First Half Take For Thursday's Clemson Vs. Arizona Game

Clemson vs. Arizona, 7:09 ET, Thursday

I'm going for it. I'm going to try and predict all eight games of the Sweet 16. Okay predict might not be the right term, I'm really trying to find a way to get a unit on all eight games and go 8-0 in the game. So far, the tournament has been kind of "eh" for me. I've basically broken even every day, but I did go 2-0 on Sunday as I got incredibly lucky that the Duke game stayed under the total despite being a razor-thin margin for the last four minutes or so. It all balances out, I lost on a hook in the Arizona game I played in the opening round. I'm going to put a play on Clemson vs. Arizona as they meet in the Sweet 16.

Clemson opened the NCAA Tournament against New Mexico and made pretty quick work of them. In the first half they held the Lobos to just 28 points and they won by 14 points. I wouldn't describe the shooting from either team as all that impressive, but Clemson was able to knock down two more threes in the first half than New Mexico which made part of the difference. In the second half, it was more of the same as Clemson once again held their opponent to just 28 points. The three-point shooting remained embarrassing from New Mexico and Clemson coasted to a 21-point victory. One where they never had an issue. In the second game, it wasn't quite as comfortable as a win, but they got the job done against Baylor. In this one, they still went into the locker room up by 10 points. The difference in this one was that Clemson hit all six of their three-pointers in the first half which provided their lead. Baylor seemed to lock in a bit more on defense but Clemson was still able to put up 37 second-half points without hitting a three. They were outscored by Baylor by two in the second half but still won the game by eight points. It was a four-point game with about three minutes remaining, so there was some pressure (finally) on Clemson, but they escaped. 

Arizona has put together a really strong season and I expect them to keep using the combination of both inside and outside presence to try and dominate this game. In their first game, they didn't have a very strong opponent as they took on Long Beach State University and handled them with relative ease. It didn't look like they were a great team in the first half as Arizona only had a six-point lead. In the second, they locked in on defense and they were able to hold them to 30 points and the put up 44 points. One thing that stands out from this game is that they were able to hold Long Beach to just 3-for-17 shooting from deep. In the second game, they were able to beat Dayton by ten points, and they held them to just 7-for-24 shooting from deep. In both of their wins, they've been able to hold their opponent to under 30% from deep. In this game, they will need to do that again if they want to beat Clemson. From the first two games we've seen that Clemson isn't a great shooting team, but they do have the inside presence to battle with Arizona as PJ Hall will be a handful for Oumar Ballo. 

I am thinking we will see a similar style from the first games. Clemson comes out with a very good game plan and plays well in the first half. Right now we can get Clemson in the first half at +4. Arizona has come out flat in their first game, and were a little better in the second one, but I think they are going to have to find a way to battle against Hall in the first half. The only issue would be if they can get him in foul trouble. It might come down to three-point shooting as well, and Arizona is probably better at that, but Clemson could keep it close for the first half. I'll take them at +4 in the first half. 

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