End of the road: Clemson’s historic March Madness run over with Elite 8 loss to Alabama
Clemson wouldn’t quit.
But Alabama wouldn’t miss.
One game away from history, the Tigers men’s basketball team gave it their best shot Saturday night in the NCAA Elite Eight. But they found themselves in a 3-point shootout they couldn’t win, left some critical points at the free throw line and ended an unforgettable month later almost anyone outside their locker room expected but earlier than they had hoped with a 89-82 loss to a sizzling Crimson Tide squad.
No. 4 Alabama (25-11) advanced to the first Final Four in school history and will play top-seeded UConn next Saturday in Phoenix, while No. 6 Clemson (24-12) came up just short of the same feat in its second ever Elite Eight appearance.
The Tigers led by as many as 13 points but got out-scored and out-shot in the second half with all-conference center PJ Hall on the bench for the final 3:25 after he fouled out. The Tigers cut it to 76-73 after guard Joe Girard III’s 3-pointer with 2:16 to go, but they never got the ball back within a single possession.
Regional MVP Mark Sears had 23 points and seven 3-pointers for Alabama, which shot 16 of 36 (44%) on threes (the most against Clemson in five years) and an unbelievable 10 of 15 on threes in the second half to advance.
After winning three games as a betting underdog to qualify for their first Elite Eight since 1980, the Tigers will leave Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with some obvious disappointment, especially in regards to their free throw shooting (they were 50%, tying a season low, and left eight points at the line in a seven-point loss).
“But I’m so proud of my team. ... The ride we’ve been on the last couple of weeks has certainly been memorable,” coach Brad Brownell said postgame. “Not just for all of us, but our fanbase, which is significant. But more than that, just for the kind of people we have in our program.”
“Our players are just such good kids, and they allow us to coach them and they represent our university in an unbelievable way. And, man, it’s just a joy.”
Game recap
Indeed, what a ride it was. In case you need a refresher on how the Tigers even got to this point, playing Alabama for the right to advance to the national semifinals:
Clemson started 9-0 and ranked as high as No. 13 nationally. Dropped three of its first four and six of its first 10 ACC games in the new year. Won six of seven conference games to establish itself as a tournament lock. Then lost three of its last four, including an embarrassing 21-point loss in the ACC Tournament first round.
So real and visceral was the pain of being left out of last year’s NCAA Tournament field that Clemson players, despite knowing they were safe, still described feeling sick to their stomachs as they sat through the selection show and had to wait until the fourth and final region was revealed to see their name pop up on CBS.
They beat No. 11 New Mexico State and No. 3 Baylor in Memphis as a betting underdog in both games and kept it going Friday in Los Angeles, knocking off No. 2 Arizona in a thrilling Sweet 16 game.
And after Clemson got Nelson, the hero of Alabama’s Sweet 16 win over No. 1 UNC, into some early foul trouble, it looked like this team was on the verge of pulling it off again. After a 3-pointer from Tigers forward Jack Clark, it was 26-13 Clemson with 7:54 to go until halftime.
But Alabama, one of the nation’s best teams in terms of scoring and pace of play, executed one of its signature runs to wipe away that deficit. With some huge plays from freshman reserve Jarin Stevenson, the Crimson Tide went on a 20-2 run to take its first lead of the game and ended that half on a 22-6 run overall.
Clemson had trailed for just 50 seconds of a possible 120 minutes in the NCAA Tournament entering Saturday’s game but found itself down 35-32 at halftime (its first time trailing at the break in four tournament games).
Then Alabama (which averages 11 made 3-pointers a game) went berserk from deep in the second half, at one point hitting 13 of 20 attempts on 3-pointers after starting 1 of 13 on such shots. Forget a Crimson Tide; their basket felt as wide as the ocean.
Sears was 7 of 14 on 3-pointers, and Stevenson (a freshman reserve who entered averaging 5 points per game and shooting 29% on threes) had a career-high 19 off the bench and made five of his eight 3-pointers.
Alabama led by as many as nine in the second half after taking the lead and never lost it, ending an iconic Clemson season in the West Regional championship.
“When they’re making them and the momentum is going and they’re rolling, they get those 3s up fast and it seems like they’ll never miss,” Girard said.
Girard, the Syracuse transfer, led Clemson with 19 points and five 3-pointers in the last game of his college career, and ACC Most Improved Player Ian Schieffelin had an 18-point, 11-rebound double. Schieffelin, guard Chase Hunter (who averaged 17.8 points per game this tournament) and Hall were named to the all-region team.
And if that’s how Hall’s Clemson career ends, what a run it was for a homegrown recruit from Spartanburg who chose the Tigers over various national suitors and wound up the on-court and off-court leader of Clemson’s first Elite Eight squad in 44 years and the No. 7 scorer in program history (1,702 points).
Hall has one year of eligibility left but spoke with finality late Saturday in Los Angeles, still processing a end result that’ll sting for a couple days, he said, but eventually fade away and turn into memories he’ll hold onto forever.
“We came up a little short of what we really wanted to do,” Hall said. “But I think it will set in whenever we get back and reflect a little bit and feel the love from the campus and community, knowing they had our backs through all this.”
“Just an incredible ride. It was an expected ride. And I’m proud of these guys.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2024 at 11:12 PM.
