A nondescript win over St. Peter’s on Tuesday was injected with some unwelcome drama for Clemson when leading scorer Marcquise Reed was felled by a knee injury that was feared to be potentially serious.
Testing Wednesday revealed good news for Reed and the Tigers.
The 6-foot-3 senior was diagnosed with a sprain - rather than with any ligament tears - after an MRI and is questionable for Saturday’s matchup with No. 22 Mississippi State, according to the Greenville News.
Reed is averaging 19.4 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor. He’s also tallying 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game for the Tigers and coach Brad Brownell, who said after the St. Peter’s win he was “very concerned” about losing Reed for an extended period of time with the injury.
Reed has scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games for Clemson, and his presence Saturday will be a major factor against the Bulldogs on a neutral floor. After Saturday, Clemson has just one more non-conference game of consequence - Dec. 22 at South Carolina - before ACC play begins in a big way with a trip to Durham to face No. 2 Duke on Jan. 5.
The win against St. Peter’s stopped a two-game losing streak for the Tigers after they dropped contests against Creighton and Nebraska. They’re 6-2 on the season.