Less than 48 hours after starting their NCAA tournament journey, the Clemson Tigers saw their season end on Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers had nothing left in the second half of their second-round matchup against West Virginia, an early lead evaporating in an 84-76 defeat to the Mountaineers in the second round of the Big Dance on Thursday in Tampa.

Andre Young led the Tigers with 22 points. Demontez Stitt added 16 points. The Tigers finish 22-12 on the season.

Clemson, the 12th seed in the East regional, were part of the NCAA’s new “First Four” set of games, beating Alabama-Birmingham on Tuesday night in Dayton. The Tigers arrived in Tampa after midnight Wednesday morning, and tipped off Thursday shortly after noon Eastern time.

Early on, the Tigers had plenty of pep in their step, building a 10-point first half lead. But the Mountaineers rallied to tie the game at 40-40 at halftime, then pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 12 points.

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A 21-victory season and a strong showing in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament gave the Clemson Tigers a berth in the NCAA tournament.

But the Tigers don’t have a lot of time to bask in the glory of reaching the Big Dance, as the music begins quite early for Clemson.

Clemson takes on Alabama-Birmingham on Tuesday in Dayton, in one of the four new NCAA first-round games. Beating UAB will send the Tigers to Tampa to take on West Virginia on Thursday.

Clemson was hot earlier in the season, winning eight consecutive games from mid-December to mid-January. From there, it was an up-and-down stretch through ACC play. But the Tigers finished strong, winning three of their final four regular-season games. In the ACC tourney, the Tigers blasted Boston College before falling in overtime to No. 7-ranked North Carolina in the ACC semifinals.

UAB, the Conference USA regular-season champion, was upset in the conference quarterfinals by East Carolina. The Blazers had won seven of eight entering postseason play.

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The Clemson Tigers shook off a rough stretch in February to finish the regular season strong. Now the Tigers tip off the postseason on Friday.

Clemson takes on Boston College in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Friday in Greensboro, N.C. The Tigers finished fourth in the ACC, thereby earning an opening-round bye. While the Tigers sat Thursday, the Eagles downed last-place Wake Forest 81-67, setting up a matchup of the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the quarterfinals.

The winner gets the winner of top-seed North Carolina and No. 9 Miami in the semifinals on Saturday.

Clemson opened February with three losses in its first five games, including consecutive defeats to North Carolina and N.C. State. But the Tigers rallied from there, winning three times in their final four games to reach the 20-win mark on the season.

The Tigers beat Miami, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech in that stretch, the only loss coming to then No. 4-ranked Duke.

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The Tigers played tremendous defense against Wake Forest, which shot just 34 percent from the field.

They forced 15 turnovers and came up with 11 steals, many of which resulted directly in points.

The win pushes the Tigers another game over .500 in the ACC and suddenly has them sitting directly on the bubble with regard to the NCAA tournament.

They get a chance to do some real damage and add to their resume when they travel to Duke for senior night.

Jerai Grant scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds while Demontez Stitt added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Clemson had four players reach double figures, including Andre Young, who scored 15 off the bench.

Clemson has been flying under the radar in the ACC, but teams are going to have to start to take notice.

They are 17-7 on the year and 6-4 in conference play, and suddenly seem intent on making Selection Sunday rather interesting in Death Valley.

Clemson turned what was a close game into a 10-point halftime lead thanks to solid work on special teams.

The Tigers returned a kickoff for a touchdown and later watched as Maryland missed a short field goal.

It was a big day for the Clemson defense, which really had its way with Maryland’s porous offensive line.

They made life miserable on redshirt freshman quarterback Danny O’ Brien, intercepting him on two occasions.

In what came as a huge surprise, Clemson came out of the gate on fire and built a 17-3 lead by halftime.

Either Clemson came out slowly in the second half, Auburn was fired up, or some combination of the two.

Clemson couldn’t seem to do anything right defensively in the third quarter, surrendering three touchdowns.

They did manage to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter to push the game into overtime but could not come away with a victory.

So far in their first two games of the season, the Clemson Tigers have outscored the opposition 93-31. But things promise to get more difficult going forward.

Clemson is 2-0, the latest victory a 58-21 laugher against overmatched Presbyterian on Saturday at Death Valley. That followed a 35-10 win over North Texas.

Now the Tigers hit the road for No. 21 Auburn on Saturday. After a bye week on Sept. 25, the Tigers take on No. 17 Miami at home in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

Saturday was a breeze for the Tigers, who ran out to a 42-0 lead after a pair of 21-point quarters. Starting quarterback Kyle Parker played briefly, passing for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Reserve running back Roderick McDowell led Clemson with 85 yards rushing.

Backup quarterback Tajh Boyd also fired a pair of touchdowns and rushed for a score. Reserve running back Daniel Barnes added 79 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

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It wasn’t a blowout or a dominant performance by any stretch of the imagination. But for the Clemson Tigers, it’s a win, and that’s a start.

The combination of Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper led the way, each scoring twice, and the Clemson defense buckled down after halftime. Roll it together, and it adds up to a 35-10 victory over North Texas at Death Valley in Saturday’s season opener.

Ellington rushed for 122 yards on 12 carries, including a 60-yard scoring run just 16 seconds into the contest. He also scored on a 14-yard run.

Harper caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Parker just before halftime, and rushed in on a 3-yard run. Parker passed for 170 yards and found Brandon Clear on a 70-yard scoring strike.

North Texas actually outgained the Tigers in the first half, but Clemson’s defense limited the Mean Green to just a field goal in the final two quarters.

Clemson plays host to Presbyterian on Saturday before playing at Auburn on Sept. 18.

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It’s never really good news when one of your starting linebackers goes down days before kicking off the season.

At least for Brandon Maye, his injured knee does not look like it will keep him out of action long for the Clemson Tigers. As for the Tigers, at least it’s not an Atlantic Coast Conference they’re facing Saturday.

Instead, the Tigers will play host to North Texas to open the 2010 campaign. But they’ll do so without Maye, who will undergo knee surgery after suffering swelling in the knee following Monday’s practice.

Maye is a big part of Clemson’s defense. He’s started 25 of the past 26 games and set a school record last season with five forced fumbles. He record 190 tackles last season, helping Clemson reach the ACC title game.

Maye may return as quickly as Clemson’s second game of the season, Sept. 11 against Presbyterian.

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