They’re partying like it’s 1980 in Clemson.
The Clemson Tigers are advancing to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history — and the first time in 44 years — after upsetting No. 2 seed Arizona, 77-72, on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
“We put in a lot of work over these last few days and we got it done,” guard Chase Hunter told CBS after the win, which will now pit Clemson against the winner of the Alabama-North Carolina matchup. “We just played gritty and we gave it our all and we got it done.”
The Tigers had to hold off a talented Wildcats team that gave them a scare in the second half, which included pulling within two points in the final minute of the game.
Hunter all but sealed the historic win for Clemson when he was fouled as he hit a basket while driving to the hoop with 25.7 seconds left.
“Just wanted to make a play,” he said about his and-one. “Wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen and that’s what I did.”
Hunter’s brother, Dillon, gave the Tigers more cushion seconds later when he made a layup to put Clemson up by five.
March has not been too kind to the Wildcats, who have had memorable seasons come up short in the NCAA Tournament over the last three years.
Arizona was knocked out by No. 5 seed Houston in 2022 and upset by No. 15 seed Princeton in 2023 before losing to No. 6 seed Clemson this year.
Chase Hunter had a team-high 18 points — on 8 of 15 from the field — while pulling down seven rebounds and recording five assists. shooting
PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin had 17 and 14 points, respectively, for Clemson.
“We have confidence in our team,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell told reporters after the game. “I’ve got an older team. These guys have seen a lot, done a lot and experienced success. And so just really happy that they were able to withstand it, and we executed some things really well down the stretch.”
Clemson went into halftime with a 39-31 lead, but the Wildcats chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the game with 16:33 left to play in the second half after a layup and free throw by Caleb Love.
Hunter put the Tigers back in front with 15:21 left on the clock.
Arizona tied it one more time before Clemson took the lead for good at 9:42.