Clemson basketball has won their second straight game for the first time since early January.
To say Clemson basketball hit a slump over the last month would be a tremendous understatement. At one point they lost four of six games by an average of 24 points per game. By far the worst stretch in the 11 seasons under head coach Brad Brownell.
Beating Syracuse isn’t something that anyone should brag about as they aren’t very good, but it does mean something to this Clemson basketball team as they were able to play their first really good game in almost five weeks.
They are going to need that sense of accomplishment as they work toward the ACC tournament and as they hope to secure a bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament being held completely in Indianapolis.
The good news for the Tigers is as of now, five of their last seven scheduled games are against teams that are below them in the current ACC standings. Currently, the lone team above them in the standings is Georgia Tech, who is also fighting for an NCAA tournament berth.
Even bigger than the win for Clemson basketball on Saturday was that senior Aamir Simms was able to record his first double-double since December against Morehead State. He led the Tigers with 18 points and 11 rebounds – this was just his second double-double of the season and his first in ACC play since last March when he had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the ACC tournament win over Miami.
While it was great to see Clemson basketball get back-to-back ACC wins for just the second time this season and hopefully, they can use this as a springboard to a great end of the year run, the bigger picture needs to be kept in mind.
This program is capable of bigger and better success on the basketball floor and their success doesn’t have to be compromised because of football’s success – the two can coexist and win together. After 11 seasons and 340 games, it is clear that Brad Brownell isn’t the right guy for the future of this franchise and 2020-2021 should be his swan song on the Clemson basketball sideline.