Two teams that weren’t having much success this season battled it out to start the ACC Tournament off in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon. NC State and Clemson kicked off what should be another fantastic tournament for the top conference in the country.
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Clemson came out strong and took an early lead against NC State, as buckets didn’t’ fall early for the Wolfpack and the Tigers were able to take a slight advantage early on, eventually building an 11-point halftime lead.
It didn’t get much better for the Wolfpack in this one and it certainly seemed like it was heading to head coach Mark Gottfried’s last outing with NC State this season, along with the possibility of freshman sensation Dennis Smith Jr. playing his final game as well.
It was a tough day in the office for NC State, as shot didn’t fall for much of the early afternoon.
The Wolfpack shot 38 percent on the day and had 18 less shot attempts than Clemson, as the Tigers had 17 offensive rebounds and also created 15 turnovers on the afternoon. Clemson ended their day shooting 43 percent and knocked down seven three pointers.
Jaron Blossomgame led the way with 22 points for Clemson, while Shelton Mitchell also finished with 22 points. Sidy Djitte dominated the boards, recording 13 total rebounds.
For NC State, Abdul-Malik Abu finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Maverick Rowan also had 14 points in the loss.
For freshman sensation Dennis Smith Jr., possibly in his final game as a Wolfpack, he finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
