Monday March 24, 2008

Hurt

Hurt
It seems easier to blow an 18-point lead today than ever before but it didn’t taste too good Friday night. I saw several things that led to the Tigers 75-69 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Here are those factors:

*Clemson fell in love with the 3-pointer
The Tigers got hot early from behind the arch and the terrific shooting helped build the huge lead. Unfortunately, we all knew that kind of shooting cannot continue throughout the entire game. When Clemson went cold from the outside, the offense became stagnant.

*The Tigers had no inside game on the offensive end
Clemson only scored 18 points in the paint. Booker and Mays got in foul trouble and Villanova did a nice job of collapsing on the interior offense. The Tigers stopped looking inside and were forced to take lower percentage shots.

*Clemson was shutdown on the offensive glass
James Mays and Trevor Booker combined for a total of zero offensive rebounds. Some of that was effort but a lot was Villanova’s defense. Also shot selection had a lot to do with it. Clemson won a bunch of games in the last two years by pounding the offensive boards but that was not the case Friday night.

* The press was ineffective because the Tigers could not score in the second half
Clemson could not score in the second half so they could not press the Wildcats. It is impossible to press unless you make shots and the best way to beat a press is to play great half court defense and shut down the pressing team’s offense.

*The offense was offensive in the second stanza
When you shoot 12% from 3-point land it hurts. The Tigers shot just 25% from the field in the half. Clemson only made seven field goals in the period. Shot selection was bad and shooting was worse.

*Free throw shooting showed up again
A 14-23 performance was nothing new for this team. When you shoot 60% from the line it can be demoralizing.

*Officiating
It does not sound credible when it comes from me because I constantly complain about officiating but Friday night was a joke. I had several issues with the officiating Friday. First, they called a total of nine fouls in the first half (Clemson 6, Villanova 3) and 31 in the second half (Clemson 18, Villanova 13).

There were a grand total of two free throws shot in the first half and 50 shot in the second half. All players and coaches want is consistency. The first half both teams were allowed to play. It was a physical brand of basketball that suited both programs. However, the second half everything changed. All of the sudden the refs started calling touch fouls.

Booker and Mays had one foul each in the first half but both fouled out. Booker had four fouls in the second half and fouled out with 6:44 left in the game. His second foul came with 15:58 and his fifth with 6:44. In other words he was whistled four times in nine minutes and 14 seconds.

Besides the consistency, I had a problem with the timing of fouls. Clemson played terrible in the second half but did come back to tie the game at 66-66 with 1:55 to go. Then the officials called two awful fouls on the Tigers that sent Villanova to the line and the Wildcats had a 70-66 margin. In my opinion, the game was then over. Mays’ fifth foul with the game tied at 66-66 came at 1:37 on the clock but it was a joke of a call. Both players were just leaning on each other and they called an inexplicable foul on Mays.

Clemson should have won the game because blowing an 18-point lead should not happen. They played bad in the second half and should have never been put in that position but no one can convince me that officiating was not a huge part of the outcome of the game Friday. There was no consistency and the Tigers played the game without their two best big men late because of the officiating.

I hope the younger guys will benefit from the NCAA appearance because the tournament is different and experience is a factor. I know we will miss Mays, Sam Perry and Cliff Hammonds but I fully expect this team to get back into the NCAA tournament next season.

I used to say that the difference between basketball and football at Clemson is that when we lose in football it hurts for five days but when we lose in basketball it hurts for five minutes. This is different because this one really hurts. I would have loved to have written today about the Tigers and their chances in the Sweet 16.

This one will hurt for a while but this will not be a one-hit wonder. I am already looking forward to the 2008-09 basketball season and I think bigger and better are on the way. I know Clemson basketball will get better which is more than I can say about the officiating.

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