We have our first Cinderella candidate of the NCAA tournament.
No. 12 seed McNeese dominated No. 5 Clemson early then held off a second-half rally for a 69-67 win in the first round of tournament play on Thursday. With the win, McNeese becomes the first double-digit seed to advance to the second round.
Clemson attempted to mount a late rally, but its first-half deficit proved too much to overcome. McNeese reeled off an early 19-2 run to take a 23-8 lead that remained at double digits until late in the second half. By halftime, McNeese held a 31-13 advantage as the Tigers narrowly missed setting a tournament record for first-half futility.
[Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K]
McNeese reserve Brandon Murray outscored the Tigers by himself in the first half, with 14 points as the Cowboys were the more physical and aggressive team on both sides of the court.
The win is the first in NCAA tournament history for McNeese, which entered Thursday 0-3 in tournament play, including a first-round loss to Gonzaga last season.
Clemson’s loss means an 0-2 start for the ACC in NCAA tournament play after No. 8 seed Louisville lost to No. 9 Creighton in the first game of the tournament earlier Thursday. Duke and North Carolina are the only ACC teams remaining in the field. (UNC won its First Four play-in game against San Diego State on Tuesday.)
The win means that Will Wade will coach McNeese for at least one more game. The second-year Cowboys coach has reportedly agreed to take over next season as the head coach at NC State. But the Wolfpack will have to wait. The Cowboys are moving on to take on No. 4 seed Purdue in the second round after Purdue beat High Point earlier Thursday.
The halftime numbers were jarring. Clemson shot 20.8% from the field, including a 1-of-15 (6.7%) effort from 3-point distance. The Tigers logged a single assist in the first half while turning the ball over 10 times.
Clemson was much improved in the second half and cut its deficit to 68-65 with 10.6 seconds remaining on a Chauncey Wiggins 3. But Javohn Garcia hit a free throw on the other end to extend the lead back to two possessions and fend off the Clemson rally. The Tigers scored 54 points in the second half after posting just 13 in the first.
Murray, who averages 7.1 points per game as a part-time starter, finished Thursday with a team-high 21 points alongside four rebounds, four assists and three steals. His point total was the highest of his McNeese career since he joined the program this season from Ole Miss.
Jaeden Zackery (24 points, five rebounds) and Chase Hunter (21 points, four rebounds, two steals) led Clemson’s second-half rally that came up two points short.
