The Clemson men’s basketball team will tip off their 2024 NCAA Tournament run on Friday. The sixth seed Tigers will battle the 11th seed New Mexico Lobos in Memphis.
New Mexico is coming into the game riding a hot streak as the Lobos finished the regular season with a 26-9 record. Clemson, meanwhile, is 21-11 but earned the higher seed thanks to five quad one victories, including on the road against number one seed North Carolina.
On paper, this match-up is fairly even. Here is a look at both the Tigers and Lobos by the numbers.
Points per game:
Clemson 77.4, New Mexico 81.5
Rebounds per game:
Clemson 36.4, New Mexico 39.6
Leading scorers:
Clemson: P.J. Hall (18.8), Joe Girard III (15.7), Chase Hunter (12.3)
New Mexico: Jaelyn House (16.1), Jamal Mashburn Jr. (14.4), Donovan Dent (14.3), J.T. Toppin (12.5)
Leading rebounders:
Clemson: Ian Schieffelin (9.5), P.J. Hall (6.7)
New Mexico: J.T. Toppin (9.0), Nelly Junior Joseph (8.1)
New Mexico holds a slight edge over Clemson in both points and rebounds. Both teams average exactly 14.7 assists per game, but the Lobos average nearly double the amount of steals the Tigers do. Turnover average is nearly even as New Mexico averages 9.9 and Clemson gives it up 10.2 times per game.
One factor to consider is that Clemson plays in the ACC which is a far more arduous conference than the Mountain West. The Tigers have faced a much higher level of competition, yet statistically are quite close to the Lobos in terms of averages.
While New Mexico is on a hot streak, Clemson is battle tested. Despite faltering a bit down the stretch, a long break between the end of the ACC Tournament and the start of the NCAA Tournament could prove the mental break the Tigers needed.
Clemson and New Mexico are slated for a 2:10 p.m. tip from Memphis on Friday afternoon. The game will be broadcast on truTV. The opening line has Lobos listed as a 2.5-point favorite over the Tigers. The winner of this game will face the winner between the number three seed Baylor Bears and 14-seed Colgate on Saturday.
