Basketball: Clemson at Miss. State - A Closer Look |
CLEMSON AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
Site: Humphrey Coliseum (10,500)
? Clemson won its 23rd consecutive season opener with a 91-46 victory over Furman on November 12. It was Clemson?s largest victory margin in a season opener since a 114-69 win over Morehead State in 1991-92.
? Clemson tied a school record with 25 steals in the win over Furman. Clemson had 25 in its season opening win over Hampton in 2004-05, Oliver Purnell?s second season at Clemson. James Mays led Clemson with six steals, the most steals by a Clemson frontcourt player since Iker Iturbe had six against NC State on March 1, 1995.
? Oliver Purnell is now 5-0 in season openers at Clemson with an average victory margin of 37.6
? Clemson forward James Mays got his senior season off to a good start with 17 points, six rebounds and six steals against Furman in just 20 minutes of play. It was his career high in steals and tied a Clemson record for steals in a game by a frontcourt player.
? This is the first of four meetings against SEC teams for the Tigers in 2007-08. This is the first time Clemson
has played four SEC teams during the regular season. Clemson was 4-0 last yeat against teams from the SEC, including a win over Mississippi in the NIT. Purnell is 7-3 against SEC teams as the Clemson coach, including seven wins in his last eight games.
? Clemson was 18-1 last year against non-conference teams, and is 1-0 this year.
* Clemson has a 19-1 record in the month of November
under Oliver Purnell and has won 14 games in a row. Clemson is 82-15 all-time in November.
? Demontez Stitt got his Clemson career off to a good start with 12 points on 6-10 shooting. He became the 17th first-year freshman in Clemson history to start his the first game of the year, the fourth under Oliver Purnell.
? Clemson defeated Mississippi State last year at Clemson by a 69-66 score. Cliff Hammonds led the Tigers with 20 points, while James Mays had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
? Mississippi State center Brian Johnson played against Clemson for Louisville in the 2006 NIT. He had a still career high 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Tigers in that game.
? Clemson forced 37 Furman turnovers in its season opening win. Mississippi State committed just four turnovers on offense in its season opening victory over Louisiana Tech.
? Clemson was picked 12th in the preseason college basketball poll by Basketball Times. The Tigers were also ranked 22nd by Street & Smith. The Tigers are 26th in poll points by USA Today and 27th by the Associated Press this week.
Clemson Head Coach: Oliver Purnell (Old Dominion ?75) Overall (20th season): 327-249 .568 At Clemson (5th season): 71-58 .550 vs. Mississippi State 1-0 1.000 Clemson Assistant Coaches: Ron Bradley (Eastern Nazarene College, ?74); Frank Smith (Old Dominion ?88); Shaka Smart (Kenyon College ?99); Trainer: Raz Razayeski (Georgia Tech ?94) Mississippi State Head Coach: Rick Standsbury (Campbellsville ?82) at Mississippi State 186-104 (10th year) Overall 186-104 (10th year) vs. Clemson 0-1 Assistant Coaches: Robert Kirby, Phil Cunningham, Marcus Grant
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