Clemson and visiting Georgia Tech are limping into their Atlantic Coast Conference meeting on Saturday.
For the Yellow Jackets, describing their stride coming into Saturday’s regular-season finale as a limp is putting it kindly.
After four straight seasons with at least 21 games under Brad Brownell, the Tigers (21-9, 11-6) hit an uncharacteristic speed bump, losing five of their last six.
The wreckage for Georgia Tech is far more extreme. The Yellow Jackets (11-19, 2-15) have dropped 11 straight, their longest losing streak since the 1980-81 season.
This will be the final game for Georgia Tech as it is assured of a bottom-three finish in the conference and only 15 of the league’s 18 teams qualify for the ACC tournament.
“I haven’t experienced this before,” coach Damon Stoudamire said after a 76-65 loss at home Wednesday to Cal. “It makes you understand now-this is what it really looks like-because this is the bottom.”
The Yellow Jackets looked ready to win on senior night as they bolted to a 20-8 lead behind Kowacie Reeves Jr. (19 points). But that was before their familiar issues resurfaced as they finished with 17 turnovers.
Georgia Tech last won Jan. 17 at North Carolina State. The Yellow Jackets commit more turnovers than any team in the ACC (13.4 per game).
Clemson’s recent woes have been perplexing. After winning 14 straight ACC road games — the second-longest streak in conference history — the Tigers have lost their last three away from home.
Clemson took No. 17 North Carolina to the wire before falling 67-63 on Tuesday night. RJ Godfrey scored a career-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds but it wasn’t enough.
The Tigers had gone 14-0 when holding opponents to 40% or worse shooting. For the first time this year, that formula didn’t work as the Tar Heels won with 37.9% marksmanship.
“I thought our defense was terrific in the last 35 minutes of the game. Gave us a chance,” Brownell said. “We just kinda aren’t quite good enough sometimes offensively to capitalize. This was a real missed opportunity.”
Saturday will be the final home game for five Tigers seniors including Nick Davidson and Dillon Hunter. They scored 13 and 12 points respectively in Clemson’s 77-63 win at Georgia Tech on Jan. 24, which triggered the Yellow Jackets’ current streak.
“We need to take a day off and regroup and then come back and try to win our senior day and build momentum for the tournament,” Brownell said.
