From the very beginning, there was no doubt who was the better team in last night’s game of Clemson (22-11) versus UAB (22-9). While UAB actually had the better regular season record, Clemson was the favored team and played as such. UAB only led for 51 seconds in the game, as Clemson’s players led them out to an early lead and kept them there for the entire game. After going on a 21-2 run early during the first half, Clemson took a commanding 25-7 lead and never looked back.
Many of Clemson’s key players all had big games, including Milton Jennings (11 points), Tanner Smith (10 points), and Devin Booker (10). As they stated postgame, they were out to prove something to the NCAA selection committee, showing them that they truly belonged in the tournament.
After winning their game, Clemson boarded a charter flight to Tampa late last night. With only a little over 36 hours to prepare for their next game against West Virginia – Thursday, 12:15 PM at the St. Pete Times Forum – Clemson is going to need all the time they can to prepare. West Virginia is currently considered the favorite, with Clemson having around a 45% chance of winning the game, but as we’ve seen in March Madness, anything is possible.