Clemson Basketball Continues to Climb in National Rankings

by Press Release - Mon Jan 05 15:04:05 GMT-04:00 2009

Clemson, SC - The Clemson men's basketball team earned its highest ranking in over 11 years on Monday when the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll was released. The Tigers are ranked #11 by the coaches, the program's highest ranking in either of the national polls since the 1997-98 team was #5 by the Associated Press on November 16. Also on Monday, the Tigers climbed eight spots to #12 in the latest AP poll.

Clemson is off to a 14-0 start, the third-best record to start a season in school history. The 1986-87 and 2006-07 teams reeled off 17 straight wins to begin both of those seasons. The Tigers are one of just four undefeated teams remaining in the country. Two of the four are from the Atlantic Coast Conference. In fact, four of the top 11 teams in the latest USA Today poll are from the ACC.

The Tigers have won seven games at home and seven games away from home this season. Clemson is a perfect 4-0 on the road, which includes wins at Charlotte, Illinois, Miami (FL), and South Carolina. The Tigers have won nine straight road games against non-conference competition as well.

This marks the third consecutive season Clemson has been ranked inside the top 15 in at least one of the national polls. In 2006-07, the Tigers were as high as #14 in the January 8 coaches' poll after consecutive last-second wins over Florida State and Georgia Tech to begin the ACC slate. Last year, Clemson rose to as high as #15 in both polls on December 17 as part of a 10-0 start to the season.

Clemson returns to action on Tuesday to face Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference, the team's final non-conference game of the season. The contest will tip off at 9:00 PM at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 men's basketball coaches' poll

Rank School Record Points Previous

1. Pittsburgh (30) 14-0 774 3

2. Duke 12-1 714 5

3. North Carolina (1) 13-1 707 1

4. Wake Forest 13-0 687 6

5. Connecticut 12-1 630 2

6. Oklahoma 13-1 593 4

7. (tie) Texas 11-2 546 7

7. (tie) UCLA 12-2 546 9

9. Syracuse 14-1 526 11 (tie)

10. Georgetown 10-2 506 8

11. Clemson 14-0 480 16

12. Michigan State 11-2 452 15

13 Notre Dame 10-3 277 10

14. Purdue 11-3 261 11 (tie)

15. Marquette 13-2 251 25

16. Arizona State 12-2 238 14

17. Villanova 12-2 225 13

18. Xavier 11-2 217 22

19. Minnesota 13-1 183 21

20. Butler 12-1 147 NR

21. Louisville 9-3 136 18 (tie)

22. West Virginia 11-2 132 NR

23. Baylor 12-2 98 20

24. Boston College 13-2 90 NR

25. Tennessee 9-3 85 18 (tie)

Dropped out: No. 17 Gonzaga, No. 23 Ohio State, No. 24 Michigan.

Others receiving votes: Dayton (13-1) 54; Illinois State (14-0) 50; Michigan (11-3) 49; Saint Mary's (13-1) 43; Ohio State (10-2) 40; Memphis (10-3) 37; Brigham Young (11-2) 34; Illinois (13-2) 34; California (13-2) 31; Davidson (10-2) 31; Arkansas (11-1) 27; Gonzaga (8-4) 27; Wisconsin (11-3) 26; Texas A&M (13-1) 22; Missouri (12-2) 21; Florida (12-2) 11; UNLV (13-2) 11; LSU (12-1) 10; Kansas (10-3) 7; Stanford (11-1) 5; Florida State (13-2) 1; Maryland (11-2) 1; Utah State (12-1) 1; Washington (10-3) 1.