No. 11 Clemson chasing new program record vs. Virginia Tech

No. 11 Clemson’s dream regular season can end in historic fashion when the Tigers host Virginia Tech on Saturday evening.Clemson (25-5, 17-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) needs a win against the Hokies on Senior Day to surpass the regular-season win total of the 1986-87 Tigers for most in program history. Clemson, which has won its last seven, has already set the school record for most conference victories in a single campaign.”Obviously, I’d be surprised,” Tigers coach Brad Brownell said when asked on Thursday if he saw this kind of impressive record coming before the season.”I thought we had a chance to have a good team. Are we 17-2 now in the league? I don’t know that I believed we’d be that.”Brownell, who started at Clemson in the 2010-11 season, guided the Tigers to last year’s NCAA Tournament and within a game of reaching the Final Four as a No. 6 seed, falling to Alabama 89-82 in the Elite Eight.”You just kind of coach your team, hope your team is good enough to give you a chance to play important games at the end, and certainly this team has done that,” said Brownell.Clemson’s latest win — a 78-69 victory at Boston College on Wednesday — was still in the balance late before Victor Lakhin grabbed two important offensive rebounds to thwart an Eagles comeback bid. The Cincinnati transfer finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds — his fifth double-double of the season — while former Boston College star Jaeden Zackery scored a game-high 21 in his return to his former school.Brownell gives a lot of credit for this season’s success to his two transfers that are set to make their NCAA Tournament debuts later this month.”Just speaks to how competitive he’s been,” Browell said about Lakhin’s late rebounding efforts.”He and Jaeden both are guys that really want to go to the tournament. You can sense it. I think that’s part of the reason why they came to Clemson. They are both very hungry to try to be a tournament team. Obviously, we are going to be that this year and it’s because of plays like that.”Zackery, who posted a career-high 22 points in a win over Clemson in the 2024 ACC tournament, said he’s still focused on closing out the regular season before letting himself get wrapped up in NCAA Tournament scenarios.”I’m definitely excited but, honestly, I’m not looking at that right now,” Zackery said.

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