CLEMSON -- Alabama fans are used to watching their team go into other venues and administer hard lessons to the hosts.
Of course, that's usually in football.
Brad Brownell's basketball team went to Tuscaloosa earlier this week and gave a clinic in grown-man basketball.
The way last season ended -- the devastating NCAA snub, followed by the NIT home loss to Morehead State -- brought a galvanizing rallying cry for this team:
Leave no doubt.
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Yet this team's 6-0 record, and its authoritative victory over a good team at Coleman Coliseum, is about more than motivation for atonement.
Folks, this group is just plain good. Really good.
Brownell entered this game respectful of Alabama's high-flying offense, and knowing that things could get out of hand if Clemson went away from its desired identity.
We saw some of that recently in Asheville when the Tigers were so trigger-happy and eager that they played a bit too fast and forgot to get the ball into the paint.
Against lesser teams, you can get by on high-level shooters continuing to shoot under the premise that the ball is going to start going in sometime, and probably sometime soon.
But it was going to be hard to subsist on that approach Tuesday night.
That explains why Brownell said before the game in his radio interview with Tim Bourret that the best way to neutralize the Tide and the crowd was to get the ball into the paint.
The Tigers followed through on that plan beautifully. PJ Hall, Ian Schieffelin and RJ Godfrey combined for 41 points on 15-of-26 shooting with 25 rebounds, including 14 from Schieffelin.
When you add to that some seriously good outside shooting and seriously pesky defense, you're going to win a lot of games regardless of opponent and regardless of gym.
This team just has so many answers. More than it's had in a long time.
13 days ago, after Clemson dusted Boise State 85-68, we witnessed an interaction between Brownell and Broncos coach Leon Rice.
Brownell was leaving his postgame press conference, and Rice approached him.
"You guys are really good," gushed Rice, who has seen and coached a lot of good basketball.
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Fast-forward to Tuesday night's aftermath, and another opposing coach who's seen and coached a lot of good basketball teams.
Nate Oats' main message was that his team was served a lesson on how much it needs to improve for the wars against the SEC's best and most physical teams.
The Tide entered the game with the No. 1 offense in the country according to Ken Pomeroy's numbers.
Clemson made things a lot harder than Alabama was used to, running them off the 3-point line and making it hard for them to penetrate.
Oats' team hit 11 3-pointers, but on 35 attempts. The Tide was 12-of-32 on 2-point field-goal attempts, and 10-of-24 at the rim.
"I thought their physicality kind of got to us a little bit," Oats said. "We're definitely not tough enough to be competing for an SEC Championship right now, that's for sure. ... They're a good defensive team. They had some physicality and we weren't used to it. ...
"We're going to play tough, physical teams in the SEC, like a Tennessee that's going to do similar to what happened to us tonight. We've got to be ready for it. So playing a tough, physical team like Clemson with a lot of veteran guys that causes problems on our offensive end, it's good for us."
Entering a game against a team that had won 19 straight home games, it felt like this was a chance for Clemson to measure itself.
Turned out it was the inverse.
Now it's off to Pittsburgh for Sunday's ACC opener against 5-2 Pittsburgh. And then back home Wednesday for South Carolina in a rivalry game that will have more juice than it has in a while.
This team is quickly and thoroughly addressing some of last season's warts.
But it's about more than motivation and making things right.
This group is just plain good.
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