LOS ANGELES — Playing against a predominatly Arizona crowd at the Crypto.com Arena, the Clemson Tigers upset the No.2 seed Wildcats in a wild 77-72 finish on Thursday night.
The victory over Arizona, which followed conquests over New Mexico and Baylor in the early two rounds, catapulted Clemson to its second Elite Eight appearance in program history.
With a partisan Arizona crowd in attendance, Clemson basketball overcame the No. 2 seed Wildcats 77-72 Thursday at Crypto.com Arena to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.
“We’ve battled a lot of things. This is a great moment for Clemson basketball,” head coach Brad Brownwell said of the historic triumph that puts the Tigers back in the Elite Eight for the first time in 44 years.
Up next for the Tigers is a chance to shoot for a Final Four slot when it faces the winner of the (1)North Carolina-(4) Alabama tussle.
The used an early 29-16 bubble to hold off a tough Arizone team that kept its close distance and crept to within 75-72 in the final 16 seconds of action following a Caleb Love jumper.
HUNTER BROTHERS LEAD THE WAY.
But Arizona’s rally fell short in the end when Dillon Hunter converted on a breakaway lay-up that put Clemson ahead for good, 77-72, with 11 ticks left.
Chase Hunter recorded 18 points and five assists for Clemson. PJ Hall added 17 points while Ian Schieffelin added 14 and 7 rebouns.
The Tigers shot 49.2 percent from the field (29-of-59) and a modest 32 percent from three-point territory (8-of-25). The Wildcats on the other hand struggled mightily — 37.3 percent from the field and 17.9 percent from 3.
As much as their offense was clicking, the Tigers defense also gave Arizone fits, using a mix of zone and man-to-man defense to coerce 13 points off turnovers with four steals and two blocks.
Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting off the bench. Oumar Ballo accounted for 15 points and 15 rebounds. Love finished with 13.
