Clemson eager to continue strong ACC start, hosts Pitt
Through three months of the season, No. 22 Clemson has been one of the best surprises in the country.
With a 77-63 win on the road against Georgia Tech last Saturday, the Tigers (17-4 , 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) are just one game behind No. 4 Duke in conference play.
The Tigers will look to continue the dream start to their season on Saturday afternoon against visiting Pitt.
With a 73-68 road win on Jan. 3, Clemson has defeated the Panthers 14 consecutive times.
Clemson has won 10 of its last 11 games with the only blip coming Jan. 20 in an overtime home loss to North Carolina State. Against Georgia Tech, it took the Tigers some time to show off their dominance.
The Tigers outscored Georgia Tech 42-30 in the second half to seal the win.
"Obviously, a terrific second half for our guys," said Clemson head coach Brad Brownell. "Defensively I thought we were better and obviously when you make shots, the game is a lot easier. ... Really happy with this win. Good bounce back by our guys."
Clemson's ride to being a ranked team was a bit unexpected given the amount of production the club lost to graduation and the transfer portal. Dillon Hunter, Dallas Thomas and Ace Buckner are the lone returning players for the Tigers.
Even with basically a new roster, a balanced attack has helped lead the Tigers. RJ Godfrey leads the way with 12.0 points per game while Jestin Porter and Carter Welling follow at 11.0 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. After that, the Tigers have six other players who average 5.5 points per game or more.
Against Georgia Tech, it was Jake Wahlin and Nick Davidson who led the scoring with 13 points apiece.
"That's the thing with our team," Brownell said. "Today was not a game where Carter Welling wasn't as good or maybe didn't get into a good flow. RJ was really good for a while and then got into foul trouble. We've had different nights where it's (Jestin Porter), it's Dylan -- today it was Jake Wahlin and Nick Davidson with (Ace Bucker() doing some really good things off the bench."
Like Clemson, Pitt (9-12, 2-6) also is coming off an 80-76 home win against Wake Forest.
"I'm proud of our guys," Panthers head coach Jeff Capel said after the win over Wake Forest. "What we've been through is difficult, but like we told our guys, you have to run towards it. You can't run from it. We put ourselves in the situation. We got to fight our way out of it and I'm proud of all the guys for continuing to show up, continuing to have a great attitude, continuing to fight."
Brandin Cummings leads the Panthers with 13.1 points per game. Cameron Cohen is the dominant big man inside for Pitt, as he's second on the team with 12.3 points per game and leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.