The proverbial wheels have seemingly come off the bus for Brad Brownell and Clemson Men's Basketball. Part of that has been due to injuries, which I know are part of the game, but still have to be factored in. Clemson has lost 6 in a row since Hunter Tyson left during their last win against FSU. Tyson broke his clavicle and hasn't returned since. During Saturday's 70-61 loss at Louisville, Clemson's best player PJ Hall left with an injury early in the game.
Hall aggravated a foot injury that he has been playing through most of this season. Thus far, there's no word on how severe the injury is and how much he'll miss because of it.
Clemson and Louisville played to almost a stalemate in the 1st half, with the Cardinals taking a 1 point lead into the break. They would outscore Clemson 42-34 in the second half. Clemson playing without Hall did get a nice performance from Guard Al-Amir Dawes. If Hall misses any length of time, Dawes will be called on to carry the scoring load.
Clemson shot 43% from the floor and 39% from deep. That is one of their best shooting performances in this now 6 game losing skid. Louisville shot 46% overall but just 28% from three point range. Louisville had an 8-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Clemson was minus 4 in turnover margin, turning it over 12 times to Louisville's 8.
Al-Amir Dawes had a game high 18 points, he also had the second most rebounds on the team with 7 from the guard spot. Naz Bohannon and Chase Hunter had 11 and 10 respectively, to put three Tigers in double figures. David Collins only scored 4 points but had 10 boards. For Louisville, Noah Locke had a team high 15, Malik Williams added a dozen and El Ellis chipped in 11. Jae'Lyn Withers scored 7 but had 10 boards for the Cards.
No matter how you cut it, the loss to Louisville is one that is a bad loss. This one of the least successful campaigns the tradition rich Cardinal program has had in sometime. With the win Louisville moves to 12-14 and 6-10 in ACC play. they are in danger of having the program's first losing season since the 2000-2001 campaign. Clemson is now 12-15, they have dropped 6 in a row and are 4-12 in ACC play. The Tigers are tied for last place in the league with N.C. State. Clemson has 4 regular season games remaining, they will host Wake on Wednesday night at 7 PM. A loss to the Demon Deacons would ensure a losing regular season campaign for the Tigers.
