Clemson makes early exit at ACC tournament as Miami holds on late for win
Clemson’s trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the ACC tournament was short-lived.
The Tigers fell to Miami 67-64 Wednesday afternoon, as a late rally came up just short. Clemson had the ball down 65-64 with 14 seconds left, but Nick Honor’s floater was off the mark.
Miami’s Isaiah Wong was fouled moments later and made both free throws with two seconds remaining. Clemson’s ensuing inbounds pass was stolen to end the game.
“At the end of the day it didn’t go in. That’s basketball. ... I’d take that shot every day,” Brownell said of Honor’s late look. “He took it to eight or 10 feet and missed it. It’s a good look, but it didn’t go. Obviously, that’s not what cost us.”
Clemson, a No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament, led by nine midway through the first half and was ahead 36-32 at halftime, but the Tigers were outscored by seven in the second half.
No. 13 seed Miami advances to face No. 4 seed Georgia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers must now wait until Sunday to learn their NCAA tournament fate.
“We’re disappointed because we wanted to play well here. We wanted to do better,” Brownell said. “Are we excited about Indianapolis and the NCAA tournament? Yes. Are we excited right now? No.”
Clemson (16-7, 10-6) lost despite shooting better than 52% from 3-point range. The Tigers made 12-of-23 attempts from behind the arc, but were only 11 of 26 on two-point attempts. The Hurricanes (10-16, 4-15) shot 54% from the field.
Aamir Simms led the Tigers with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Hunter Tyson (16) and Clyde Trapp (10) also scored in double figures.
Miami was led by Isaiah Wong, who scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He played 39 of the 40 minutes.
Even with the loss, Clemson is in a good position for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers are currently projected by ESPN to be a No. 7 seed for the tournament, which will be played entirely in Indianapolis with the first games next weekend. Clemson sports an impressive 2020-21 resume that includes wins over No. 6 Alabama, No. 15 Florida State and No. 20 Purdue.
“The NCAA tournament’s a reward for your whole season, and it’s been a heck of a season. Our guys have accomplished a lot so far. We obviously have bigger goals in front of us.” Brownell said. “We wanted to do better here. We thought if we could just get a win and get some momentum we were looking forward to the next game. ... We get a couple of days to regroup, try to get ourselves ready to go.”
Next Clemson basketball game
Clemson will learn its NCAA tournament opponent when the 2021 bracket is revealed at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 4:33 PM.
