Clemson gets its first real measuring stick of the season on Friday night, and it comes with a familiar edge. The Tigers are 3-0 and looking to stay unbeaten, but Georgetown arrives in Death Valley with enough early-season pop to make this one feel like more than a November tune-up.
Brad Brownell already knows what this matchup can look like. Last season, Clemson went to Washington, D.C. and ran into a Hoyas team that was too physical and too difficult to get comfortable against, dropping its first game of the year. This time, the Tigers get the home floor, and Brownell is hoping that changes the script.
“We can’t keep giving up this many threes and giving up these kind of percentages and expect to beat teams that are big and strong and physical,” he said.
Clemson is coming off a win over North Dakota, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. The Tigers trailed by two at halftime before turning things around with a second-half surge that flipped the game into a double-digit win. Even so, Brownell’s concerns are clear, especially with a rotation that has been trimmed down to eight players.
“Our lack of depth is hurting us because it’s hard for us to be disruptive,” he said on Monday. “We got guys we don’t want fouling.
We can’t get as extended. It makes it harder.”
That short bench will be part of the challenge again Friday. Clemson is still dealing with the reality of eligibility issues, injuries and players who are still developing, and Brownell knows that leaves little margin for error against a team like Georgetown.
The Hoyas have started fast themselves, and their best win so far came last weekend against Maryland, a 12-point victory in a game that was tight on paper before Georgetown took control. The biggest warning sign for Clemson: Georgetown knocked down 50% of its three-pointers in that win, giving the Hoyas a dangerous look from all over the floor.
A lot of that starts with Jaland Lowe, the former ACC guard who played at Pitt for his first two seasons and saw Clemson in each of those years before heading to Kentucky last season. He scored in double figures in two of the three games against the Tigers during that stretch.
Ed Cooley’s teams have a reputation for being physical, and this one fits that mold. Clemson is expecting a full 40-minute battle, and if the Tigers can get through it, the payoff could be significant as they head toward the Maui Invitational in under two weeks.
Clemson is listed as a 4.5-point favorite at home, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is 148.5 points.
The series has been all Georgetown so far. The schools have met only twice, and the Hoyas have won both, including a 79-74 win last season in Washington, D.C. that handed Clemson its first loss of the year.
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