The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Los Angeles with a recap of Clemson-Arizona.
Not too many people expected the Tigers to be here, especially after getting destroyed by BC in the 2nd round of the ACC tourney in DC, while the Wildcats have a ton of fan support in LA and dreams of a trip to Glendale dancing in their heads. Let’s tip it off from way up high:
Clemson came out strong with contributions from everybody: SR G Chase Hunter made a bunch of layups, JR F Ian Schieffelin knocked down a pair of jump shots and a 3, SO F Chauncey Wiggins made a couple of shots from behind the arc, and SR F PJ Hall scored from all over the court. Arizona SR C Oumar Ballo was unstoppable inside including a 1-handed alleyoop dunk that had the crowd going wild, but Clemson was still able to head to halftime with a 39-31 lead.
The last and only time that Clemson had made the Elite 8 was 1980, when Larry Nance was a JR and Brad Brownell was…11 years old! Ballo kept doing damage inside (finishing with a double-double), but his atrocious 1-7 FT shooting was a glaring weakness. He finally got some help from his backcourt in the form of SR G Caleb Love (0-9 3PM but made most of his attempts in the paint) and SO G Jaden Bradley (who made a pair of threes in the hopes of facing his former teammates from Alabama on Saturday), but it was too little too late. Hall made a bunch of layups/dunks to build the lead and then let the Hunter brothers seal the deal in the final 30 seconds. Older brother Chase converted an and-1 to extend the lead to 75-70, younger brother Dillon made a layup to make it 77-72, and that ended up being the final score.
Instead of attending the postgame press conference I headed to the Clemson locker room for a pair of interviews:
SO F RJ Godfrey
What does it mean to make the Elite 8 for the 1st time in school history since 1980? It is insane, and the most memorable game of my career: God has blessed me.
Is it extra-special to win it with teammates Chase/Dillon Hunter? It is: our fathers were childhood friends and we see each other as cousins.
Speaking of family, did any of yours make it to the game? I had some family come up from San Diego, and my dad/mom/sister flew in to see me. Our fans also traveled well.
How will you prepare for your opponent on Saturday? We will have a meeting tonight but are familiar with both teams from facing them earlier this season.
SO G Dillon Hunter
What does it mean to make the Elite 8 for the 1st time in school history since 1980? It is a huge deal and I know how special this moment is. Coach Brownell has told us all year that we can be a Final 4 team.
Where do those final 30 seconds rank among the Hunter family highlights?! It is up there in the top-3, but we will probably not realize how big it is until we talk about it later tonight.
Is it extra-special to win it with teammate RJ Godfrey? It is: our fathers were teammates/roommates at Georgia and both of our families are from Valdosta. We have been playing AAU basketball together since the 2nd grade.
How will you prepare for your opponent on Saturday? We will watch the game tonight and our coaches will have us prepared on Saturday.
That is a wrap for Game #1, check back later for a recap of Alabama-North Carolina.