FanHouse TrevorBooker

With Michigan leading Clemson by 12 with 11:36 to go in the second half of Thursday's first-round game, someone casually asked me, "Hey, do you know what time Michigan will play on Saturday?"

Memo to fans everywhere: That's a cardinal sin. You do not look ahead in March, especially when you're supporting a team that hasn't won an NCAA Tournament game in more than a decade. Sure enough, immediately after that question landed, Clemson made its move. The Tigers used a late 11-0 run to pull within one of Michigan, setting up up a thrilling finish in the South Region.

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The NCAA tournament is just one day away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The Midwest Region got the ball rolling, followed by the East. Now, the South. What is intriguing about this region, and who do we like?

Matt Snyder: The one thing I like about the South Bracket is it's the one bracket with a bit of a mid-major flavor. Butler and Gonzaga should both have a shot at taking down Ty Lawson (right) and the mighty Tar Heels, and Western Kentucky has a solid chance at beating Illinois in the first round.

If you wanted to play a parlay on Miami and Clemson road-grading Duke and Wake Forest the kind of clubbings usually reserved for the Knicks or Andy Kennedy's cab rides, you probably would've had to look far, far down your betting slip.

Think somewhere in the area of Alex Rodriguez autographing a copy of Joe Torre's new book and Alex Rodriguez shacking up with a woman whose age is less than his homer totals.

And then keep looking down.

We've covered -- rather extensively, actually -- the level to which Clemson embarrassed Duke Wednesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. But still, nothing really sums it up the game quite like Trevor Booker's monster dunk on both Kyle Singler and Brian Zoubek. Enjoy.

Clemson wasn't scared of Duke tonight. Not one bit. They said it before the game, and man, oh man did they prove it for 40 minutes Wednesday night, absolutely thrashing the Blue Devils 74-47 in Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson didn't look horrible in the first half Thursday night, but they certainly looked like a team that could be headed for a losing streak, based solely on Virginia Tech pouring in 53 points -- 22 of them from Malcolm Delaney -- before halftime.

But the Tigers rebounded in the second half, holding the Hokies to just 29 points over that span, to pull out a four point win on the road.

Long ago, this stopped being merely a streak.

Streaks are what happens when you defy the odds long enough to become noticeable. A NFL team wins seven in a row. That's a streak. You flip a coin and get heads half a dozen times consecutively. That's a streak. Alex Rodriguez dates a woman whose age is lower than a Tiger Woods golf score? Even once, that too is a streak.

But long ago, this became less skid and more law of nature, something Newton scribbled about between the bit about apples and equal and opposition reactions.

Clemson turned on the offensive and defensive pressure in the second half, forcing 17 Illinois turnovers and squeaking out a 76-74 win in Champaign.

In one of the best games of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Clemson shot an amazing 58% from the field (Illinois shot a darn good 51.7% themselves). It was a fun, physical game to watch and had just 21 combined free throws attempted.

Clemson had a balanced attack. Demontez Stitt scored 18 points, Trevor Booker added 16 while K.C. Rivers and Raymond Sykes chipped in 14 points apiece.

Illinois was less balanced. Mike Davis scored a career-high 28 points and Demetri McCamey added 20. The rest of the team combined for just 26 points.

This is the first win for the ACC in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge after the Big Ten took the first two games. It was also the third straight road win to open the series.

What a prelude to the ACC season!

#19 Clemson had #1 North Carolina on the ropes all game long. They led virtually the entire way until Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and clutch shooting got the game into overtime. In OT and down 88-87, Ellington his a smooth three (among all kinds of pressure) with :00.4 seconds left to pull the game out for North Carolina, 90-88.

Ellington had a career day. Dude scored 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting ... including 5 of 8 from downtown. None was as big as the final shot, which looked as calm as a free throw despite the pass to him nearly being stolen and with a hand in his face. Ellington scored seven of the Heels' nine points in overtime.

If not for Ellington, this game was over. Tyler Hansbrough got a double-double (12 points, 15 boards) but got absolutely nothing going all game. Clemson used Trevor Booker, James Mays and Raymond Sykes to nag Psycho T into attempting just eight shots.