Looking to record a third dominant outing to begin the season, high-scoring Clemson will host defensively challenged Morehead State on Tuesday night.
Clemson (2-0) has breezed past New Hampshire and Gardner-Webb for 50- and 38-point victories, respectively. For a Tigers team that returned just one contributor from last season in Dillon Hunter, head coach Brad Brownell is already relying on the new faces for depth. The longest-tenured Atlantic Coast Conference coach has used 12 players in each of the first two games.
“The biggest difference (from past teams) is just we’re playing so many different players,” Brownell said. “We’re picking up full court and playing faster on offense right now. … We’re just getting used to that. When you have as many new players as we have, it’s challenging to get everybody on the same page.”
On a roster that doesn’t include a single walk-on spot, Brownell has had the luxury of giving his freshmen opportunities to gain valuable playing time in the early part of the season. First-year guard Zac Foster is averaging 20.5 minutes per game, while fellow frosh Ace Buckner and Chase Thompson have averaged 18 minutes through their first two career contests.
“Chase, Zac and Ace are the three right now getting more of the minutes of the young players,” Brownell said. “It’s important that all guys get some time and try to get comfortable as best as they can, because it’s a new system for everybody, and guys need to play with each other.”
Buckner leads Clemson with 14.5 points per game, followed by Nick Davidson’s 14 and Carter Welling’s 12.
If the Tigers are looking to enjoy another offensive outburst, it appears Morehead State might be the right team to allow it. The Eagles (1-2) have surrendered 95 points per game, including a 120-spot to Georgia in a 39-point loss Sunday.
As Morehead State readies for its third Power 4 opponent in as many games — it lost at Wake Forest 81-65 on Friday — second-year head coach Jonathan Mattox is taking the positives from a poor defensive effort.
“I was really proud of my team,” Mattox said after the Georgia loss. “We had 18 offensive rebounds and 26 second-chance points. I thought there were some bright spots, we only had five turnovers in the second half. There was some good film for us to take away.”
Senior George Marshall paces the Eagles with 16 ppg, while Jon Carroll adds 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
