Offense Shows Balance in Impressive Second Straight Win for Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers showed a lot of balance on offense in a recent victory.

Clemson center Christian Reeves (14) warms up before tipoff at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C Monday, November 4, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers were able to win their second straight game to start the young season, as the offense continued to look good.

As a big favorite against St. Francis (PA) Red Flash, the Tigers were able to stay perfect in the early part of the season. Clemson won by a score of 88-62, as the Tigers won this game rather easily. 

There are still going to be a lot of questions about Clemson as the new campaign gets going, as this is a different-looking team compared to the one that made the Elite 8 last year. Losing PJ Hall and Joesph Girard III is certainly going to impact the offense this season. 

Players are going to need to step up into those roles in order for the Tigers to have a good season, and so far one player who has really stepped up is guard Chase Hunter. In the first game of the season, Hunter led the way for Clemson with 17 points on six-for-nine shooting from the field and a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc. 

While Hunter might be the leading scorer this season, in the win over the Red Flash, it was a couple of other players who stepped up in the scoring department. Senior Ian Schieffelin led the way with a massive double-double, as he totaled a team-high 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. 

The balance on offense of the Tigers was encouraging to see, as four of the five starters scored in double figures, as only center Viktor Lakhin didn’t score in double-figures, but he was a perfect four-for-four from the field. 

Overall, the team played very well, as it was the second straight game in which they shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Also, they out-rebounded St. Francis by 12 and had 10 more assists. 

It was a fairly complete game by Clemson, as the team is off to a nice start on both ends of the court this season. Despite losing their top two scorers, scoring has been too much of a problem so far for the Tigers, as in their two wins they are showing a lot of balance. When things heat up, they will need to identify who their go-to player is on offense, but the balance has been nice so far. 

Next up for Clemson will be another home game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels from the Atlantic Sun. The Tigers will be hoping to make it a perfect 3-0 in that game, as the team continues to gel together.