Looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, Clemson hosts North Alabama in the programs’ first meeting on Monday.
After breezing through three outings against New Hampshire, Gardner-Webb and Morehead State, Clemson (3-1) faced its first true test on Saturday, falling 79-74 at Georgetown.
The Tigers led by seven midway through the first half and held a three-point halftime advantage, but allowed 46 second-half points by the Hoyas in an uncharacteristically poor defensive effort by head coach Brad Brownell’s group.
“I thought my guys really competed,” Brownell said. “It just wasn’t quite good enough, especially defensively, to slow them down and win a game. … I was very disappointed with our defense in the second half. I thought our kids played pretty hard. We got some young players and some guys from high mid-major basketball that got some exposure against some high-level play.”
For a Clemson team that returns just one contributor from last season in Dillon Hunter, the Tigers are still looking to acclimate to one another through the early part of the year. Nevada transfer Nick Davidson and redshirt freshman Ace Buckner each pace Clemson with 11.8 points per game, followed by Utah Valley transfer Carter Welling’s 11 ppg.
North Alabama (2-2) is also coming off a disappointing result, as it squandered an 18-point lead in a 78-74 home loss to East Tennessee State on Saturday. The Lions saw their 16-game home winning streak come to an end as a result, but eight-year head coach Tony Pujol expects the setback to serve his team well.
“I think this will be good for us,” Pujol told the TimesDaily. “It will help us understand how we need to make sure that when we have a game and we’re in control, we have to finish the game.”
North Alabama leading scorer and rebounder Corneilous Williams (16.3 ppg, 13.3 rebounds per game) struggled offensively, scoring just seven points on 2-for-6 shooting from the field, but hauled in 12 boards.
Monday marks the Lions’ second and final meeting with a power-conference opponent, following an 86-62 loss at Mississippi State in the season opener.
