Clemson’s Overtime Loss to NC State Exposes Familiar Flaws, But the Tigers Aren’t Hitting the Panic Button
For No. 18 Clemson, Tuesday night’s 80-76 overtime loss to NC State didn’t so much reveal something new as it reaffirmed what the Tigers already knew: in the ACC, perfection is a myth, and every game is a grind.
Clemson entered the night unbeaten in conference play, riding a 6-0 ACC start that had them climbing the rankings and building momentum. But against a scrappy Wolfpack team that matched their energy and capitalized on mistakes, the Tigers saw that run come to an end - not with a collapse, but with the kind of narrow-margin loss that’s become a recurring theme this season.
This wasn’t a one-off. It’s been that kind of year for Clemson - a rollercoaster ride defined by resilience, flashes of brilliance, and just enough inconsistency to keep things interesting.
They’ve erased big deficits against West Virginia and No. 21 Georgia to win the Palmetto bracket of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic.
They’ve also watched double-digit leads evaporate - including a 22-point cushion against No. 13 BYU and a 27-point advantage over Cincinnati.
The Tigers held on to beat the Bearcats in Greenville, but fell short against BYU and No. 17 Alabama in other close calls.
After the Cincinnati win, head coach Brad Brownell summed it up with honesty: his team has played a lot of good halves - but not many complete games.
“We haven’t played a lot of full 40 minutes great,” Brownell said. “But I think some of that is, it’s hard to do. The other teams are good too.”
He’s not wrong. Alabama, BYU, Cincinnati - these aren’t cupcakes.
They’re well-coached, talented programs that, like Clemson, are trying to find consistency in a season where margins are razor-thin. And when you’re playing on that edge, even small lapses get magnified.
Tuesday night, it was free throws and turnovers that haunted Clemson. The Tigers went just 15-for-24 at the line and coughed the ball up 13 times - tough numbers to overcome in a game that needed extra time to settle.
Senior forward RJ Godfrey didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Free throws and turnovers,” he said. “We got to do better at that, especially myself.
I think I missed what - three tonight. Can’t happen.”
Godfrey finished 2-for-5 from the stripe and was one of three players who split a pair of free throws in overtime. Clemson also struggled from deep, connecting on just 9 of 28 from three-point range (32 percent), including several open looks that didn’t fall when it mattered most.
That’s been a trend, too. Even during their undefeated ACC stretch, the Tigers ranked just 10th in the conference in three-point shooting (.329) and 14th in free-throw percentage (.691).
In three of their seven league games - including home matchups against SMU and NC State - their opponents not only got to the line more often but also shot better from both the stripe and beyond the arc. SMU and NC State combined to shoot 35 percent from three and averaged 27 free-throw attempts, compared to Clemson’s 30.5 percent and 24 attempts.
And while Clemson has leaned on depth and ball security to stay afloat, they’re still searching for a true closer - that one player who can take over late and get a bucket when the game slows down. Seven different Tigers have led the team in scoring at least once this season, but the absence of a go-to scorer has become more noticeable in crunch time, especially since losing freshman guard Zac Foster to a season-ending knee injury in December. Foster was the team’s most versatile and dynamic offensive weapon - a guy who could create his own shot and open things up for others.
Brownell acknowledged the impact of not having that kind of player down the stretch.
“Maybe a little, not having just a guy,” he said. “Obviously, we were getting the ball inside a lot in the second half.
But that’s part of it. We’re fine.
We’ll learn from this. This happens.”
That’s the mindset Clemson is taking into the next stretch. This isn’t a team unraveling - it’s a team that knows exactly where it stands, what it does well, and what still needs work.
The Tigers have depth, they defend, and they share the ball. But they also know they can’t afford to leave points at the line or give away possessions in tight games.
The next opportunity to get back on track comes Saturday in Atlanta, where Clemson will face a Georgia Tech squad that’s better than its record suggests. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a gritty 78-74 win at NC State and rank fourth in the ACC in three-point shooting (39 percent), fifth in blocked shots, and sixth in offensive rebounding. In other words, another test.
But this Clemson team has been tested all season. They’ve been down big, they’ve held big leads, and they’ve had to grind out wins against quality opponents. The challenge now is to respond the right way - to tighten the screws, clean up the details, and keep stacking wins in a conference where every game feels like a coin flip.
“We’ve been through it all,” Godfrey said. “We’ve been a part of some really bad losses, and we’ve seen some of our leaders in the past lift us up. Using that experience and what we’ve learned is going to help us respond the right way.”
The Tigers don’t need to be perfect. They just need to be a little sharper - because in the ACC, that’s often the difference between a big win and a long walk back to the locker room.