The travel secretary for the NCAA tournament has had a lot of fun messing with Clemson’s itinerary. After the Tigers knocked off Baylor on Sunday night in Memphis to earn a berth in the “Sweet 16,” the team hopped a plane back to Clemson, arriving in South Carolina shortly before sunrise. The Tigers turned around just hours later and made the cross-country trek from Greenville to Los Angeles for their matchup with Arizona on Thursday evening.
Head coach Brad Brownell concedes it was a tough turnaround for his team, and practice on Tuesday wasn’t as crisp as he would have liked. However, that can’t be an excuse as the Tigers take on the 2nd-seeded Wildcats. Arizona is led by North Carolina transfer Caleb Love, whom the Tigers remember from his ACC days. Love is averaging 18 points, 5 rebounds, and four assists per game for a squad that led the PAC-12 and was third nationally, averaging 88 points per game.
On Wednesday, Brownell and his players met with the media to preview the “Sweet 16” matchup with Arizona.