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Clemson Men’s Basketball starts NIT play tonight against Morehead State

By John Chancey

Mar 9, 2023; Greensboro, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers center PJ Hall (24) reacts after hitting a three point shot in the first half of the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2023; Greensboro, NC, USA; Clemson Tigers center PJ Hall (24) reacts after hitting a three point shot in the first half of the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Clemson Men’s Basketball will begin their postseason tonight against the Morehead State Eagles at 7:00 PM at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers are a 1-seed in the NIT, which invites 32 teams that were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. Morehead State is the 8-seed in Clemson’s quadrant of the bracket.

Senior forward Hunter Tyson leads the Tigers in points (15.5 per game) and rebounds (9.5 per game). Tyson is just shy of averaging a double-double for the season, and was recognized as part of the All-ACC First-Team.

Junior guard Chase Hunter leads the team with 4.6 assists per game. He contributes 13.6 points per game. Junior forward PJ Hall averages 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Morehead State won the Ohio Valley conference regular season this year. They were 14-4 in their conference and 21-11 overall. The Eagles were defeated by Southeast Missouri State in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.

Senior guard Mark Freeman leads the Eagles in points (15.0 per game) and assists (3.8 per game). Freeman is in his first season at Morehead State after a season at Illinois State and two seasons at Tennessee State.

Senior Alex Gross leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 per game, and is second in scoring with 11.9 points per game. Gross is in his first season with the Eagles following four seasons with NAIA program Olivet Nazarene, where he was named an NAIA All-American two seasons in a row.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is a 15.5 point favorite against Morehead State, with an over/under of 137.0

The NIT gives automatic bids to all regular season conference champions that do not win their conference tournament and aren’t given an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Morehead State is one of eleven teams who qualified for the NIT this way.

The other three 1-seeds are Oklahoma State, Oregon and Rutgers. Clemson is the only team from the ACC in the NIT this season. Those four teams will host any games they play through the quarterfinals, assuming they advance.

The semifinals and championship will be played in Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Clemson’s home court advantage is huge in this tournament. The Tigers are 15-1 at Littlejohn Coliseum this season, losing only to the Miami Hurricanes. The Tigers are favored over the Eagles by 15.5 points.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change

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