{"id":5493,"date":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dwjqp1.com\/march-madness-clemson-3b8722693323bf72a97b9a6be48b046b\/"},"modified":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","slug":"march-madness-clemson-3b8722693323bf72a97b9a6be48b046b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwjqp1.com\/march-madness-clemson-3b8722693323bf72a97b9a6be48b046b\/","title":{"rendered":"Clemson can't get crucial stops vs. Alabama as Tigers' bid for first Final Four falls short"},"content":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Clemson reached its second-ever Elite Eight with a staunch defense that took away opponents\u2019 perimeter game.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, the Tigers couldn\u2019t get the stops they needed.<\/p>\n
Alabama was 16 of 23 from the field in the final 20 minutes \u2014 including 10 of 15 on 3-pointers \u2014 as the Tigers\u2019 bid for their first Final Four fell short, 89-82 in the West Region final<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, they hit big shots, man. They really spread us out,\u201d said forward PJ Hall, who scored 14 points before he fouled out with 3:25 remaining. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t quite get the misses we needed them to make.\u201d<\/p>\n In its three previous NCAA Tournament games, Clemson held opponents to 65 of 185 from the field (35.1%) and 14 of 75 on 3-pointers (18.6%).<\/p>\n Alabama shot 46.8% from the field (29 of 62). The Tigers won all 17 games when they held opponents under 40%, but went 7-12 when they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Clemson played at its pace during the first 12 minutes. It built a 26-13 lead and held Alabama to 1 of 13 on 3-pointers. Then the Crimson Tide\u2019s Jarin Stevenson connected from the corner. Including that shot, Alabama closed the game by going 15 of 23 beyond the arc.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n UConn dominates for 10th straight double-digit tournament victory beating Illinois 77-52<\/a><\/p>\n Alabama rides tidal wave of 3-pointers to beat Clemson 89-82 and reach 1st Final Four ever<\/a><\/p>\n Illinois\u2019 Final Four hopes evaporate in second-half collapse against defending champ UConn<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe knew going into the game that\u2019s what they like to do. And they shoot them fast, especially when they\u2019re making them. When they\u2019re making them and the momentum is going and they\u2019re rolling, they get those 3s up fast and it seems like they\u2019ll never miss,\u201d said Joseph Girard III, who led the Tigers with 19 points.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Tigers coach Brad Brownell said Alabama was quicker in transition in the second half, which thwarted a couple of Clemson runs.<\/p>\n One of those came early in the second half. Girard made a pullup jumper to get the Tigers within 52-49, but the Tide quickly pushed the ball down the court and Stevenson hit another 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re big. We\u2019re physical. We\u2019re tough. We\u2019re smart. But we\u2019re not very fast. In the second half it was a problem for us,\u201d Brownell said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t keep them in front of us. When they start making 3s, you start inching out in space. And even them shooting before we could get down and get our zone set a couple times, there\u2019s not many teams that play that way.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tigers finished 24-12 and will lose four starters. Hall and Chase Hunter were part of a group that made the NCAA Tournament twice and got the program to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s stacked up a quiet resume that has helped build the program up,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe can attribute that to the coaching staff and the culture they\u2019ve built. We came into a situation where it was a doubted culture, even though they had such a great thing building up. And to come in here, validate what they\u2019ve done, validate the work they do, is special. And it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n AP March Madness bracket: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ncaa-mens-bracket<\/a> and coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/march-madness<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Clemson reached its second-ever Elite Eight with a staunch defense that took away opponents\u2019 perimeter game. On Saturday night, the Tigers couldn\u2019t get the stops they needed. Alabama was 16 of 23 from the field in the final 20 minutes \u2014 including 10 of 15 on 3-pointers \u2014 as the Tigers\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[1975,1963,560,223,248,221,1971,2754,2051],"yoast_head":"\n
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