Clemson Tigers Head Coach Expresses Displeasure in Team Performance

Brad Brownell recently spoke about his displeasure about the toughness of the Clemson Tigers

Dec 17, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers are off to a solid start this season, but they recently suffered their first conference loss of the year. 

It has been a good stretch of basketball to start the new year for the Tigers. However, in a tough road test against the Louisville Cardinals, Clemson came up short, losing by a score of 74-64. 

In the loss, the Cardinals saw an amazing performance from their star J'Vonne Hadley. The Louisville star totaled a game-high 32 points on an extremely efficient 10-for-12 shooting from the field. In addition to being the high scorer, he also totaled 10 rebounds and four assists in a great game. 

For the Tigers, Ian Schieffelin was arguably the best player on the court for them. The senior recorded another double-double in a 10-point, 10-rebound performance. However, his front court partner Viktor Lakhin really struggled, going two-for-nine from the field. 

After the loss, head coach Brad Brownell spoke to Jason Priester of The Clemson Insider about the loss. 

“Disappointed in our team’s performance,” Brad Brownell said after the loss. “Didn’t think we played with the type of force or toughness necessary to come into this environment and be successful. I didn’t think we played with very good poise tonight. Just a little disappointed in the way we played.”

Playing in Louisville has been tough for Clemson of late. In their last nine games, they have lost each of them on the road. As the Tigers were hoping to get back into the AP Top 25, that will likely have to wait after this loss. 

In the loss to the Cardinals, the defense did struggle a bit at times, especially against Hadley. Also, the offense got rattled at times in the environment, which is understandable being just their second conference road game of the year.

Now, the Tigers are tied with Louisville for second in the ACC with a (4-1) record. Both teams will be looking up at the Duke Blue Devils in the standings, as Cooper Flagg is proving to be the real deal so far. 

So far, the ACC isn’t looking like the strongest conference in the country. With that being said, it will be important for Clemson to avoid having too many losses if they want to make the NCAA Tournament this season as an at-large team. There will be some favorable games coming up on the schedule, and the Tigers must avoid a let-down. 

The Tigers will be back at home on Saturday to face off with the Florida State Seminoles. Tip-off will be at 2 p.m. EST and coverage will be on the ACC Network.