Big Opportunity for Coach Brownell and the Clemson Tigers

Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) drives to the basket during the first half of the college basketball game between the Louisville Cardinals and Pittsburgh Panthers on January 11, 2025, at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Coach Brownell and his team have a tough challenge to end this week on Saturday against the 12-5 (3-3) Pittsburgh Panthers. Pittsburgh is looking to get back on the winning side of things before it is too late after three straight losses to Duke, Louisville, and Florida State. Head Coach Jeff Capel has steadily improved the Panthers over his tenure there, even making the NCAA Tournament once during the past three years. Last year, Pittsburgh finished 22-11 and were the fourth team out of the NCAA Tournament, but Coach Capel has his team’s sights set on getting that berth this season. The Panthers lost their two best players to the draft and graduation after last season, but Coach Capel trusted in his development, and his top players this season are both returners. Leading this 24-25 roster are two guards, Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett. Lowe is a former 2023 top 100 prospect, and during his sophomore campaign, he is averaging 17.2 points/g, 4.6 rbs/g, and 5.9 asts/g. Despite these good-looking numbers, Lowe has struggled with consistent shooting ability as he has shot under 40% from the field and under 30% from behind the arc. As anyone could tell, Lowe still does it all for Coach Capel, making his presence known in every phase of the game, but he needs to improve his shooting ability for the Panthers to truly get over that hump. He currently gets a lot of his work done on the free throw line and behind the arc because his opportunities given to him are so huge. Ishmael Leggett is the veteran presence for Coach Capel, and he has averaged just under 17 points/g and 5.6 rbs/g while shooting 49% from the field, but under 32% from deep. Leggett, like Lowe, also loves to get to the free throw line, but if either one of these guys or both are successful from deep, it will be a long day for Coach Brownell and his squad. The Tigers struggled against Memphis’ shooting duo of guards earlier this season, and it will not be favorable for them to struggle again. The duo of Cameron Cohen and Guillermo Diaz Graham have been cleaning up the glass for the Panthers within the paint. Cohen is a 6'10" transfer forward who has been averaging 11 points/g with 6 rbs/g, while Graham is a 7'0" that has been averaging 6.4 points/g and 5.7 rbs/g. These two huge big men do a great job within the Pittsburgh system, and the Pittsburgh backcourt also helps get rebounds as they mostly rebound by committee. The Panthers score over 80 points per game, and they rely heavily on the deep ball. They are 1-3 in Quad 1 games similar to Clemson’s 1-2 record, but one of these teams will have to improve that number on Saturday. It will be interesting to see the matchup between the Panthers’ dynamic guards against Clemson’s great defense.

On Clemson’s side of things, Coach Brownell and his squad have to continue proving themselves on the road. After a good win at Georgia Tech, the Tigers improved their road record to 2-3. Their three losses have come against teams ranked within the top 100 of the NET Rankings, while those lone two wins are against teams ranked below 150. Pittsburgh is currently ranked 31st, meaning Clemson will have an opportunity to change the narrative on Saturday. Their past game against Georgia Tech was filled with a great defensive effort, but the offense slumped early, allowing for the Yellow Jackets to stay within the game for longer than they should have. Against the Panthers, Clemson will not have room for very much error. As mentioned above, it will be an interesting matchup between the Pittsburgh offense and the Tiger defense, but that is also Clemson’s path to victory. Clemson allowed at least 74 points or more in each of their true road losses, which is eight points higher than what they have allowed on the whole season as an average. This difference is one of the reasons Clemson has struggled in these big-time road matchups. People normally say, “defense travels,” but that has not been the case for the Tigers so far. Their path to improving their road defense against the Panthers lies in guarding the deep ball effectively while forcing turnovers. In Pittsburgh’s past three losses, they have turned the ball over 37 total times. Clemson has excelled in forcing turnovers and getting steals, thanks to the transfer addition of Jaeden Zackery, and they will need to showcase this ability on Saturday. The Tigers also need to guard effectively from the three-point line because of the dangerous shooting ability from the Panthers across the floor. While so far this season they have not been very efficient, they will be able to start hitting shots at some point if given the opportunity. Clemson has to ensure they do not even give them multiple good looks from behind the arc or the Tigers could find themselves playing catch-up early on the road. Offensively, Coach Brownell has stated to his team that he does not want them to settle for early/quick shots. During these past couple of affairs, it has been visible from a viewing perspective that the Tiger offense has not operated at the level at which they would like. There have been a lot of early deep ball attempts into the shot clock and less physicality. While Clemson is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the ACC, they still need to operate their offense from inside-to-out. Both of Clemson’s stars, Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin, have to make their presence known to take home back-to-back road wins. Hunter has been exceptional as of late, so expect him to play a vital role in the Tigers' efforts. However, the Chef has been dealing with some injuries that have visibly affected his play. Schieffelin needs to get healthy and bring back his swagger within the paint for the Tigers to continue their success as ACC play drives on. Some possible x-factors on the offensive side of the ball for the Tigers could be anyone else on the roster. It seems that every game Coach Brownell has a different guy step up and make a difference whether it’s Jaeden Zackery, Dillon Hunter, Chauncey Wiggins, Del Jones, or Jake Heidbreder. Out of these guys, look for Chauncey Wiggins to have the greatest impact. The Tigers are undefeated when Wiggins scores 10 or more points in games, but his presence is needed on the glass along with on the scoreboard. So far this season, Wiggins has not put up very efficient numbers against solid road competition, but Coach Brownell will need the experienced junior on Saturday. This will be one of the best ACC matchups of the season as it is a Quad 1 opportunity for both rosters, and both head coaches know the difference this game would make as a resume builder.