Pressure situation
CLEMSON -- As it prepared for the ACC Tournament, Clemson didn't face a heaping amount of pressure on the surface.
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That was based on the assumption that the Tigers were well better than a No. 6 seed in Washington and would show that.
The narrowest of margins separated this team from an all-important double-bye in the conference tournament. And while losing out on that made winning the whole thing an unlikely proposition, a lengthy run was considered more likely than this team going to the District and stinking up the joint.
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History would've of course laughed at that idea. Before last night, Clemson had made 70 trips to the ACC Tournament and gone one-and-done 48 times.
So yes, it's kind of the rule. So much so that a suitable sponsor for the Tigers' yearly treks to the ACC Tournament could be brought to you by QuikTrip.
But this year, this team, was supposed to be an exception to the rule.
Yes, expected to be.
Lofty expectations don't often accompany Clemson basketball in the same ways they loom over the football program. But a confluence of factors, including the presence of a franchise player in PJ Hall and addition of a top-shelf scorer in Joe Girard, pushed the bar particularly high this year.
A year ago, the pre-conference schedule cursed the Tigers because of losses to bad teams.
This year, the pre-conference schedule hangs over their heads because they can't consistently rediscover the mojo and confidence that lifted them to huge wins over really good teams.
At one point late in the regular season, Brad Brownell seemed to be trying to rekindle that November and December magic by reminding his players how much fun they were having in those days.
Earlier this week, Brownell labeled this a "good" season but stopped short of great because of what happened in ACC play.
Even he expected better.
The difference between good and great was a few games that could've gone either way.
Then last night happened. And it went all one way.
Boston College was Clemson's 21st ACC game this season. The Tigers are 11-10 in those games and have lost to the following teams that finished with losing conference records:
Miami 6-14
Notre Dame 7-13
Georgia Tech 7-13
Boston College 8-12
N.C. State 9-11
That list of losing records becomes six teams if you count Virginia Tech, which lost to Florida State in Washington to fall to 10-11 in ACC games this year.
Brownell seemed genuinely perplexed late last night as he assessed the carnage
"I don't understand. Defensively I thought we were OK, but we didn't get any defensive rebounds. ... We just weren't quite ready. Ultimately that's on me. I don't really understand it. I thought we were. But we looked a half step slow and lacked urgency."
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It could well be that over the next week this team rediscovers its urgency and its purpose.
But Brownell's main messaging to his team leading up to last night was to play loose and free. They looked the opposite of that in absorbing Clemson's worst ACC Tournament loss since Duke hammered Larry Shyatt's group by 31 in the 1999-2000 season.
From talk of claiming the school's first ACC Tournament championship, to the worst tournament loss in 24 years.
Bottom line, in the aftermath of that debacle it's hard to suddenly start executing with looseness and freedom come NCAA Tournament time.
Sunday's NCAA selection show should be suspense-free after the snub last year, but this team will have some baggage as it settles in to watch the proceedings.
Clemson began ACC play in a 1-3 rut, and now the Tigers have lost three of their last four.
Hall, the franchise player, has somehow pulled down a grand total of three rebounds over 65 minutes of play in the past two games.
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Chase Hunter, who on Senior Night the week before promised grand postseason things, produced an unsightly plus-minus of minus-29 while going 0-for-10 from the field with two points, two assists and two turnovers.
The team as a whole was outworked on the glass, allowing Boston College to snare 13 offensive rebounds and end with a 43-27 overall advantage on the boards.
There's still time to make good on last year's snub, make good on all the what-ifs, to make this season meet lofty and realistic expectations.
But time is running out.
And if the pressure wasn't ever-present when this team embarked for Washington, it's certainly pervasive upon the Tigers' quick return.
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