Syracuse Basketball: Top 5 things to know about Clemson ahead of game

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 14: Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers yells to his team against the Duke Blue Devils during the quarterfinals of the 2014 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 14, 2014 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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4. This seems to be a veteran laden team, how much does that stabilize this team during tough times?

We’re about to see just how good that veteran leadership truly is. Clemson has an absolutely brutal stretch to begin conference play.

The Tigers opened with Duke on the road. They competed in the first half before just being outmatched and out-manned in the second half. Now, they’ve got Syracuse on the road and No. 4 Virginia at home before getting Georgia Tech at home. Then Clemson will travel to No. 13 Florida State and No. 15 NC State.

It’s going to be important for those veterans to step up and find a way to make shots down the stretch and win some of these games. It’s a brutal stretch to open the conference slate, but that’s what happens when you play in the ACC.

Now, back to the question. Guys like Marcquise Reed, Shelton Mitchell, David Skara and Elijah Thomas have been here before. They know what it’s like and what it takes to turn tough stretches around and I think they’ll be able to do just that.

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