Clemson makes quick tournament exit as Rutgers gets first NCAA win in 38 years
There will be no Sweet Sixteen run this time for the Clemson basketball team.
Rutgers ended a 38-year NCAA tournament drought with a 60-56 win Friday night over Clemson in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
No. 10 seed Rutgers will play No. 2 Houston in the second round Sunday.
The win was Rutgers’ first NCAA tournament victory since 1983 when it defeated Southwest Louisiana 60-53. The Scarlet Knights hadn’t made it to the NCAAs since 1991.
Clemson finishes this season at 16-8. It was the team’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018. The Tigers made it to the Sweet Sixteen that year with wins over New Mexico State and Auburn.
Clemson’s season was filled with highs and lows. The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 12 in The Associated Press poll. They also had a pair of team shutdowns because of COVID-19.
Clemson entered the NCAA tournament winning six of their last eight games.
“Absolutely I think this was a successful year,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “...These kids have absolutely been a joy to coach. I am proud of our program and what it stands for. You hope you have seasons like this for the older players on the team because they will remember this. Unfortunately it didn’t end the way they wanted to.
“But when it is all said and done, they are going to be proud of what they accomplished.”
The game ended the careers of Clemson seniors Aamir Simms and Clyde Trapp, members of the 2018 team who were cornerstones of the year’s club.
“These guys have done a lot and handled their business like professional men,” Brownell said of the duo. “They are going to be great ambassadors of Clemson. These are the kind of guys you want to coach.”
Simms was a second-team all-ACC selection and the winner of the Skip Prosser Award, given to the top scholar-athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference for men’s basketball.
Trapp suffered an ACL injury before his junior season and was limited to 21 games a year ago. This season, the former Lower Richland High School standout had career highs in points (7.0), rebounds (5.4) and assists (2.5) per game.
Trapp reflected on his time at Clemson and the team even before he took questions from reporters Friday after the game.
“I am just so proud of this team, coaching staff and the younger guys,” Trapp said. “This is something they should strive to live for and play in again. I am thankful for coach Brownell and this opportunity. It has been great these four years.”
Against Rutgers, Simms led the way with 15 points while Trapp had 14, including 11 straight for the Tigers at one point as Clemson led 35-32 with 15:14 left.
But the Scarlet Knights used a 13-2 run over 3:26 span to take a 50-39 lead with 9:35 to go in the game. Caleb McConnell, who was averaging 5.3 points, had seven of his 13 points during that stretch.
Clemson battled back and tied it at 55 on Trapp’s three-point play with 4:12 left. Geo Baker hit a 3-pointer to put the Scarlet Knights up 58-55 at the 3:49 mark.
Clemson didn’t score a point over the final 2:28 of the game.
The Tigers trailed 58-56 with less than a minute to go and put the ball in Simms’ hands, but the senior was called for a travel, something Brownell disputed.
“I don’t think he traveled. I think he took two steps and there was contact,” Brownell said. “Aamir still got a drive. We were going to put it in our best player’s hands. Unfortunately they called a travel.”
Rutgers got the ball back with 36 seconds left and Brownell chose not to foul. The Tigers played good defense but Geo Baker got free on a loose ball for a layup with 10.8 seconds left.
Baker finished with 13 points, including Rutgers’ final five points. Jacob Young also had 13 for the Scarlet Knights. Young had two of Rutgers six 3-pointers in the second half.
“It’s better than I imagined, honestly,” Baker said. “This is something that we’ve all dreamed of for a really long time, but to hear the Rutgers fans and they’re just going crazy, and just knowing that we survived and advanced in March, that’s something that I’ve always imagined. It was crazier than I ever even pictured.”
NCAA box score: Rutgers 60, Clemson 56
RUTGERS (1-0): Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Baker 5-11 1-2 13, Mulcahy 3-4 0-0 8, Young 5-7 0-0 13, Harper 3-14 4-5 10, McConnell 6-12 0-0 13, Mathis 0-6 1-2 1, Omoruyi 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 6-9 60.
CLEMSON (0-1): Simms 5-14 5-6 15, Tyson 4-10 0-0 10, Dawes 3-8 0-0 8, Hemenway 1-3 0-0 3, Trapp 5-6 3-3 14, Honor 1-8 0-0 2, Baehre 1-4 0-0 2, Hunter 1-5 0-0 2, Newman 0-1 0-0 0, Hall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 8-9 56.
Halftime—Clemson 26-23. 3-Point Goals—Rutgers 8-30 (Young 3-5, Mulcahy 2-3, Baker 2-8, McConnell 1-5, Mathis 0-3, Harper 0-6), Clemson 6-19 (Dawes 2-3, Tyson 2-3, Trapp 1-2, Hemenway 1-3, Simms 0-1, Hunter 0-2, Honor 0-5). Rebounds—Rutgers 36 (Johnson, McConnell 10), Clemson 26 (Simms 11). Assists—Rutgers 11 (Mulcahy 4), Clemson 14 (Simms, Dawes, Hemenway 3). Total Fouls—Rutgers 13, Clemson 13.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 9:02 PM.
