ACC Basketball: 5 takeaways from the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Challenge

5. Clemson and Virginia Tech dropped the ball

The Clemson Tigers played on the opening night of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday night against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and were unable to defend homecourt, losing 68-66 in a back-and-forth battle.

James Palmer Jr. and Isaac Copeland Jr. were virtually unstoppable for Nebraska, finishing with a combined 36 points in the game, offsetting 28 combined points from Clemson’s Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell. A potentially big offensive game from Elijah Thomas was slowed by foul trouble. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and three fouls.

Thomas battled foul trouble in the Tigers’ loss to the Creighton Bluejays on Nov. 21 as well so it will be something for head coach Brad Brownell to monitor. Clemson has now lost two straight games and their depth/foul trouble issues will need to be addressed.

The other disappointment in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was the Virginia Tech Hokies as they fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, 63-62. They looked good prior to their game with Penn State, but against Power 5 competition, the same issues occurred.

As a team, they did manage to shoot 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from behind the arc but just four players scored for them in the entire game. Two starters in Ahmed Hill and Wabisa Bede didn’t score. Hill finished the game scoreless, shooting 0-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range. Bede didn’t attempt a shot.

They were outrebounded 36-29 on the glass and Justin Robinson had six turnovers in the game. Robinson led all scorers in the contest with 19 points but ill-advised shots and turnovers doomed the Hokies down the stretch.

The losses aren’t bad losses on the resumes of the Hokies and Tigers but they exposed depth issues both teams seem to be experiencing in 2018-19. As the season progresses, it will be something they address or more losses could be on the horizon.