Clemson stays hot on the road with 77-63 win over Georgia Tech
A day after Dabo Swinney publicly called out tampering in college football, Brad Brownell’s defense did a little tampering of its own.
Clemson spent the second half rearranging Georgia Tech’s offense, turning a competitive afternoon into a controlled 77–63 road win at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. What began as a volatile game became a one-sided grind once the Tigers asserted control after halftime.
That shift has become familiar.
BECOME A TIGERILLUSTRATED.com SUBSCRIBER!
Clemson (17-4, 7-1 ACC) didn’t need to speed the game up or overwhelm Georgia Tech (11-9, 2-5 ACC) with volume.
It simply removed options.
The Yellow Jackets struggled to function offensively after the break as Clemson’s defensive adjustments turned every possession into work.
Georgia Tech shot 9-of-29 in the second half.
Clean looks were scarce. Driving lanes closed quickly. Nearly every shot came with a hand in the shooter’s face, and very little came in rhythm. Clemson’s length consistently met Georgia Tech at the point of attack, forcing contested attempts late in the shot clock.
That defensive control allowed the Tigers to dictate everything else.
Clemson built a double-digit lead early in the second half — going up 48–37 six-and-a-half minutes after intermission — and never let Georgia Tech get closer than eight the rest of the way.
As the defense tightened, Clemson’s offense found clarity.
After shooting just 4-of-16 from three in the first half, the Tigers’ perimeter shooting caught up to the quality of their looks, finishing 7-of-12 from deep with a tied season-high 11 made threes.
It wasn’t a barrage. It was timing. Stops turned into flow, and flow turned into confidence.
Jake Wahlin was at the center of that shift.
His second-half shooting never felt rushed or forced, coming within the structure of Clemson’s offense.
Wahlin knocked down all three of his attempts from deep after halftime, scoring 11 of his tied-for-team-high 13 points in the second half. He also led the Tigers with eight rebounds while adding a block and a steal, impacting the game on both ends.
Clemson’s length advantage showed up all afternoon long.
The Tigers steadily wore down Georgia Tech’s frontcourt, winning the rebounding battle 37–32 and outscoring the Yellow Jackets 30–20 in the paint.
Nothing came easily for Tech.
Clemson chipped away possession by possession, forcing the Yellow Jackets to expend energy just to initiate offense.
The second half also marked a return to balance.
After recent games that leaned heavily on starters or a single scoring option, Clemson’s bench made a tangible impact.
The Tigers outscored Tech’s bench 33–17 with much of that production coming from the developing connection between Ace Buckner and Nick Davidson.
Tech had no answer for Clemson’s pick-and-roll action, particularly when Buckner was initiating. The redshirt freshman played with poise beyond his experience, attacking decisively and never hesitating to look for his shot.
Buckner finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down two 3-pointers off ball-screen actions, while adding four rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes.
Davidson, the steady presence of Brownell’s second rotation group, benefited from that pressure.
He consistently found space as Tech committed to stopping the ball, finishing with a tied-for-team-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. The pair repeatedly exploited mismatches when they shared the floor.
Dillon Hunter added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and five rebounds, steadying Clemson’s offense in his 34 minutes.
His buzzer-beater at the end of the first half gave the Tigers a 35-33 lead heading into the break and sparked the second-half response that ultimately decided the game.
DISCUSSION: Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone Forum
The win marked Clemson’s 12th straight ACC road victory, tying Virginia for the fourth-longest streak in conference history. It also continued a recent trend in the series, with the road team now winning the last five meetings between Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Clemson finished 28-of-61 (45.9%) from the field, 11-of-28 (39.3%) from three and 10-of-13 (76.9%) at the line.
Tech shot 21-of-57 overall, 9-of-21 from beyond the arc and 12-of-17 at the free-throw line.
DISCUSSION: Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on our off-topics forum
The Tigers now get a week to recover from a demanding opening stretch of ACC play before returning to Littlejohn Coliseum to face Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon on ACC Network.
Not a Tiger Illustrated member, Clemson fans? Join Today!
Tigerillustrated.com, established in 1999, is the No. 1 Authority On Clemson Football & Recruiting. A subscription, just $1 (promo), is a must-have for hardcore Clemson Football fans. You won’t find more exclusive, detailed, info on Clemson football and recruiting anywhere else. We guarantee it! CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR $1 SUBSCRIPTION PROMO!
