Brad Brownell explains keeping his starters in vs. Florida State with game out of reach

It was a dominant win for the Clemson Tigers over the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, winning the game 72-46. Despite that dominant win, head coach Brad Brownell left his starters in the game until there was only about 1:30 left in the game, raising some eyebrows from those watching the game.

Following the game, while speaking to members of the media, Brownell briefly explained his thought process of not pulling his starters when the game was out of reach.

“Just finishing the game the right way,” Brad Brownell said. “I didn’t not see the play [flagrant foul]. So, I can’t comment on it. I haven’t seen it.”

Clemson held a comfortable lead throughout the game, going into halftime up by 17 points. That came in a game where the Tigers outrebounded, won the turnover battle, and shot for a higher percentage from the field than Florida State. In the end, they’d pull away to win by 26 points.

“Part of it, just finishing the game the right way,” Brownell re-emphasized.

The win for Clemson was the second-largest on the road against Florida State in program history. The largest margin was by 29, just a bit about the 26 points scored on Saturday, from a game back in 1998. It also represented the third time in a row that Clemson has won on the road against the Seminoles.

This game came in what has been a difficult season for Florida State. Now just 15-10 overall and 6-8 in ACC play, the loss snapped a modest two-game winning streak for the Seminoles. It also made it so they had lost five of their last seven games. This comes in the season that saw head coach Leonard Hamilton announce he’s going to step down at the end of the season.

On the other hand, Clemson has been phenomenal under Brad Brownell this season. Now 21-5 and 13-2 in ACC play, the Tigers are only one game behind the Duke Blue Devils in the conference standings. In the latest bracketology, Clemson is listed as a seven seed, which the Tigers would love to find a way to improve on. That would put the Tigers in the East Region, playing in Newark. So, with just five games left, everything matters for Clemson.

Brownell and the Tigers will next be in action on Saturday, February 22nd, on the road against the SMU Mustangs. Florida State, meanwhile, is set to host the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday, February 19th.