Entering Thursday's game against SMU, Clemson basketball was considered a comfortable favorite as most experts were already penciling the Tigers into the semifinals against Louisville.
But that wasn't the case.
In fact, the Tigers needed all 40 minutes to secure a win over a pesky SMU team that they faced just one other time this season, resulting in a 10-point road win for Clemson and Brad Brownell.
This game wasn't quite as stress-free.
It looked like Clemson was going to run away with a win in the first half, taking a 22-14 advantage with about six minutes left. SMU stormed back to make it a one-point lead for the Tigers at halftime and the second half wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Clemson either. In fact, SMU built a five-point lead at one point and even led by one with about six minutes left in the game before Clemson locked down defensively and made SMU work on every possession.
Defense was the name of the game and also this was Chase Hunter's return to glory. After weeks of not quite looking like himself, he exploded for 21 points, leading all scorers in a 57-54 defense-dominated win by Clemson.
The Tigers played some lockdown defense and even out-rebounded one of the best teams in the ACC on the glass, 33-32. It was refreshing to see that after being out-rebounded in the first meeting between these two teams by 15.
Now Clemson will get a really good Louisville team on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET. The Cardinals, too, had a battle on their hands in the quarterfinals, needing a double-digit comeback effort to win.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to the ACC Tournament title game on Saturday, facing the winner of Duke vs. North Carolina. And Duke might just be Cooper Flagg-less. Buckle up, folks.