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Clemson basketball vomit up historically bad 1st half vs McNeese State

Published 1 day ago2 minute read

Clemson basketball made history, but not in a good way. The No. 5 seeded Tigers underperformed in the first half against the No. 15 seed McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, eventually losing.

The Tigers finished the season with a 27-6 overall record and went 18-2 in ACC play. Besides those numbers, the Tigers were 7.5-point underdogs against the Cowboys. Plus the Tigers were without one of Dillon Hunter, who broke his hand in the ACC tournament.

The Tigers trailed 31-13 at the end of the first half and put up some woeful numbers, per Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports.

They shot 21% from the field compared to the Cowboys who shot 44%. The Tigers only made five field goals and turned the ball over ten times whereas the Cowboys only had four.

Clemson basketball converted on one three-pointer and scored only four second-chance points. The Cowboys outscored the Tigers 26-8 in points in the paint and 19-2 in bench points.

The Tigers also made 6 of their 13 points in the first four minutes of the game.

Mar 20, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys guard Brandon Murray (23) grabs a rebound against Clemson Tigers guard Del Jones (10) during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Aside from the scoring exploits of transfer guard Jaeden Zackery, none of the other Tigers contributed.

Despite mounting an incredible second-half run, the Tigers fell short 69-67 in an upset.

Related Clemson Basketball NewsArticle continues below

The Tigers now find themselves in a unique class of underperformers. While some may think the Tigers set a new record, they at least come up a few points short.

The fewest first-half points were 10 by Wake Forest in 2001 and Kent State in 2008. These were the lowest-scoring first halves in the shot clock era since 1896.

This look doesn't bold well for Tigers head coach Brad Brownell who signed a new five-year contract with $20 million.

The Tigers have five senior players (Daniel Nauseef, Matt Kelly, Andrew Latiff, Viktor Lashin, and Ian Schieffelin). Zackery who is a graduate student who transferred from Boston College.

It is safe to say this wasn't the way they expected go out especially in the first round and under these circumstances.

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