Aamir Simms scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds as host Clemson knocked off No. 25 Louisville 54-50 Wednesday night.
Clemson, which also upset a ranked Louisville team last February at home, snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 10-4 overall, 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Tigers are 6-1 at home this season.
Simms, a preseason All-ACC pick, made 6 of 12 shots from the floor and also led the Tigers with four assists.
Al-Amir Dawes added 15 points for Clemson, connecting on 4 of 8 3-point shots, and Hunter Tyson added 10 points. The Tigers became the first team this season to rally from a halftime deficit to defeat the Cardinals.
Carlik Jones, the third-leading scorer in the ACC with an 18.4 average, was held to just 11 points for Louisville (10-4, 5-3). No other Cardinals player finished in double figures.
Jones made 4 of 14 shots from the floor, including 1 of 6 from beyond the arc, and the Cardinals shot 31.6 percent from the floor as a team.
Louisville led 22-21 at halftime and the teams were tied at 37-37 with eight minutes to play. Baskets by Tyson and Clyde Trapp sandwiching two free throws from Simms gave the Tigers the lead for good.
Clemson's lead swelled to as many as eight points, 49-41, with 2:51 left, and the Cardinals never drew closer than four points after that.
The teams were originally scheduled to play on March 3, but the game was moved to Wednesday night after Clemson's scheduled game against Boston College was postponed due to COVID-19 protocol in the Eagles' program.
Clemson had lost three straight games via blowout since returning from an 11-day break due to COVID-19 protocol within its program. The Tigers, who were ranked as high as No. 12 a few weeks ago after a 9-1 start, had been outscored 248-176 in their previous three games.
--Field Level Media
Louisville | Clemson | |
Carlik Jones 11 | Scoring | Aamir Simms 16 |
Carlik Jones 3 | Assists | Aamir Simms 4 |
Jae'lyn Withers 12 | Rebounds | Aamir Simms 9 |
JJ Traynor 3 | Free Throws Made | Aamir Simms 3 |
Jae'lyn Withers 3 | Steals | Al-Amir Dawes 1 |
N/A | Blocks | Hunter Tyson 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Louisville | 50 | 31.6 | 5-24 | 9-16 | 7 | 40 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Clemson | 54 | 35.8 | 7-35 | 9-13 | 12 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 11 |