New Mexico and Clemson met in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Memphis, Tennessee, with a lot on the line. Despite the anticipation for the game between the Lobos and Tigers, New Mexico came out of the gate flat like an aged coke without the carbonation.

As the first half progressed, New Mexico rallied behind the Lobo faithful to cut into the Clemson lead as both teams approached halftime. Clemson would push past New Mexico at the half, holding on to a 42-28 lead over the Lobs. In the first half, Clemson came out fully prepared to shut down the fun and gun that New Mexico would throw at them. Clemson opened the game using the ACC size and speed to build a safe distance between them and New Mexico Lobos. New Mexico tried to find a rhythm in the first half. Struggling on all fronts, New Mexico needed a second-half overhaul to stage a comeback that would last for generations.

However, as halftime gave way to the second half, New Mexico struggled with the size of Clemson as the Tigers shut down the Lobos, advancing to play Baylor on Sunday. Despite being the popular pick to pull the upset today, New Mexico didn’t have enough in the tank to pull off the stunning upset over Clemson on Friday night. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Clemson dominated New Mexico on Friday.

New Mexico played careless basketball on Friday, with numerous turnovers, lousy shot selections, and lackluster defense. On Friday afternoon, Clemson made all the right moves to knock New Mexico out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. As bad as New Mexico was against Clemson on Friday afternoon, the Clemson Tigers looked better. Clemson was, without question, the better team today, as the Tigers made a monster statement with the win over New Mexico on Friday afternoon.

Clemson and Baylor will be a heavy-weight rock fight between two programs capable of making the Final Four before it’s all said and done. The matchup might not be attractive to the ordinary college basketball fan, but those two will deliver an instant classic on Sunday for college basketball fans to enjoy.