Can Brownell and Co. Bounce Back?

Coach Brownell and Clemson looks to bounce back against the Noles. (Photo By: Charles Mays)

Clemson returns home to Littlejohn Coliseum on a cold, snow-expected Saturday in which they welcome the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State looks to be improving after three straight disappointing seasons under long-term Head Coach Leonard Hamilton as they have started the year 10-4 (1-2). The Seminoles are led by returning 6’7" Senior Guard Jamir Watkins. Watkins is in his second season with Florida State and is almost averaging 20 points/g with 4.6 rbs/g. He has significantly improved his abilities since his early days at VCU and has been a great addition by Coach Hamilton to the Seminoles’ roster. The other half of Florida State’s “Big Two” is 6'11" Forward Malique Ewin. The Junior is getting his first true opportunity on a college court after leaving the Ole Miss Rebels last season averaging 6 minutes per game. This year, he has started every game and averaged 13.3 pts/g and 7.3 rbs/g, which leads Florida State. Behind these two guys, the Seminoles produce by committee. Seven other players average over 10 minutes per game while five average over 6 points per game. The X-Factor for Florida State coming off the rest of their roster is True Freshman Daquan Davis. Davis has played in every contest so far, and in his first career start against Syracuse, Davis led the Seminoles with 18 points. Davis succeeded in getting to the line consistently, going 10-10 on free throws, which helped push FSU to a 16-point win. Expect to see Davis in the starting lineup for Florida State throughout this week as they will analyze if he has what it takes to produce consistently. If the Tigers are careless when guarding the Freshman, his ability to get to the free-throw line could haunt them. While the Florida State Seminoles look much improved from their last season, they have still yet to play a lot of tough competition. They lost their only ranked match-up so far to Florida, who is one of the best teams in the country; however, they also have losses to a struggling N.C. State and LSU.

The Tigers come into this contest after a heartbreaking defeat on the road at Louisville, which handed them their first ACC loss of the season. Throughout the last 23 minutes of that affair, Clemson was just outplayed and out-spirited by the very talented Cardinals team. Louisville suffocated Clemson on offense, inhibiting many second-chance points, while playing good clean defense that kept the Tigers off the free-throw line. Clemson's main source of offense during the second half fell on the deep ball, and that is no recipe for success, especially whilst playing on the road. Chase Hunter led the Tigers in scoring with 15; however, his performance was shadowed by his 4 total turnovers. Ian Schieffelin struggled all night, playing his worst game of the season. Schieffelin finished the night by scraping up a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in garbage time, but the Chef had turnover and foul issues that inhibited his performance. Struggling alongside Schieffelin within the paint was Viktor Lakhin. Lakhin shot just 2-9 from the field as he missed many opportunities at the rim. Clemson needed to take advantage of the less productive Cardinal big men; however, they were just out-toughed on the road. Looking ahead to Florida State, our Tigers have to take advantage of the talent gap. Ian Schieffelin needs to have a big bounce-back game to ensure the Seminoles do not pull one over on Coach Brownell on the road. The Chef has been more inconsistent than fans would like so far this season, so it will be important for him to find consistency throughout ACC play. Another vital Tiger that has struggled with inconsistencies is starting Forward Chauncey Wiggins. Clemson is undefeated in games this season where Wiggins scores in the double-digits, but Coach Brownell does not always know what he will get from him. After two incredible 15+ point performances, Wiggins goes on the road to Louisville and shoots under 40% from the field while scoring just 8 points. It has also been important for the 6’10" Junior to crash the boards, but against the Cards, he finished with just 2 rebounds. Wiggins needs a big game against the Seminoles to gain his confidence back for important upcoming ACC games. Clemson will not be trying to bounce back against a lower opponent as Florida State plays defense on the same, if not at a better level than the Louisville Cardinals. The Seminoles force more steals per game and are licking their chops at a Clemson roster that gave up 13 turnovers. The Tigers must protect the ball on their home territory to ensure they do not upset the home crowd on Saturday. This game will be a Quad 2 opportunity for the Tigers, and expect this to be a low-scoring affair with these two great defensive teams.

Stats Source: ESPN