Clemson hits the road to face Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Coast Conference play, looking to extend its win streak to three games.
And while Clemson players like Chase Hunter (17.4 points per game) and Ian Schieffelin (12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds) lead the way, freshman guard Del Jones has seen his value increase off the bench as of late for the Tigers (14-4, 5-1 ACC).
Jones logged 16 minutes in a 77-57 win over Florida State last Saturday, scoring nine points, all from beyond the arc.
Head coach Brad Brownell praised Jones for handling his role well no matter how much time he sees on the floor.
Jones is averaging 3.4 points per game and has dished out 15 assists.
“It’s not easy because he doesn’t know if he’s going to play 15 minutes, five minutes, three minutes,” Brownell said, according to the Clemson Insider. “There’s been a couple of games where he’s gone in, Stanford in particular, where he really wasn’t ready mentally.”
Pittsburgh (12-5, 3-3) is trying to get back to a better state of mind after dropping three consecutive games.
The Panthers, coming off an 82-70 loss at Florida State on Wednesday night, return home where they own a 9-1 record.
Jaland Lowe had 22 points in the loss and leads Pittsburgh in scoring at 17.5 points per game, while Ishmael Leggett is at 16.5 points.
Considered an NBA prospect, Lowe has scored 20-plus seven times as sophomore, including in each of the last two games.
Clemson is 2-3 in road games and will need a quick start to take the momentum early. They are coming off a 70-59 road win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
Hunter will play a key role as he leads the Tigers with 45 made 3-pointers on the season and is shooting 44.6 percent from distance, which leads the ACC.
–Field Level Media
