Coming off of back-to-back losses, No. 25 Clemson will host Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday afternoon.The Tigers held on to a spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll despite losing at home last week in overtime to Memphis, but it’s unlikely Clemson (9-3, 1-0) will retain a spot among the top teams after falling on Tuesday — again in overtime — at in-state rival South Carolina.It was the second consecutive game that Clemson allowed its opponent to shoot over 51 percent from the floor, and the Tigers are 1-3 this season when they let their opponent shoot better than 45 percent.”I’m proud of the way we fought to give ourselves chances, but it’s like I told the guys — it’s not a game you can just play hard. Playing hard isn’t going to be enough,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “I have to do a better job.”Against Wake Forest (9-3, 1-0), Clemson will hope for a better defensive showing. The odds for that seem high, considering the Demon Deacons are making just 42.3 percent of their field goals this season, which is 300th nationally. They also average just 68 points per game, which is near the bottom of Division I.But Clemson will have to be sharp on defense because this game might be a struggle for its offense. What the Demon Deacons lack in offensive firepower, they make up for it by disrupting their opponent. Steve Forbes’ team allows its opponents to make just 38.4 percent of their shots, which is 20th best nationally.Wake Forest has forced its opponents into double-digit turnovers in all but one game this season. That was its most recent win, in which it forced eight turnovers while defeating James Madison 75-58 on Tuesday.”We took them out of their sets. They got us a couple of times early, but we settled in and they had a hard time scoring after that,” Forbes said of the Dukes. “We guarded the ball without fouling. Cameron [Hildreth] set the tone with that.”
No. 25 Clemson, in mini-skid, looks to change course vs. Wake Forest
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