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Clemson Basketball: Keys to closing regular season strong

By Shawn Spencer

CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 16: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 16, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 16: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 16, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The Clemson basketball team lost two tough games this past week. The Tigers have four games remaining. Here are the keys to closing the season strong.

The Clemson basketball team dropped two games, one on the road to Florida State and one at home against Duke this past week.

The loss to Duke was the first home loss of the season for the Tigers. The most frustrating thing about both losses was the fact that Clemson was in the game in both and just couldn’t find a way to close out.

Against Florida State, the Tigers held an 18-point lead in the second half and allowed the Seminoles to come back and win.

Clemson trailed for the majority of the home matchup against Duke, but came roaring back and tied it at 57 apiece with less than two minutes remaining, but then didn’t score a basket the remainder of the game.

Bracket Watch: Tigers still in the thick of things

Clemson basketball is still regarded as a No. 3 seed in the latest Bracketology metrics. The Tigers are projected to play in the region with Xavier.

That’s not too shabby for a Tiger basketball team that was picked to finish 13th in the ACC at the beginning of the season.

Keys to closing strong:

Here’s the remaining schedule for Clemson basketball:

  • @ Virginia Tech
  • vs. Georgia Tech
  • vs. Florida State
  • @ Syracuse

The Tigers are currently 9-5 in the ACC. If they win out, they will finish 13-5. If they lose out, they will be 9-9.

In my opinion, I think Clemson will go either 3-1 or 4-0. In my win projections back in early February, I had them winning the remainder of their games after falling to Florida State and Duke. The key, though, is Shelton Mitchell.

With Mitchell, Clemson has one of the best backcourts in the conference. Without Mitchell, the Tigers are lacking much-needed depth.

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Can Mitchell return this week? Next week? He’s the key. The Tigers just need to be resilient and continue to fight. They will need to rebound in Blacksburg on Wednesday and, to do that, they will need to put these losses behind them.

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