FSU Seminoles lose 79-59 to Clemson Tigers in ACC opener

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson coach Brad Brownell is not ready to make too much of his team's blowout victory, no matter how good the Tigers looked against Florida State on Saturday.

Andre Young had 18 points, Milton Jennings had 15 and the Tigers used a 20-0 run in the first half to open ACC play with a 79-59 win.

It took Brownell several games into his coaching debut last season to turn the Tigers (9-6) into the 20-win team that finished fourth in the ACC and reached the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight season. Clemson has had similar struggles this season, blending six newcomers into a mix where upperclassmen including Young and Jennings have had to assume bigger roles.

See anything similar, coach?

"We're not where we were last year," Brownell said. "We played a very good game (Saturday). We've got a lot more where we've got to do better."

Or at least match the effort they showed in beating FSU (9-6), taking control early and holding the Seminoles' leading scorer, Michael Snaer, to seven points, about half of his 13.6-point average.

Clemson outrebounded FSU 35-34 and had five blocks. Its defense held the Seminoles to 36 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. FSU missed 10 straight shots at one point to fall behind 32-10. "That was one of our worst games," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Both teams were looking to make an early ACC statement after erratic nonconference play.

The Seminoles rose to No. 22 in the Associated Press poll off a 5-0 start but fell to Harvard, then defending national champion Connecticut in the Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas. FSU also lost to Princeton in triple overtime last week.

Hamilton said his players had a good week of practice and were blindsided by their poor effort. "I didn't see that coming," he said.