Too Sweet! For The First Time Since 1980, Clemson Is Headed To The Elite Eight After Massive Win Over Arizona

We have our first upset of the Sweet-Sixteen, and the Clemson Tigers will be the ones moving onto the Elite-Eight after defeating No.2 seed Arizona in the West Regional. 

The ongoing story of Clemson's crazy NCAA Tournament run spilled over onto the court at Crypto Arena on Thursday night in the Sweet-16 opener in Los Angeles. A team that many viewed as a Final Four favorite, Arizona had no answer for Clemson's offense around the basket, with the Tigers looking like the more explosive team the entire game. 

This is just the second Elite-Eight in program history for Clemson, which out-hustled Arizona from the opening tip. In front of a crowd that was largely pro-Arizona, the Tigers were hitting tough shots and gained a 13-point lead at one point in the first half, before the Wildcats showed some signs of life. 

At one point in the second half, Arizona was 1-18 shooting from the field, and Clemson took advantage of the awful shot selection, along with a number of missed shots around the basket by the Wildcats. It was Chase Hunter who led Clemson from the field, scoring 18 points to go along with his 7 rebounds. Holding Arizona to just 72 points was the catalyst to the Tigers advancing, and they finished it with a monster dunk with 11 seconds remaining. 

LOS ANGELES - Head coach Brad Brownell of the Clemson Tigers reacts to PJ Hall in a game against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Crypto.com Arena on March 28. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

This will go down as one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, a lot of it having to do with the Wildcats getting to play in Los Angeles, and the travel not being a major factor either. For Clemson, after winning last weekend, the Tigers spent only 12 hours back home in South Carolina before hopping on a plane for the West Coast. 

At no point in this game did Arizona look comfortable, and its play on defense proved this point for 40 minutes. Superstar Caleb Love was held to just 13 points and 2 rebounds, as the Sweet-Sixteen problems once again came back to haunt the Wildcats. 

Now, Clemson might get the opportunity to play ACC foe North Carolina for a spot in the Final Four, as the Tarheels play Alabama tonight in the second game. 

Either way, the Tigers are guaranteed one more game this season, while Arizona flamed out in Los Angeles. 

I imagine a bunch of you didn't have this in your bracket before the tournament started.