Clemson basketball smashes NC State, moves on to ACC Tournament semifinal

Clemson basketball had already earned the coveted double-bye at the ACC Tournament and its highest conference tournament seed since 2008. But the No. 3-seed Tigers' first game at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday still felt like a must-win if they were to keep their March Madness hopes alive.

Clemson got that necessary win, getting past No. 6-seed NC State 80-54. It was the Tigers' sixth straight win over the Wolfpack and third this season. All three of those wins came by double digits.

The victory helped Clemson buck a trend: The Tigers entered this postseason having lost in their first game at the conference tournament 49 times. Now, they're on to the semifinals.

The win was also a boost for Clemson's NCAA Tournament aspirations. The Tigers (23-9) entered Thursday as one of the "first four out" in ESPN's latest bracketology. Beating NC State (23-10), which was ranked No. 37 in the NET before the quarterfinal, will help Clemson's resume. The Tigers will move up from their current standing at No. 61.

"I thought we had to win today to make sure, but to me, we should be in," coach Brad Brownell said. "The way we've played, the margin of victory in most of our games, a lot of these ACC wins, beating (NC State) the way we did.... Yes, we should be in the tournament."

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Clemson overcomes slow start

NC State got out to an early lead, going up by nine before the midway point of the first half. NC State's leading scorer this season, Jarkel Joiner, had 10 points in the first seven minutes of the game.

Then Clemson settled in on both ends of the floor. The Tigers went on a 13-0 run over about four minutes to take a four-point lead. Leading scorer PJ Hall had five of the 13 points himself. Clemson never relinquished the lead, and the Tigers held Joiner scoreless for the rest of the game.

"It's natural that you might be just a little in awe instead of ready to go after it all the way," Brownell said. "I think you kind of get knocked around a little bit, and then you get back to competing. I think that happened to us."

Tigers' game of runs leads to big second half

The 13-0 run in the first half was a sign of things to come for Clemson. The Tigers put together double-digit scoring runs three separate times.

In the second half, a 10-0 run over 3:23 gave Clemson a 13-point lead. Minutes later, the Tigers went on another 13-0 tear that included four straight points from PJ Hall. He finished the game tied with teammate Ian Schieffelin to lead all scorers with 15.

The long scoring runs helped Clemson outscore NC State 41-18 in the second half. Those 18 points were the fewest the Tigers allowed in a half since Loyola Maryland had 14 in the first half on Nov. 21.

Up next

Clemson advances to the ACC Tournament semifinal to face No. 2-seed Virginia on Friday (9:30 ET, ESPN/ESPN2).

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson basketball dominates NC State at ACC Tournament