CHARLOTTE, N.C. — No. 10 Clemson trailed No. 13 Louisville by five points at halftime of Friday night’s semifinal game at the ACC tournament and needed some in-game adjustments. So it didn’t help when the Tigers were locked out of their locker room during the intermission.
Clemson players sat on the cement floor outside of the locker room while coach Brad Brownell addressed his team.
Eventually, the door was unlocked by building security and the Tigers got in.
The ACC added two minutes to halftime as a result.
Whether it was coincidence, Clemson did not play well early in the second half, eventually falling behind by 15 after going more than six minutes without a field goal. The Tigers finally got some momentum and cut their deficit to two with a furious rally and had a chance to tie before losing 76-73.
Brownell said it’s something that has never happened to his Clemson team before.
“No, not at this level,” Brownell said. “It’s disappointing, obviously.”
An ACC spokesperson said it’s unclear how the door, which locks from the inside, was locked. The conference posts a security guard outside every locker room for every game and there had never been any incidents reported before.
