Clemson Men’s Basketball: Tigers vs. Spartans – Preview, odds, picks

The 1-1 Clemson men’s basketball team takes on in-state opponent USC Upstate Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Littlejohn Coliseum on the Clemson campus.

After opening the season with an 80-69 victory over The Citadel last Monday, the Tigers are coming off a last-second loss against arch-rival South Carolina Friday in Columbia.

While that loss was disappointing, the good news is P.J. Hall returned for Clemson and contributed in a big way, leading the Tigers with 15 points in just 22 minutes on the court.

Upstate enters the game with a 1-1 record, having beaten Brevard College 90-42 and then getting pounded by Duke 84-38.

The Spartans rely on the 3 ball quite a bit, shooting 42.6% of their shots from long distance, more than 5% higher than the national average and totaling 55% of their points from distance.

The loss to South Carolina is one that could come back to haunt the Tigers come tournament time, as Clemson needs every non-conference win they can get and this does not appear to be a very good South Carolina team, at least at this juncture of the season.

Can Clemson men’s basketball regroup and cover a big spread at home?

Clemson -21.5 Over/Under 140.0

John Chancey 1-1, 0-2 ATS:

Clemson has a big advantage over a team like Upstate, who finished in the bottom half of the Big South last season. The question is if the advantage comes on defense or offense. Traditionally, it comes on defense, so I think the Tigers control the game, but probably don’t cover such a large number.

Clemson 68, USC Upstate 51

Marty Coleman (2-0, 1-1 ATS):

Quite simply this is not a team that can be trusted with a 21.5-point spread, even though Upstate is young, inexperienced and relies on the three-point shot a ton, which lends itself to upsets or blowouts, depending on how it’s falling that day.

The return of Hall makes it interesting and he should dominate, but what I’ve seen from the bench (not including Hall vs. South Carolina) makes me leery of large spreads at this juncture of the season.

Clemson 77 USC Upstate 64

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change