It not often a team’s top scorer does not make a field goal and his team still wins by 26 points. However, that is exactly what happened in No. 23 Clemson’s 72-46 victory over Florida State on Saturday.

The Seminoles held Chase Hunter, who averaged 17.6 points per game coming into Saturday, to three points. The Tigers guard did not make a field goal and was 0-for-7 from the field.

“Some of that is the way they guarded him. They face guarded him a lot,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “They really did not let him have very many touches, so he had tough shots when he did.”

How did Clemson handle the way the Seminoles were guarding Hunter at the Donald L. Tucker Center? They got everyone else involved.

“I thought he did a lot of good things by not forcing it and just kind of excepting that,” Brownell said. “We told him, that is fine, they are going to face guard you, so we are going to do some things without you underneath.”

The Tigers (21-5, 13-2 ACC) scored 34 points in the paint with guards Dillon Hunter, Jaeden Zackery and Del Jones slashing to the basket and creating opportunities for everyone else. Chase also got in the action from that standpoint, as Clemson finished the day with 18 assists on its 29 made field goals.

“Anytime they are face guarding you like that, there is more space for other players to make plays,” Brownell said. “I thought our guys did a good job of attacking that and as a good player you have to understand that and not be selfish.

“Chase certainly was not that. He had four steals, three or four rebounds.”

Hunter finished with three assists, five rebounds and four steals.

“He is smart enough and he is about our team winning and our team having a good day instead of him having to score 17 points, which he has done many times this year,” Brownell said. “But today, he did not have to do that.”

Instead his brother took the mantle and had a career day. Dillon Hunter scored a game-high 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He connected on 3 of 6 three-pointers and also had four assists.

“Dillon is a confident player. Our staff has seen his growth from his freshman year to his junior year, and obviously saw a lot of progress this summer with his shooting,” Brownell said. “So we knew he was going to shoot the ball at a high level this year. We felt that and certainly have encouraged him to stay aggressive and he made two or three today, maybe three.

“We are not surprised by it at all. It has been a good move for us right now.”

That move, of course, is starting the younger Hunter the last three games, giving the Tigers a three-guard lineup with him, Chase Hunter and Jaeden Zackery. The result is a six-point win over No. 2 Duke, a 20-point win over North Carolina and now a 26-point road win over Florida State.

“We are a little faster and you have a little more speed on the perimeter when you have a third guard versus Chauncey [Wiggins], who has done a really good job coming off the bench,” Brownell said. “He had eight rebounds again tonight and gives us a good scoring punch, Chauncey does. He can come in at different positions, so that makes him more valuable that way coming off the bench.”

Wiggins finished the afternoon with 11 points, 8 rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes off the bench.

—photo by Melina Myers / Imagn Images