CLEMSON BASKETBALL

Clemson basketball vs. UNC Greensboro preview

Clemson basketball vs. UNC Greensboro preview


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GAME SETUP


Site: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617)


Date: Friday, Nov. 20, 2009


City: Greensboro, NC


Time: 7:00 PM


TV: Fox Sports South


(Rich Waltz - play-by-play, Dan Bonner - color)


Web: ESPN360.com


Radio: Clemson Tiger Sports Properties


(Pete Yanity - play-by-play, Tim Bourret - color)


Rankings: Clemson: #22 AP, #23 ESPN/USA Today



SERIES NOTES


Overall: Clemson leads 1-0


at Clemson: Clemson leads 1-0


at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 1-0


at UNC Greensboro: None played


at Neutral: None played


First Meeting: Clemson, 88-62, in 1992-93


Last Meeting: Clemson, 88-62, in 1992-93

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS


2 Demontez Stitt 6-2 175 Jr.         G            4 Mikko Koivisto 6-4 195 Sr.

(7.5 PPG, 4.5 APG) (9.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG)

5 Tanner Smith 6-5 220 So. G 12 Kyle Randall 6-2 175 Fr.

(11.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG) (9.5 PPG, 3.0 APG)

45 Jerai Grant 6-8 220 Jr. C/F 2 Darrius Sellers 6-7 215 Jr.

(0.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) (2.5 PPG, 1.0 RPG)

15 David Potter 6-6 215 Sr. F 24 Ben Stywall 6-5 210 Sr.

(12.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG) (12.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG)

35 Trevor Booker 6-7 240 Sr. F 44 Pete Brown 6-6 242 Sr.

(11.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG) (4.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG)



QUICK FACTS


• Clemson and UNC Greensboro will play for only the second time in series history on Friday. In the only previous meeting, Sharone Wright produced a triple-double, one of four in school history. He had 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots in the Dec. 12, 1992 game.


• The Tigers are currently riding a school record 10-game non-conference winning streak in road games. The streak dates to Nov. 12, 2006 when Clemson pulled out a 74-70 victory at Old Dominion. Clemson’s 10-game streak is tied for longest in the ACC with North Carolina.


• Clemson is coming off a 79-39 win over Liberty on the road. It was Clemson’s largest margin of victory in a road game since a 114-69 win at The Citadel on Feb. 6, 1956.


• The Tigers have won both of their games this season by 40+ point margins. The last time Clemson won consecutive games by over 40 points was in 1986-87, when Cliff Ellis’ team actually won three straight games by such a margin.


• The Spartans enter Friday’s contest with an 0-2 record, but played Virginia Tech close in Blacksburg in their last game out. The Spartans have a tough schedule, with four ACC teams coming to Greensboro and six games against ACC teams overall. Both of UNCG’s losses have come to ACC foes, Duke and Virginia Tech.


• For the first time ever, UNCG will play all of its home games at the Greensboro Coliseum. The facility will also give Clemson’s players a glimpse of the ACC Tournament venue. None of Clemson’s current players have played a collegiate game in the coliseum. The last time the Tigers played at the Greensboro Coliseum was in the 2006 conference tournament.


• Clemson has an overall record of 96-15 in its history during the month of November. Under Head Coach Oliver Purnell, the Tigers have won 28 consecutive games dating to his second year with the program (2004-05). Clemson was 5-0 in November of 2005, 8-0 in 2006, 6-0 in 2007, and 7-0 last November.


• Clemson ascended to No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. Five teams from the ACC were ranked in the AP poll.


• Clemson has five announced sellouts so far for the 2009-10 season, including four conference games. Tilts against South Carolina (Dec. 6), Boston College (Jan. 9), North Carolina (Jan. 13), Duke (Jan. 23) and Virginia (Feb. 20) are officially sold out.


• David Potter is coming off a career-high 17-point game against Liberty. The senior forward hit 5-6 three-point goals and 6-7 shots overall. Potter’s previous career high was 12, in his very first game against Arkansas State in 2006.


• Trevor Booker had his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Liberty, the 22nd of his career. He leads all active ACC players in double-doubles, as well as rebounds (812) and blocked shots (207).


• Andre Young ranks first in the ACC in steals per game (4.5), and Clemson’s average of 19 per game is tops in the league.

Clemson vs. UNC Greensboro Series History

The Tigers and Spartans have just one previous meeting

in history on the hardwood. Clemson center Sharone

Wright produced a triple-double on Dec. 12, 1992 in an

88-62 victory for the Tigers. Wright’s triple-double was

his first of two that season, and one of only four in school

history. Tree Rollins had the other two triple-doubles.

Wright scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds,

while collecting 10 blocked shots. While he was Clemson’s

most effective inside player, he was not alone in the

1992 win. Devin Gray posted 22 points from his power

forward position. Guards Jeff Brown and Chris Whitney

contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.

In that lone previous meeting, Clemson shot a torrid

60 percent in the second half to pull away from UNC

Greensboro at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Scouting UNC Greensboro

The Spartans easily have one of the toughest schedules

in the country. UNC Greensboro has already played on

the road versus ACC teams Duke and Virginia Tech, and

will later face Wake Forest, NC State, and Maryland at

home. For the first time in school history, the Spartans will

play all of their regular season games inside the confines

of the Greensboro Coliseum.

UNC Greensboro had a tough start to the season,

having to go on the road to face a top-10 Duke team at

Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils captured a

96-62 win, thanks in large part to 60 percent shooting and

a +18 rebound advantage. Spartan forward Ben Stywall

was outstanding in 30 minutes, producing 19 points and

eight rebounds.

The Spartans were tied at halftime in their last game

at Virginia Tech. However, the Hokies held on for the

59-46 victory at home.

The Spartans are under the direction of ninth-year

Head Coach Mike Dement. He is 107-128 in his tenure

at Greensboro.

Last Game Review...

Tigers Rout Liberty in Lynchburg, 79-39

A 10:00 AM tipoff did not affect Clemson’s preparation

for the Liberty Flames. The Tigers traveled to Lynchburg,

VA and defeated the Flames soundly, winning 79-39 in

front of a capacity crowd at the Vines Center on Tuesday,

Nov. 17. The game was played at 10 AM as part of ESPN’s

24-hour college hoops marathon.

Clemson was the better team, evidenced by the start of

the game when the Tigers jumped out to a 17-1 advantage

after only seven minutes of play. David Potter smoothly

sank three of his game-high five 3-point baskets during

the run, leading Clemson to the comfortable win. The

advantage was stretched as high as 26 points in the opening

half after a layup by Demontez Stitt made it 41-15 in favor

of Clemson.

In the second half, several players got significant court

time as the Tigers expanded on their lead. The lead grew

to over 30 points after a pair of jump shots by Clemson

senior Trevor Booker. The 40-point final margin proved

to be Liberty’s largest deficit of the game. Donte Hill hit

a layup in the final 10 seconds to push the lead to 40.

Potter was one of the top stories of the game. The

senior from Severn, MD scored a career-high 17 points,

hitting 5-6 from long range and 6-7 shots overall. Booker

added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Andre Young had five of the Tigers’ 19 steals, and was

impressive on offense as well with nine points and four

assists. The 5-9 guard added six rebounds, second-best

on the team.

Tigers Move Up in National Polls

The men’s basketball team was ranked No. 24 in both

the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches’

preseason polls. It marked the first time since 1997-98

that Clemson was ranked in either of the two national

preseason polls for men’s basketball.

The first polls of the regular season were released on

Monday, Nov. 16. Clemson moved up two spots in the

AP poll to No. 22, and one spot to No. 23 in the coaches’

rankings. The Tigers have finished the past two seasons

ranked in the final top 25 by the AP.

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