After beating SMU in one of the tighest games of the ACC Tournament thus far, Clemson basketball earned a date with a ranked Louisville team in the semifinals with a chance to face the winner of Duke vs. North Carolina.
There's a lot on the line for Clemson on Friday night as it gears up to face the Cardinals like a trip to the conference title game, an improved seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a chance to play the No. 1 team in the country and beat them for the second time this season -- this time potentially without Cooper Flagg who was injured on Thursday.
Clemson has't won a conference tournament title in almost 100 years and it's time to end that drought, but to do that, it will need to take down Louisville on Friday.
Let's get bold.
1. Chase Hunter has an encore performance
Offense was not on the menu on Thursday night for Clemson but no one told Chase Hunter. He scored a game-high 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting and it felt like him and Jaeden Zackery were the only guys who could get things going.
Hunter is going to be the catalyst once again on Friday as he scores 20 for the second straight game, hitting over 50 percent of his shots again.
Hitting his stride heading into the NCAA Tournament? Yes, please.
2. Clemson out-rebounds fifth straight opponent
While Clemson isn't exactly a dominant team on the glass, it has out-rebounded four straight opponents and its aggression on the boards against SMU was surprising.
That momentum will continue on Friday night as the Tigers out-rebound yet another top-100 rebounding team. They out-worked Louisville 38-32 on the glass in the first meeting two months back and they're going to do that once again.
3. Clemson scores 80 in a revenge win
It's been a few games (four to be exact) since Clemson last scored 80 points and they've hit that mark only two times in the past nine outings. But on Friday, the Tigers will hit the 80 mark for a third time in the past 10 which is funny because they're coming off their worst offensive game of the season.
Following up the worst offensive showing with one of the best in 24 hours? This is March.