Clemson Men's Basketball loses to Virginia Tech, now on three-game losing skid

Clemson Men’s Basketball started the season as well as anyone could have hoped. Now that they are in Atlantic Coast Conference play, things are not progressing positively.

The Tigers dropped their third ACC contest in a row on Wednesday night to the Virginia Tech Hokies 87-72 in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The Tigers only occasionally flirted with catching up to the Hokies, but Tech took control of the game early and never looked back.

Hokie guard Sean Pedulla had a career night with 32 points and 7 assists. Guard Tyler Nickel came off the bench to score 24 points.

From one perspective, Clemson caught Pedulla and Nickel while they were lightning-hot (no other Hokie had more than eight points). On the other side, Clemson’s shooting has been dismal during the past two games.

The Tigers shot 44.4% Wednesday night on 28-63 shooting, only slightly better than the 36.2% they had against North Carolina. Three of Clemson’s best scorers – PJ Hall, Joe Girard, and Chase Hunter – were a combined 10-36 from the floor for 27.7%.

Ian Schieffelin continues to shine for Clemson Men's Basketball

The bright spot for the Tigers continues to be Ian Schieffelin, who had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Chauncey Wiggins tied with Girard with 12 points each, and Hall had 11.

The great start to the season has been dimmed by the Tigers falling into a hole in conference play. They are now 1-3 in the ACC, well behind the expected leaders UNC and Duke. Also at the top of the standings are Florida State, NC State, and Wake Forest, who are each tied with Duke at 3-1.

The Tigers now host two opponents at Littlejohn Coliseum. Boston College visits Saturday followed by Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Clemson then goes on the road for the next two contests at Florida State and Duke.

There is still time for Clemson to turn their losing streak around, but the Tigers didn’t show any notable signs Wednesday that they were coming out of this funk.