NCAA Tournament - Clemson downs Arizona, advances to Elite Eight for first time since 1980
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and Krysten Peek dissect Clemson's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona, highlighting the Wildcats' struggles shooting the basketball.
Video Transcript
JASON FITZ: Clemson is headed to the Elite Eight by way of a 5-point win over second-seeded Arizona. If your brackets weren't busted before, they probably are now. She's Krysten Peek. I'm Jason Fitz for Yahoo Sports. KP, what did you see from Clemson in this one?
KRYSTEN PEEK: I mean, it's no longer a chalk tournament, with number 6 Clemson advancing to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history. And Chase Hunter, not afraid of the big moment. Clemson was up by 2 with 40 seconds left, and he converted on and and one play to go up by 5. And then it was his younger brother who scored the only two points of the game to seal the deal when, I don't know what, Arizona just lost track of players, you know, trying to foul, and he sealed the deal. And it was just a front-court dominance between PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin, just with the high-low and the cuts and everything, just making Arizona move, and they didn't have an answer for it.
JASON FITZ: I mean, to me, clearly here, by the way, Clemson was a better team. And let's not get it twisted. Arizona shot like trash. Caleb Love absolutely couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. And the crazy part to me, KP, is I'm watching a star player. And Danny Green said to us last week as we were watching games together, man, Caleb's going to shoot a team out of the tournament. That's exactly what he did here. You're talking about an Arizona team that got the looks all night long and just couldn't convert them. Now, part of it, Clemson did play really good defense. But this game was never in question because, KP, Clemson was better from the outset all the way through. Arizona absolutely couldn't do anything with the open looks like. I felt like this was the-- the score does not indicate how dominant Clemson was to me.
KRYSTEN PEEK: Absolutely. I mean, Arizona shot 5 for 28 from 3-point range. And when you have a player that you just depend on to make shots and make plays and he goes cold like Caleb Love, I mean, there's nowhere else to turn to. And Oumar Ballo, like he was great inside 15 and 15, finished with a double-double. But, you know, it wasn't-- it wasn't enough for them to get past this Clemson team and the way they defended the perimeter. Like, it was just a clinic defensively for Clemson and their defense on the perimeter, and the fact that Arizona could not make shots down the stretch.
JASON FITZ: Well, now, for the first time since 1980, the Tigers roar into the Elite Eight. And you're right, KP. You said it earlier. No more chalk. So let's see where it goes from here.
