Tuesday night marks the start of a big week for the Wildcats.
The Kentucky Wildcats are set for their first road test of the 2024-25 college basketball season. It comes Tuesday night vs. the Clemson Tigers as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Clemson appeared in the Elite Eight last year, losing a high-scoring, entertaining game to Alabama. Clemson returns multiple key players from last year’s Elite Eight team, so this will be a major test for Mark Pope’s Wildcats, who have played just one game away from Rupp Arena, and that came in Catlanta.
This is a new era now. We don’t know yet how Kentucky will fare in a true road game. It will be a tough environment at the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. How they are will go a long way towards how good this Kentucky team will really be this season.
Let’s look at players to watch on Tuesday night on the Clemson Tigers.
Players to Watch
1. #1 Chase Hunter 6’4.5” 202 lbs. Gr. Guard Atlanta
16.4 pts, 3 rebs/gm., 51.1 FG%, 46.5 3-PT FG%, 80.8 FT%, 31.7 mpg
Hunter was named to the NCAA Tournament’s All-West Region Team, and for good reason. Playing 35 minutes per game across four games in the Big Dance, Hunter led the Tigers with 17.8 points per game while averaging 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists from the field and shooting 50 percent from the field. Hunter’s 36 games played and started is tied for the most in Clemson history. He’s also the program’s newest, and 27th, member of its 1,000-point club.
Hunter is off to another solid start this season, with a season-high 30 points at Boise State on Nov. 17. Hunter also has four games with three or more made three-point shots.
2. #4 Ian Schieffelin 6’8” 240 lbs. Sr. Forward Atlanta
12.5 pts, 11.6 rebs, 46.8 FG%, 4-18 3-PT FG, 75.9 FT%, 29 ast.-15 TO, 31.7 mpg
The chef is back for Clemson — remember the Clemson Marching Band wore chef’s hats during the NCAA Tournament — and he could be a big problem for the Wildcats on Tuesday night.
Schieffelin has 53 rebounds over Clemson’s last five games. The Atlanta native was the ACC’s Most Improved Player in 2024, averaging career highs in points (10.1), rebounds (9.4), assists (2.2) and minutes per game (27.5).
3. #0 Viktor Lahkin 6’11” 245 lbs. R-Sr. Center Anapa, Russia Cincinnati Transfer
11.1 pts, 5.4 rebs, 50% FG, 3-11 3-PT FG, 16-24 FT, 11 blk, 21.8 mpg
Having gone to the University of Cincinnati and being a Bearcats Basketball fan, I have seen plenty of Viktor Lahkin. Lahkin is an efficient scorer and a really good shot blocker. Lahkin has five double-digit scoring games in seven games played so far this season, and he has two games with three blocked shots. Having played in the Big 12 last year, Lahkin brings plenty of battle-tested experience to Clemson and will be a factor in Tuesday night’s game.
4. #7 Chauncey Wiggins 6’10.5” 216 lbs. Jr. Forward Grayson, Ga.
9.8 pts, 2.9 rebs, 45.2 FG%, 40% FG, 10-14 FT, 24.4 mpg
Wiggins has three double-digit scoring games in Clemson’s last four games. In Clemson’s last two games, Wiggins is 9-14 from the field including 5-8 from three-point range. After playing 17.7 minutes per game last year, Wiggins has played over 20 minutes in every game this season.
5. #11 Jaeden Zackery 6’1’ 218 lbs. Gr. Guard Salem, Wis. Boston College Transfer
8 pts/gm., 2.8 rebs, 46% FG, 6-17 3-PT FG, 12-14 FT, 15 stl, 30 mpg
A transfer from Boston College, Zackery is coming off the best season of his career. He was second on the team with 10.8 points per game, and he also averaged 3.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. Zackery also averaged 33.8 minutes per game in playing and starting all 36 games for Boston College last year.
Zackery is coming off a season-high 13 points last Friday and is playing just over 32 minutes per game.
6. #2 Dillon Hunter 6’3.5” 192 lbs. Jr. Guard Atlanta
6.4 pts, 2.9 rebs, 36.8 FG%, 8-21 3-PT FG, 9-13 FT, 19 mpg
Chase Hunter’s brother, Dillon, is seeing more playing time this season after averaging 14.7 minutes per game in 2023-24. Hunter already has two double-digit point games this season, and he also has two games with multiple three-point makes.
Head Coach: Brad Brownell (15th season)
Having guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournaments, Brownell is coming off his best season at Clemson with the Tigers coming within one game of going to the Final Four. Brownell is also the school’s all-time leading wins leader and leader in winning percentage in ACC games. Success came early for Brownell, leading the Tigers to the 2011 NCAA Tournament in just his first season as a head coach. It’s the third time in as many schools he’s been the head coach of where he has been to the NCAA Tournament in his first season as the head coach.
Prior to Clemson, Brownell led Wright State to the 2007 NCAA Tournament and UNC Wilmington to the 2003 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments.
Keys to the Game
1. Rebounding: Clemson averages 37.8 rebounds per game, led by Schiefflin’s 11.6 rebounds per game. Kentucky averages 45 rebounds per game but has struggled at times giving up too many offensive boards. Playing on the road and establishing position on the glass can go a long way. If Kentucky does that early on, they will win this game.
2. Match the intensity from the opening tip: It’s a new era for the Wildcats, led by Mark Pope, but this is still the Kentucky Wildcats. Everywhere they go, it’s a big game for the opposing home team. That’s especially true for Clemson, who’s not in the SEC. Clemson has only hosted Kentucky four times in program history, the last time coming in 1933, just weeks into President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first of four terms as President of the United States. Kentucky and Clemson have not met since 1997 at the Premier Classic in Phoenix, the same season Kentucky won its seventh national championship.
3. Take care of the ball: This goes without saying. Great teams take care of the ball on the road. In a raucous environment, executing the fundamentals and taking care of the basketball is paramount to coming away with the win.
Score Prediction: Kentucky 86, Clemson 83
I think this game is going to be really close. It’s a great matchup, and it should be a really fun game. A win for Kentucky here would inject a lot of momentum into the team, especially with a huge top-10 showdown on Saturday night against Gonzaga.