Clemson is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and are aiming for a third win over NC State this season.

Clemson topped NC State 78-64 at home Dec. 30, with senior forward Hunter Tyson pumping in 31 points. The Tigers routed the Wolfpack 96-71 on Feb. 25 in Raleigh, with senior shooting guard Brevin Galloway getting a career-high 28 points.

Clemson (22-9) and NC State (23-9) will play a third time at approximately 9:30 p.m. tonight in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Clemson has nearly as much experience as any in the ACC, which paid off in going 14-6 in the ACC this season.

Where the Tigers slipped up was falling to 11-21 South Carolina on Nov. 11 in their rivalry game, plus losing to 10-21 Loyola (Chicago) on Dec. 5. The third bad loss came at 4-28 Louisville on Feb. 18.

The veteran nucleus of Tyson, Galloway, junior center PJ Hall and junior point guard Chase Hunter has led the way. Sophomore power forward Ian Schieffelin is the starter at power forward, but the Tigers have depth at the spot.

Rankings

Clemson is No. 61 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 37.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Tigers ranked No. 56 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 36.

KenPom.com has Clemson at No. 68, and NCSU checks in at No. 47.

RealtimeRPI.com has Clemson ranked No. 77 in the country, and NC State is No. 38.

Shooting

Clemson is averaging 75.5 points per game, and shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent on three-pointers and 79.3 percent at the free-throw line.

Senior wing Alex Hemenway has missed some games this season, but played off the bench against Notre Dame on March 4. He leads the Tigers at 47.1 percent on three-pointers. Of the starters, Tyson is is shooting 41.3 percent and has made a team-high 76 three-pointers.

Rebounding

The Tigers are averaging 34.8 rebounds per game and are a plus-1.9 rebounding margin.

Tyson also leads Clemson with 9.5 rebounds per contest, with Hall second at 5.6. The latter has a team-high 46 offensive boards.

Defense

Clemson is allowing 68.1 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 33.4 percent on three-pointers.

Hall leads CU with 29 blocks and Tyson has a team-best 29 steals, but the Tigers only have three players with at least 20 steals.

Depth

Clemson was able to empty the bench against Notre Dame, thanks to a 87-64 win to close out the regular season March 4. Wing Hemenway had 18 minutes, freshman post player Ben Middlebrooks played 14 and freshman power forward RJ Godfrey had nine minutes. Hemenway is averaging 6.9 points in 23.9 minutes per game, but missed 11 games this season.

Clemson used the bench liberally in the second meeting against NC State, with freshman guard Joshua Beadle, freshman wing Dillon Hunter and freshman forward Chauncey Wiggins logging time, along with Middlebrooks and Godfrey.

One could flip a coin between senior small forward Hunter Tyson or junior center PJ Hall for top player.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Hall has been rolling along in ACC action, after having some surgeries last offseason. Hall is averaging 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and has proven he can score in a variety of ways, out to the three-point line.

While Tyson lead the Tigers in scoring, in the 20 ACC games, it is Hall who has the honors. He is averaging 17.6 points and 6.6 boards per game, and is shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc in league action.

Hall had 20 points and went 2 of 3 on three-pointers against NC State in the second win in Raleigh. He proved there was a big difference compared to his first meeting, when he had five points, five rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes.

Clemson seemingly has been careful in not overusing him this season. He has played more than 33 minutes just once, in a narrow 82-81 win at Florida State on Jan. 28. He had 17 points and 10 boards in a season-high 35 minutes. Hall played just 22 minutes in both meetings against NCSU.

Hall had a season-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the aforementioned 83-73 loss at Louisville on Feb. 18. He has reached at least 20 points in 10 games and has three double-doubles for points and rebounds.

The 6-10, 240-pounder from Roebuck (S.C.) Dorman High was ranked No. 48 overall in the class of 2020 by Rivals.com. He picked Clemson over the likes of Florida, where his sister played volleyball, plus Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, R-Sr., 17.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 17.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.5 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 12.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 spg)

PF — 5 Jack Clark (6-8, 200, R-Jr., 9.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 apg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Jr., 12.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.6 apg)

Clemson

PG — 1 Chase Hunter (6-3, 204, Jr., 14.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.5 apg)

SG — 11 Brevin Galloway (6-2, 215, Sr., 11.3 påg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg)

SF — 5 Hunter Tyson (6-8, 215, Sr., 15.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.5 apg)

PF — 4 Ian Schieffelin (6-7, 225, Soph., 5.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg)

C — 24 PJ Hall (6-10, 240, Jr., 15.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 bpg)

6 NCAA Tournament trips for Clemson coach Brad Brownell, who had two in four years at North Carolina-Wilmington, one in four years at Wright State and three in his first 12 years with the Tigers. He has won at least 20 games 11 times since the 2002-2003 season.

13 All-time NCAA Tournament appearances for Clemson, though one got vacated. The Tigers have reached the Sweet 16 four times and Elite Eight once.

15 Double-doubles this season for senior small forward Hunter Tyson, including two against NC State.

Junior guard Chase Hunter has improved and seen his role grow each of the last three years.

Hunter isn’t a go-go kind of point guard, but at 6-3 and 204 pounds, he brings good size and decision making to the position. He is third on the Tigers with 14.0 points per game, plus 3.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists a contest. He’s shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on three-pointers.

Hunter had a big jump from last year, where he averaged 6.7 points and 1.8 assists while being a part-time starter for the Tigers.

In the two wins against NC State, he’s been consistent. He had 15 points and two three-pointers in the win Feb. 25, and he had 12 points on Dec. 30 in Clemson, S.C.

Hunter has reached 20 points in four different games, with a season-high 26 at Florida State in the 82-81 win Jan. 28. He’s failed to reach 10 points in just four games this season, and he tallied 13 points and 11 assists for his lone double-double in the 91-73 win vs. Syracuse on Feb. 22.

Rivals.com ranked Hunter at No. 105 overall in the country in the class of 2019 out of Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake High. Freshman reserve guard Dillon Hunter is his younger brother.

Hunter will get quite a challenge going against NC State sixth-year senior point guard Jarkel Joiner, who had 20 points and 10 assists in the win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Joiner is averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, and shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.

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