March Madness Sweet 16 analysis: Clemson upsets Arizona, punches Elite Eight ticket

The 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament continues Thursday as the Sweet 16 gets underway from Los Angeles and Boston.

No. 6-seeded Clemson kicked off the action with an impressive 77-72 victory over No. 2-seeded Arizona. Chase Hunter led the way with 18 points, while PJ Hall added 17 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

Meanwhile, top-seeded UConn is currently battling No. 5-seeded San Diego State in Boston.

Later on Thursday night, RJ Davis and the No. 1-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels battle Mark Sears and No. 4-seeded Alabama, while No. 2-seeded Iowa State follows with a matchup against Marcus Domask and No. 3-seeded Illinois.

FOX Sports’ college basketball experts, John Fanta and Michael Cohen, are here to provide instant analysis of Sunday’s games.

Catch up on all the action from the Sweet 16 here:

(6) Clemson 77, (2) Arizona 72

Given the nature of Clemson’s final two games before the NCAA Tournament, it seemed unlikely that defense would be what fueled the Tigers’ run to the Sweet 16. They had allowed 81 points in a loss to Wake Forest in the regular-season finale. Then they surrendered 76 to Boston College and flamed out of the ACC Tournament with a 76-55 defeat.

But somewhere between those two losses and the start of March Madness, head coach Brad Brownell found a way to flip the switch. His team smothered No. 11 New Mexico — a popular upset pick — during a 77-56 win in the opening round. The Tigers followed up by blanketing No. 3 Baylor, which owned the sixth-best offense in the country, for a 72-64 win. Thursday’s matchup with Arizona began in similar fashion: Clemson forced the Wildcats to commit eight first-half turnovers and turned them into 11 points. At the break, Clemson had allowed just 31 points to a team that averages 87.6 per game, third-most in the country, while building an eight-point lead.

An inevitable Arizona surge further tested the Tigers in the opening minutes of the second half, with each successive Clemson turnover producing basket after basket for the Wildcats in transition. Brownell’s team was called for so many fouls trying to defend the paint that Arizona entered the bonus with 11:55 remaining. There was even a fleeting moment when the Wildcats claimed a one-point lead when point guard Caleb Love pierced the left side of the lane.

Where the Tigers never wavered, however, was in their staunch defense of the 3-point line, demanding that Arizona chase them with slow trickles of ones and twos. They held Love, who was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, to 0-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. They limited Love’s backcourt partners, Pelle Larson and Kylan Boswell, to a pair of makes on 11 3-point attempts. As a team, the Wildcats finished 5-for 28 from deep.

Such a robust defensive effort gave Clemson a chance to seal it in the final minute, and senior guard Chase Hunter (team-high 18 points) answered the call. Hunter’s slicing drive produced a traditional three-point play with 25 seconds remaining to clinch a 77-72 win that propelled the Tigers into the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980 and just the second time overall. They’ll face the winner of No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 Alabama for a chance to reach the Final Four.

– Michael Cohen

(1) UConn vs. (5) San Diego State – live now!

(4) Alabama

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

---

---