NCAA Tournament: Clemson tops Arizona for rare Elite Eight berth

Chase Hunter scores 18 points and converts a three-point play with 25.7 seconds left, as the sixth-seeded Tigers reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980, beating No. 2 seed Arizona, 77-72, in a West Region semifinal at Crypto.com Arena.

LOS ANGELES — The Clemson basketball team was unfazed by pregame “U of A” chants, then went out and remained cool under pressure to make some program history.

Chase Hunter scored 18 points and converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining, and Clemson used stifling perimeter defense and clutch shooting to advance to the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history, beating Arizona, 77-72, in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“That was definitely a big moment for our team,” Hunter said postgame about his game-sealing basket. “When that went in I had confidence we were going to win that game.”

“Chase Hunter is the best two-way guard in America now,” said Clemson senior center PJ Hall, who scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11), who advanced to face either top-seeded North Carolina or No. 4 seed Alabama in Saturday’s regional final.

Clemson – which wasn’t in the NCAA field the previous two years – last reached the final eight in 1980, when there were only 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament.

“We have confidence in our team,” said Brownell, who is in the Elite Eight for the first time in a 22-year coaching career that includes one previous Sweet 16 appearance in 14 seasons with the Tigers. “I’ve got an older team. These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success. And so just really happy that they were able to withstand it, and we executed some things really well down the stretch.

“I just think our guys have a lot of belief in each other, and I certainly have a lot of belief inmy team. And we’re playing good basketball right now. Anything can happen in these tournaments. You’ve got to have really good players. I have good players. When you have players you try to do the best job you can as a coach to put them in positions to be successful. And when these guys capitalize like they have been, good things are going to happen.”

“It’s incredible to go through some trials and tribulations to get where we’re at now,” Hall added.

Hunter, a senior guard, added seven rebounds and five assists to his team-high point total. Junior forward Ian Schieffelin added 14 points and seven rebounds for Clemson, which will face No. 4 seed Alabama on Saturday night with each program seeking to make its first Final Four. The Crimson Tide beat top-seeded North Carolina, 89-87.

After upsetting No. 3 seed Baylor in the second round and rallying around Brownell, the Tigers came into the game with momentum.

“It always means a lot when your players have your back,” Brownell said before the game.

Arizona (27-9), the Pac-12 regular-season champion was held to 37.3% shooting (25 for 67) overall and had a particularly horrific showing from 3-point range, going 5 for 28 (17.9%). Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love had 13 points, but he missed all nine of his 3-point shots as the Wildcats failed in their bid to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015.

“I feel like some of them were good looks and shots we’ve made all season, and today they just didn’t go in,” said Coach Tommy Lloyd, who was ousted in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his three seasons at Arizona. “I think our guys deserve a ton of credit. To have that sort of shooting night and get yourself in the game where you have a position to win, and I think it’s incredible. And it just shows the resiliency and toughness of these guys.”

Sophomore guard Jaden Bradley had 18 points to pace Arizona off the bench, and senior center Oumar Ballo had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Love, a senior guard, converted a layup to cut Clemson’s lead to 75-72 with 15 seconds left.

However, sophomore guard Dillon Hunter, Chase’s younger brother, went unaccounted for behind Arizona’s defense when the Wildcats were supposed to foul and made a layup through contact for a 77-72 lead with nine seconds left.

“Little bro got that and-one and sealed it for us,” Chase Hunter continued. “Big play, secured the win.”

The Tigers led by as much as 13 in the first half and were locked in early defensively, which forced the Wildcats to miss their first six shots. Clemson led 39-31 at halftime.

However, Arizona responded with an 8-0 run early in the second half, highlighted by Ballo’s big dunk off a no-look pass from sophomore guard Kylan Boswell to trim the margin to 43-40. A three-point play from Love tied the score at 43-all.

“We dug deep and we got ourselves back in the game but we were just never able to take that next step,” Lloyd continued.

Love’s steal and layup gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 46-45, but 3-pointers from Jack Clark and Joseph Girard III gave Clemson a 53-48 lead.

Arizona tied the score at 56-all on two free throws by Bradley, who went 8 of 9 from the charity stripe, but Clemson responded with a 9-2 run, including a layup by Hall and a 3-pointer by Schieffelin.

“We harp on toughness. In the beginning we weren’t so tough, but I feel at the end we did a great job battling and trying to get stops,” Bradley said. “But Clemson did a great job with their plays and their shot-making, and we couldn’t really get over the hump.”

Bradley’s effort kept Arizona within striking distance and his dunk cut the deficit to 66-63 with 3:26 left. Hall made two free throws, but Ballo’s layup got Arizona within 68-65. Hall’s driving layup again established a five-point lead, but Ballo responded with another inside basket to get the Wildcats within 70-67 with 1:29 remaining. Hall’s dunk off an inbounds pass made it 72-67 with 1:05 left, but a Bradley 3-pointer cut it to 72-70 with 49.4 seconds left, setting the stage for the Hunter brothers to close it out for Clemson.

“We harp on toughness,” Bradley said. “In the beginning, we weren’t so tough, but I feel at the end we did a great job battling and trying to get stops. But Clemson did a great job with their plays and their shot making, and we couldn’t really get over the hump. We had the lead a couple times but they kept battling as well.”

Chase Hunter put the game out of reach when he drove for his layup while being fouled by Bradley with 25.7 seconds left. Hunter’s free throw made it a five-point game.

“I just wanted to make a play,” he said. “At the end of the day, I wanted to get to the basket, wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen, and that’s what I did.”

Clemson shot 49.2% from the field (29 of 59) and has held all three of its tournament opponents below 40%. It was the second time they held a team under 20% from 3-point range; New Mexico went 3 for 23 from behind the arc in the first round.

“Limiting rhythm 3s and good open 3s was a huge key to the game,” Hall said.