Clemson is the only charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference that has never won the league tournament.
While the Tigers have gone 0-for-70 in their quest to capture an ACC banner, Duke has 22 titles and North Carolina 18.
It’s a daunting history for third-seeded Clemson (26-5) as it opens in the ACC quarterfinals against sixth-seeded SMU (23-9) on Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C.
This might be the best-ever chance for the Tigers, who are riding an eight-game winning streak that started Feb. 8 with a 77-71 victory over then-second-ranked Duke.
Clemson enters the tournament, where it never has won more than two games in a row, ranked 10th in the nation. Fifty times, it has lost its first tournament game.
Brad Brownell, the winningest coach in Clemson history, has a 7-14 record in the tournament and has never reached the title game.
“I don’t go there right now. Obviously, it would be a big deal,” Brownell said. “What it would mean to my players, what it would mean to our fans, I’m very cognizant of that. But, like, we need to win the first game.”
Last year, the Tigers were one-and-done, coming out flat in a 76-55 loss to lower-seeded Boston College.
Clemson has had a remarkably stress-free season, with 15 of its 18 conference wins by double-digit margins.
The Tigers’ winning streak has come despite a troubling slump from Chase Hunter, a first-team All-ACC choice. In the past six games, he is averaging 9.3 points and has hit just 35.8 percent of his shots from the floor — well below his season averages of 16 points and 47.2 percent.
“There have been a couple games when people have tried to take him out more. And when that’s happened, I feel like it’s made our other guys better because it opens up so much more space,” Brownell said. “I’m not worried.”
Helping to pick up the slack during the winning streak have been Viktor Lakhin, who has averaged 16 points and 7.1 rebounds a game, and Ian Schieffelin, who has put up 13 points and 8.6 boards.
Hunter was Clemson’s key player last year in its NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight. In four tournament games, he averaged 17.8 points and 5.8 assists.
SMU advanced Wednesday in the ACC tournament with a 73-53 win over Syracuse as Matt Cross led a balanced attack with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Equal-opportunity scoring is nothing new for the Mustangs, as they have six players who average in double figures, led by Boopie Miller (13.3 ppg) and Chuck Harris (12.9).
SMU is one of the teams Clemson took down on its current streak, winning in Dallas 79-69 on Feb. 22. Clemson’s Jaeden Zackery had 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.
The Mustangs dominated the glass 39-24, but the Tigers answered with 14-of-29 shooting from 3-point range (48.3 percent) as Zackery hit five shots from deep.
One key to the result was a foot injury that sidelined Miller, who also leads SMU in assists (5.6).
“We’re 21-6 with him and 2-3 without him, so it shows how important it is to have him on the court,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said.
– Field Level Media
