Brad Brownell proud of how Clemson ended regular season

Brad Brownell just led Clemson to their best record in over a decade. The Tigers also came within one game of being regular season co-champs of the ACC. After wrapping up their regular season with an 87-64 over Notre Dame on senior night, Brownell took a moment to praise his team for the season they put together.

“I thought we played terrific. This team has done a good job of getting off to good starts,” said Brownell. “And passing and shooting was elite again at the beginning of the game, and we made a bunch of shots and built a good lead. But then, did another nice job of holding it. And that’s not easy to do in college basketball.

“You play a team like Notre Dame who’s got so much three-point firepower that you make a couple of mistakes, give up a transition basket or two, and then they hit a couple of threes, and it flips on you. But I thought our guys really did a nice job defensively and fought. We just executed very well in an offensive game.

Clemson came out firing on all cylinders against Notre Dame. The Tigers opened the game on a 20-3 run and never looked back. Clemson had an all-around impressive team performance, with all five starters finishing the game in double digits scoring.

“Big win, great regular season for our team. Can’t state that enough. Obviously, disappointed that we’re one game away from possibly tying for a regular-season title. But 14 league wins, 15-1 at home, doing it with great kids, and doing it the right way. I think it’s unbelievably impressive, and I’m just really proud of this group. It’s been a fun group to coach and, to be honest with you, to watch. They’ve played some marvelous basketball this year; tonight was another example of that.

With Clemson finishing the regular season as one of the top four teams in the ACC, they have earned a double-bye for the conference tournament. The Tigers will have to wait until Thursday, March 9, to play their first game of the tournament. And that contest will be against the winner of Wednesday’s Virginia Tech vs. NC State matchup.