Clemson makes dubious March Madness history with pitiful first half

Clemson went from Elite Eight to Unlucky 13.One year after winning three games to make a surprise run to the West Region final of the NCAA Tournament, No.5 Clemson endured a historically bad first half in its first-round game Thursday against No.

12 McNeese State in the Midwest Region.The score was 31-13 after 20 minutes.Clemson became just the second team seeded No.5 or better to score 13 points or fewer in the first half of a NCAA Tournament game during the shot-clock era (since 1986).

The only other was No.5 Wisconsin (12 points) against No.

12 Missouri State in 1999.How do you only score 13 points in the first half as the favorite?Clemson did so by shooting 5 of 24 from the floor, including 1 of 15 from 3-point range.The Tigers only attempted two free throws (converting both) and committed 10 turnovers.Want to tune into as much March Madness as you can? DIRECTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV both have you covered with every channel you’ll need, plus free trials.Halftime didn’t exactly turn around the nightmare, either.

McNeese State, which is losing head coach Will Wade to North Carolina State whenever the season ends, wasn’t distracted.It was a terrible start to the first round for the ACC, which is in danger of having its second- and third-place finishers in the regular season bounced in embarrassing fashion.Louisville, the No.8 seed in the South Region, fell behind No.

9 Creighton by as many as 20 points late in the first half and never made it a competitive game the rest of the way. ...