Clemson’s Joseph Girard III (11), Chase Hunter (1) and Ian Schieffelin (4) celebrate the Tigers’ 77-72 victory over Arizona in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA.
Clemson was sweet.
Now it’s elite.
An unforgettable NCAA Tournament run continued Thursday night for the Tigers as they upset Arizona, 77-72, in a thrilling, back-and-forth Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles. With the win, Clemson advances to only the second Elite Eight in program history and first in 44 years.
After upsetting the No. 2 Wildcats, the No. 6 Tigers qualify for their first Elite Eight since 1980 and will play Saturday against the winner of the UNC-Alabama game that’s set to tip off later Thursday in Los Angeles.
Clemson started out scorching (again) and led by as many as 13 points in the first half, with six different players scoring and four hitting a 3-pointer. Showing no signs of rust from a cross-country trip or one fewer day of rest than Arizona, the Tigers were 53% from the field in the opening 20 minutes and hit five of their 11 3-pointers.
Clemson (24-11) was up 29-16 with 6:43 remaining in the first half. Arizona narrowed the gap from there in front of a friendly crowd that was, by some estimates, about 80% Wildcats fans and got within seven points (39-31) at half.
And a furious 8-0 Wildcats run out of halftime spark the crowd again and tied things at 43-43 less than three minutes into the second half. Arizona (27-9) took its first lead of the game moments later.
The teams traded buckets during a thrilling second half down to the final minutes before Clemson held on, sank late free throws and broke a few presses to clinch a historic win.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024, 9:23 PM.
Chapel Fowler
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