SMU has been a middle-of-the-pack defensive team all season in the ACC and relied on its 3-point shooting and offensive ability to carry it to its 23-9 record. But down the stretch of the season, the Mustangs have progressed on their weaker side of the ball — and put together one of their best performances of the season Thursday.

Chase Hunter scored 21 points, Jaeden Zackery added 11 points and No. 10 Clemson battled back to beat SMU 57-54 for its ninth straight win to reach the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

Chuck Harris and Matt Cross both scored 12 points and SMU had a successful debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, defeating Syracuse 73-53 in Wednesday night's second-round game in Charlotte.

The sixth-seeded SMU Mustangs (23-10) fought to the finish against three-seed Clemson (27-5), the No. 10 team in the nation, but ultimately fell 57-54, ending their run in this year’s ACC tournament.

In doing so, the Tigers narrowly avoided going one and done in back-to-back ACC Tournaments after getting routed by Boston College in their opener last year. They also kept their chances of a league title and a top 4 NCAA Tournament seed alive.

Analyzing Thursday’s SMU vs. Clemson odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

Chase Hunter scored 15 of Clemson's 29 second-half points to help the Tigers survive SMU in the ACC tournament. Here's how the star guard did it.

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Chase Hunter took over in the final minutes to lift Clemson past SMU on Thursday. The Tigers (27-5) won 57-54 and will face Louisville next.

The Clemson Tigers (26-5, 18-2) and the Mustangs of SMU (23-9, 14-7) take the court in the final game of the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament. SMU smacked Syracuse last night 73-53. They must continue to win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.