Clemson has seemingly mastered the art of the upset after stunning No. 4 Kentucky.
On Tuesday, the Tigers beat the Wildcats 70-66 in front of a packed crowd at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. It was Clemson’s fourth-straight victory over a team ranked in the top 5.
The moment was not lost on the fans in the stands. Seconds after senior guard Chase Hunter sank two free throws to ice the game, a sea of orange and white shirts flooded the floor.
THERE'S A COURT STORMING IN CLEMSON ⛈️
THE TIGERS UPSET NO. 4 KENTUCKY 😤 pic.twitter.com/LsNJkplzG7
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 4, 2024
Clemson’s win came in a largely sluggish affair. None of the Tigers players scored over 13 points as the team shot just 36.9% from the field. But Kentucky was not much better with a 38.1% shooting clip of their own.
Last season, Clemson upset No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Before that, the Tigers’ last two games against a top-5 team came in the 2019-20 season, when Clemson upset both No. 3 Duke and No. 5 Louisville in the span of a month.
8-1 Clemson may get some love from the AP committee themselves soon enough after beating Kentucky. The Tigers are fresh off an Elite Eight appearance in last year’s NCAA Tournament, which is the program’s best finish in over four decades. It’s clear that the team has carried over some of that momentum to this season.
