Photo credit to Sefton Ipock of “The Orange & White”
The Clemson basketball team was riding a 3 game winning streak, including an upset victory over #18 Duke, into their matchup with the Pitt Panthers at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh. The Tigers’ KJ McDaniels scored the first points of the game, but the Panthers proceeded to go on an 11-0 run and never looked back. Talib Zanna put up 22 points for the Panthers as they defeated Clemson 76-43. McDaniels was limited in first half action after fouling twice before the 13 minute mark. McDaniels led the Tigers in points with 11. The atmosphere at the Peterson Events Center was definitely the loudest, most raucous crowd that Clemson has seen this season. Pitt’s student section “the Oakland Zoo” was in full force, hitting the Tigers with a barrage of chants and noise. Clemson Coach Brad Brownell appeared very frustrated with the teams effort and play. Early in the second half, in an attempt to mix up his line up, Brownell put in fan favorite junior Carson Fields, along with freshman Austin Ajukwa. Ajukwa had a highlight reel worthy break away dunk to make it 61-33, but was called for a technical due to hanging on the rim. Clemson drops to a 13-5 record, with a 4-2 record in conference play. The Tigers’ next game is Sunday when the squad visits Chapel Hill to play against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Despite the frustrating loss, many Clemson fans believe this may be the year the Tigers break the historic losing streak and earn the program’s first win in Chapel Hill. Clemson is 0-56 at Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels. North Carolina is 11-7 on the year, with a dismal 1-4 start to conference play. A victory in Chapel Hill would be huge for this young team’s mentality as conference play continues
