By Steven Bradley (Contact / Staff Bio)
March 28, 2008 - 12:15 a.m. EST

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Clemson fans.

In this spot last week, we talked about how the biggest obstacle the Tigers faced in the NCAA Tournament wasn’t necessarily Villanova, but rather their own lack of a winning history in the Big Dance and lack of experience playing the role of favorites.

We pointed out that Clemson had fallen victim to this previously this season – when it held big leads in both regular season games against North Carolina and was in good shape to beat the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship game. The Tigers almost blew a 21-point first half lead against Miami, and even going back to last season, we talked about how the Tigers had crumbled after being the last team in the entire nation to lose their first game.

Again against Villanova, it was almost as if somewhere deep down in their subconscious they realized they weren’t supposed to be cruising through the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

And that’s exactly what Clemson was doing early in the game, as it jumped out to a 12-2 lead and ultimately built an 18-point lead in the first half. Just a few careless possessions and bad looks later, the Wildcats had shaved the lead down to 12 by halftime and down to seven just a minute into the second half.

“Tonight, you saw a team that was a little more determined than Clemson, and normally you can’t say that,” said Clemson guard Cliff Hammonds. “We are out there scrapping and clawing with almost everybody and most of the time we are the more determined team. At the beginning of the game, we showed that. We had that determination in our eye, but midway, I guess we relaxed and thought we had the game wrapped up.”

Perhaps it sounds obvious, but relaxing isn’t exactly the best strategy when you’re in position to win your first NCAA Tournament game in over a decade.

Before I get too carried away with the whole ‘I told you so’ thing, though, let me say that I’m not sure that’s really what happened in this case.

The reason that college basketball makes for such excitement in tournament situations – they do call it March Madness, after all – is that the better team with the better athletes doesn’t always win.

In football, typically the better team is able to simply impose its will on its opponent – using superior size, strength and speed to overwhelm the other team. In baseball, the team with the best pitching almost always has the edge in a make-or-break type of game.

In basketball – especially the collegiate variety – you can have all the athletes you want, and Clemson has plenty of them, but it still comes down to who can put the ball through the hoop more often. And that was ultimately the Tigers’ downfall against Villanova.

Clemson made just seven shots in the second half and finished 9-of-33 from three-point range. The Tigers were just 2-for-16 from long range in the second half.

And while bad shooting makes it tough to win any basketball game, Clemson also fell victim to that old clichĂ© – it just wasn’t meant to be.

Every time the Tigers had an opportunity to regain control of the game, fate seemed to smile on Villanova.

The Wildcats took their first lead of the night when star guard Scottie Reynolds banked in a 3-pointer from an impossible angle while being fouled by Cliff Hammonds.

Just moments later, the Tigers had played an outstanding defensive possession and Villanova found itself needing to force up a shot just to beat the shot clock. The Wildcats’ Corey Fisher was barely able to get off an off-balance, double-clutch shot from well behind the 3-point line with one second left on the shot clock – nothing but net.

Clemson, meanwhile, couldn’t get a 3-pointer to go down late in the game even with wide-open looks and multiple chances on the same possession – but that didn’t stop the Tigers from trying.

“It’s very important that you don’t fall in love with the threes, which we did,” said Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell.

Of course, free-throw shooting has been an Achilles’ heel for the Tigers for as long as I can remember, and they certainly didn’t help themselves from the line against Villanova. Despite freshmen Demontez Stitt and Terrence Oglesby making all 10 free throws they combined to attempt, the Tigers still made just 14-of-23 free throws (60.9 percent) in the game. Villanova, meanwhile, made 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) of their attempts from the charity stripe. Think that made a difference?

But as we discussed last week, building a winning program is a step-by-step process, and ultimately, it seems like Clemson just wasn’t ready to take this step yet.

Purnell has made strides – slowly but surely – with the program each and every year of his tenure, however, and don’t expect that progress to stop here.

For example, the performance of Stitt and Oglesby from the foul line against Villanova is a sign that perhaps the Tigers’ long history of struggling with free throws might be starting to change. And Stitt, in particular, showed that he might be one of those players that plays his best on the biggest stages. We already knew that Oglesby won’t shy away from taking a big shot with a big game on the line.

While the Tigers are losing one of their strongest senior classes in recent memory – Hammonds, James Mays and Sam Perry have all been absolutely vital to the progress the program has made – the future is bright for basketball at Clemson.

With Purnell under contract through the 2013-2014 season, and a host of starters and key contributors returning next season, expect the Tigers to build off this year and be ready to take another step in the right direction next season.

And when Clemson actually gets over the hump and makes some serious noise in the Big Dance, don’t say I didn’t warn you.