 Virginia, a team they had not beaten in their past 10 tries. Like many expected, Clemson played poorly. They did not shoot, play defense or even dribble well. As a result, Virginia routed Clemson 85-50. The pain did not stop there for Clemson. In their next two games, the Tigers lost to Georgia Tech 83-65, after Georgia Tech hit a team-high, 16 3-pointers, and they lost to Florida State 80-61.
In desperate need of a win, Clemson traveled back home and prepared to play Boston College (3-10) … or so they thought. Due to COVID-19 protocol, Boston College could not play, so No. 25 Louisville (10-3) replaced Boston College two days before the game. After a back-and-forth game, Clemson was able to pull away with three minutes left, which propelled the Tigers to a much-needed 54-50 victory.
Clemson then traveled to Durham, North Carolina, to take on the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Unfortunately, the Tigers played just as well against Duke as they did against Virginia. Rumor has it that the score was so horrific, the Duke University Police Department almost stopped the game after the first half because Clemson was getting drubbed so severely. The Tigers went on to lose 79-53.
As Michael Jordan once said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it.”
This was the mindset Clemson adopted, which helped them rally off five straight wins, including victories over North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Miami. In the five-game stretch, Clemson had a 41.74 3-point shooting percentage, averaged 68.2 points per game, only gave up 56 points per game, and averaged 33 rebounds per game. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the five games was when Nick Honor banked in a 24-foot 3-pointer as time expired to hand Clemson a 74-72 victory over Georgia Tech. When the Tigers beat Miami 66-58, they provided Head Coach Brad Brownell with his 200th win in his 11th season with the program.
After Clemson’s victory against Miami, it had two more games left in the regular season against Syracuse and Pittsburgh. The Tigers traveled to the Carrier Dome and played Syracuse on March 3, losing 64-54. However, they were able to win their last regular season game against Pittsburgh 77-62. This resulted in Clemson serving as the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament, which gave the Tigers a first-round bye in the tournament.
Since No. 13 Miami beat No. 12 Pittsburgh in the first round, Clemson took on Miami in the second round. In the past two matchups with the Hurricanes, Clemson barely won, but they won, nonetheless. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, the third time was the charm. Isaiah Wong scored 20 points and led Miami to a 67-64 victory over the Tigers, despite a 17-point performance from Simms and a 16-point performance from Clemson’s Hunter Tyson.
After the conference tournaments concluded, it was time for the NCAA Tournament selection committee to unveil the 68 teams who would be taking part in March Madness . Clemson (16-7) was given the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region and was matched up against No. 10 seed Rutgers (15-11) from the Big Ten at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
At the end of an evenly matched first half, Clyde Trapp extended Clemson’s lead to three after making a buzzer-beating layup. When the second half started, the game remained the same, back and forth. It was not until the 12-minute mark when Rutgers began to pull away. After a few quick stops and some quick buckets by Caleb McConnell, Paul Mulcahy, and Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers took a convincing 50-39 lead with nine minutes to go. The Tigers stuck to their hard-nosed defense and tied the game up with four minutes left. Clemson could not buy a basket from that point on, though, and lost 60-56. Therefore, Clemson was knocked out of March Madness, ending the Tigers’ season.
Clemson men’s basketball experienced a lot of highs and lows throughout the season but ultimately had a successful season that fans should not forget. There will be many new changes to come before the start of next season, as Clemson is set to lose Jonathan Baehre, John Newman III, Simms and Trapp, but the Tigers will push on.
