As the regular season winds down in the Atlantic Coast Conference, plenty still hangs in the balance ahead of Tuesday’s meeting between Syracuse and host Clemson.
Following Clemson’s 77-68 win at Syracuse on Feb. 10, the Orange have won five of their last six games and enter the matchup winners of four in a row.
Most recently, Syracuse (20-10, 11-8) held off a pesky Louisville team for an 82-76 win, catapulting the Orange to fourth in the league’s standings.
A pair of sophomores led the charge, as Chris Bell scored a game-high 23 points, while Judah Mintz followed with 21.
“I thought this was Chris Bell’s best game in a (Syracuse) uniform,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “He made some huge plays. Seven rebounds, three blocks. I was really happy for him … Judah Mintz stepped up when we needed him to like he’s done all year. He’s one of the most consistent players in our league and in college basketball. He’s a guy you can depend on every game.”
Mintz, who leads the team with 18.7 points per game, has scored in double figures in 28 of 30 games this season. JJ Starling adds 13.6 points per contest, followed by Bell’s 12.2.
Clemson (20-9, 10-8) was playing some of its best basketball of the season entering Saturday, having won six of seven games in conference play.
The Tigers’ run came to an end, however, as they suffered a surprising defeat to Notre Dame, 69-62, in which Clemson shot just 5-for-28 (17.9 percent) on 3-pointers.
Battling an injury bug, Clemson was without its third-leading rebounder in conference play, Jack Clark (6.4 rpg). Tigers coach Brad Brownell knows it’s difficult to win in March without a full arsenal.
“We had seven players at practice on Friday,” Brownell said. “We dressed eight today. This isn’t good. Our practices are not very good right now. They’re extremely limited, and when they’re limited you’re not going to be as effective.”
PJ Hall leads the team with 18.6 points per game, while Joseph Girard III added 15.6.
A Clemson win Tuesday would give the Tigers a season sweep over the Orange to push past them in the hunt for a double-bye in next week’s ACC tournament.
–Field Level Media