CONWAY -- Coastal Carolina men’s basketball coach Cliff Ellis has not been bashful over the last week in calling this the biggest game the Chanticleers have ever hosted.
On Wednesday night, Clemson comes to town for what has been touted as the marquee matchup of Coastal’s debut season inside The HTC Center. It’s the rematch of an in-state clash that last year went right to the buzzer. It’s a rare opportunity for the Chants to host a program from one of the traditional power conferences before a sold-out home crowd. And, well, there’s a number of other reasons.
“There’s not been a bigger basketball game [here] in men’s basketball than what’s going to happen Wednesday night,” Ellis said. “And the reason for that is it’s Clemson. It’s an ACC school who is playing very well, but they’re also in our state. And I’m very appreciative to the fact that they would come here and play. But there’s not been a bigger game. Last year, the LSU game was the biggest game, but to have a team of the caliber of an ACC team and an SEC team and that’s what’s coming in here, that says a lot for where our program has grown.
CLEMSON — Brad Brownell says he isn’t big into “revenge, and all that.”
That said, as Clemson heads for the Grand Strand, the Tigers would be wise to remember the events that unfolded on Littlejohn Coliseum’s floor last Nov. 22.
A miss. A missed rebound. A Chris Grandingo tip-in that lifted Coastal Carolina to a stunning, buzzer-beating, 60-59 win over Clemson, the Chanticleers’ first-ever win in the series.
