1. Rod Hall has to play well. Against Belmont he got into foul trouble and didn't play most of the first half. When he came back in the 2nd half he wasn't good. Defensively, he allowed a few Belmont three pointers to start the second half and killed the momentum the Tigers had on offense. He did make the go-ahead layup down the stretch, but made critical turnovers in the last two minutes that could've let Belmont tie the game or win. Hall just needs to get the Tigers in a rhythm on offense and play good D. He's the Tajh Boyd of the basketball team, sometimes he plays awesome and sometimes he just makes awful decisions and tries to force too much.
2. Clemson has to rebound well, especially on defense. Against a small Belmont team they gave up a ton of second chance points, allowing 18 offensive rebounds. That won't fly in the NIT Final Four. Jaron Blossomgame will help, as he should be available for the first time in two games. If they give up a lot of 2nd chance points against Larry Brown's SMU Mustangs they will get blown out.
3. No long droughts in each half. In games that the Tigers lost they had long droughts without scoring in the 1st and 2nd half, often lasting up to four minutes. A combined total of 8 minutes will put them in a deep whole. KJ McDaniels will need to pick up the team when the offense goes sour. DeMarcus Harrison has been feeling it and will need to have double figures. The third best scorer lately somehow winds up on the bench on the 2nd half. That's Jordan Roper. His got to play good in the first half to get 2nd half minutes. If he can give 20 minutes and 10-15 points Clemson will be hard to beat and lack droughts.
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