The Clemson basketball team lost its third-straight game on Wednesday night. While the situation isn’t what Tiger fans had hoped, it’s not time to panic.
A week and a half ago, Clemson basketball fans were dreaming of a top-four seed in the ACC tournament and a final four appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Three games later, many Tiger fans have jumped off the bandwagon and already switched gears to football season.
The Tigers, who a week ago were No. 2 in the ACC standings, just lost their third-straight game on the road at Virginia Tech and fell to 9-6 in the conference.
If you want to jump off the bandwagon and give up on the season, go ahead, but don’t call yourself a true Clemson basketball fan.
It’s not over yet…
Clemson lost the game to Virginia Tech due to four reasons, really. They turned the ball over too much, they didn’t shoot the ball well, they were called for touch fouls, and they didn’t hit their free throws down the stretch.
You’re not going to win many games with that formula, especially when you’re missing your starting point guard in Shelton Mitchell.
While things may seem bleak, the Tigers still have three games remaining. All three are very winnable (vs. Georgia Tech, vs. FSU, @ Syracuse) and there’s a good chance that Shelton Mitchell will be back.
If the Tigers win out, they will still, most likely, qualify for a top-four seed. Right now, Clemson basketball is 5th in the ACC standings just behind Virginia Tech who holds the tiebreaker.
In the end, a single win the rest of this year will basically lock up an NCAA Tournament berth. If Clemson is in the NCAA Tournament, that’s all you can really ask for. I know that everyone wants to just skip the “rebuilding part” and go straight to the final four, but that’s not how things work.
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A basketball season has its ups and downs and I expect that there will be another “up” here soon for the Tigers. It’s time to just take a deep breath, regroup, and get back in Littlejohn on Saturday.