Men's Basketball To Face Georgia Tech |
Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Series
Clemson holds a 48-47 advantage in the series with Georgia Tech. That includes a 33-11 lead in games played at Clemson and a 24-4 margin in games in Littlejohn Coliseum. Tech last defeated Clemson at Clemson since the 1992-93 season when Tech ruined Chris Whitney's "Senior Day" game by a 66-59 score. Clemson has won seven in a row over Tech in Littlejohn by an average of 13.4 points per game. Larry Shyatt has two wins over Tech in Littlejohn by a combined 40 points. Clemson has won each of the last four games at home and five of the last seven by at least a dozen points. That includes Clemson's 28-point victory in 1998-99, Clemson' s largest victory margin over Georgia Tech since 1975-76. Clemson won the 1997-98 meeting at Clemson 76-62 behind 30 points from Greg Buckner on his "Senior Day". Clemson has won 13 of the last 14 games played at Clemson between the two teams. This has been a home team series, perhaps the most home team dominated series in the ACC the last 15 years. The home team has won 24 of the last 27 meetings. Two of the road wins in the series came in the same year. In 1992-93, Clemson won at Tech, 83-80, then lost at home, 66-59. The last win for the road team in the series took place in 1996-97 when Clemson won in Atlanta, 55-53. The teams have each won on their home court in 11 of the last 13 years. The only season series sweep in the last 13 years took place in 1996-97 when Clemson won both games. Tech has not swept Clemson since the 1985-86 season, Mark Price's senior year. The series dates to the 1912-13 season, the second year in Clemson basketball history. That year, ironically, Clemson won at Tech, 26-22, but lost at Clemson 29-13. That was the first home loss in Clemson history after four straight home wins. Last Year vs. Georgia Tech Clemson 70, Georgia Tech 58 Feb. 2 at Clemson, SC Andrius Jurkunas and Dustin Braddick both scored career highs in leading Clemson to a 70-58 victory over Georgia Tech on February 2, 2000. It was the 24th time in 28 meetings in Littlejohn Coliseum that Clemson had gained victory over the Yellow Jackets. Clemson led by as many as 20 points in the second half. Jurkunas scored 21 points, the first 20-point game of his career, and hit 7-12 shots from the field. He also made 4-7 three-point goals and tied for the lead in rebounding with seven. It was the second time in four games that Jurkunas led Clemson in both categories in the same game. He made just 3-9 shots from the line or he would have had a 25-point game. Braddick scored 14 on 4-5 shooting and also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in another fine all-around game for the 6-5 forward who did not play against North Carolina the last time the two teams met. Will Solomon had 15 points in the second half and 17 for the game. He also had a team best five assists. Ray Henderson led the bench with six points on 3-4 shooting. Clemson held Georgia Tech in check, allowing just 34.5 percent shooting, including just 7-29 three-point shots. The Tigers were playing without Adam Allenspach for the first time in 55 games. The 7-1 center was out with a bulging disk, forcing Clemson to go with a small lineup. But, Clemson won the rebound battle 40-38. Tech jumped out to a 7-2 lead early. Alvin Jones scored the first two baskets for the Yellow Jackets, then never scored another field goal. Clemson held Jason Collier, the second leading scorer in the league entering the contest, to 10 points and just three field goals. He took six shots in the first six minutes, then got just four shots the last 34 minutes. Clemson went on 13-4 run to end the half and held a 23-18 lead at intermission. It was just 27-23 with 17 minutes left when Clemson went on a 13-3 run over four minutes to take a 14-point lead. It was 54-34 in favor of Clemson with 7:53 left. Tech never got the deficit under double figures the rest of the game. Georgia Tech 85, Clemson 69 Mar. 4 at Atlanta, GA Georgia Tech downed Clemson in Atlanta on March 4, 2000. The victory was the final home game for retiring Tech Coach Bobby Cremins. He got a strong sendoff with the 16-point victory over the Tigers, who had won by 12 points at Clemson earlier in the year. Jason Collier, playing in his final home game, had 24 points and seven rebounds, while Jason Floyd hit 4-7 three-point shots and scored 23. T.J. Vines added 11 off the bench. Will Solomon led Clemson with 30 points. He was the only Tiger in double figures. Andrius Jurkunas added eight, while Pash Bains had seven. Adam Allenspach had seven points and eight rebounds, but played just 19 minutes. Tech won the battle of the boards 45-40 and shot 44 percent from the field. The turnover totals were tied at 14-14. Tech held a 38-27 lead at intermission. WakeForest 71, Clemson 63 Wake Forest forced 21 Clemson turnovers to offset a 30-point performance by ACC leading scorer Will Solomon and defeated the Tigers 71-63 on January 21 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC. Clemson fell for the 11th straight time at the Joel Coliseum. Wake Forest, ranked ninth in the USA Today Coach's poll and 10th by AP heading into the game, improved to 14-3 with the victory. Solomon made 9-17 shots from the field and 5-11 three-point attempts in registering his fourth 30-point game against a top 20 team this year. He had 17 points in the first half and 13 in the second half when he nearly brought Clemson all the way back from a 15-point deficit. Edward Scott had 10 points and seven assists, while Chris Hobbs collected 13 rebounds in a season high 36 minutes of play. Clemson was without the services of starting center Adam Allenspach, who continued to miss playing time due to a back ailment. Wake Forest was led by Broderick Hicks, who scored a season high 18 points. He entered the game with just 12 made three-point goals, but hit 4-6 on long range in this game off the bench. Reserve A.W. Hamilton made 2-3 three-point shots to give support. Josh Howard added 16 points and 10 rebounds, the only player in the game to record a double-double. Clemson was outstanding on offense to open the game. Clemson had a 20-11 lead in the first 8:10 of the contest as Solomon scored 13 of Clemson's first 20 points. Clemson still had a 22-20 lead at the 8:45 mark. Wake Forest went on a 14-4 run and had a 36-27 lead at the 2:30 mark before the half. Clemson closed the gap to just three on a layup at the buzzer by Dustin Braddick. Clemson hit a dry spell early in the second half and the Deacs opened the lead to 10 at the 14:24 mark. Clemson was 0-4 during the spurt and had five turnovers. Wake Forest moved the lead to 15 at 62-47 and still had a 64-50 lead at the 7:54 mark. But, Clemson came back behind Solomon. He scored eight straight points to cut the margin to 64-58, then dove for a steal to give Clemson another possession with four minutes left. He then hit a three-point shot that would have cut the lead to three, but he was called for an offensive foul. It was a five point game at 66-61 with 2:33 left, but Clemson could get no closer. Clemson made 14 turnovers in the second half and for the game Wake Forest had a 31-13 advantage in points off turnovers. Wake Forest all won the battle of the boards 40-31 and had a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points. Solomon Outstanding vs. Ranked Teams Will Solomon has been outstanding against top flight competition this year. In six games against top 20 teams he has scored 155 points, a 25.8 average. In those six games he has shot 49 percent from the field, 47.3 percent on three-point attempts and 81.8 percent from the foul line. All those figures are better than his stats against unranked teams. Solomon has four games of at least 30 points this year and all have come against top 20 teams. In his most recent outing, Solomon scored 30 points at ninth-ranked Wake Forest. He made 9-17 shots from the field, 5-11 on three-point shots and 7-9 from the foul line. He also added three rebounds and three steals. Earlier this year he scored 31 against a 10th ranked Seton Hall team, 32 against a 20th ranked Cincinnati team and 32 against a 17th ranked Maryland team. In the Seton Hall game he scored those 31 points in just 30 minutes. Solomon against Ranked Teams in 2000-01
Opponent (Rk) Min FG-A 3FG-A FT-A Reb Ast Pts
Seton Hall (10) 30 11-19 5-7 4-4 4 0 31
Hobbs Pulling in the Rebounds
Clemson freshman Chris Hobbs has taken over the team lead in
total rebounds this year with 109. He had 13 at Wake Forest, his
second highest total of the year. He had 15 in a game against The
Citadel earlier this year. He has jumped ahead of Adam Allenspach
in terms of total rebounds, but Allenspach, limited by a back injury,
still has the per game lead.
Hobbs has been on a rebounding surge of late, he has led
Clemson in that area in four of the last five games, all against ACC
competition. He is now averaging 8.6 rebounds per league game and
that ranks fourth in the conference. Only Terence Morris (10.5),
Travis Watson (9.2) and Lonny Baxter (9.0) are ahead of him in
conference play. It is interesting to note that he does not have a
large lead over the next best freshman. Michael Joiner of Florida
State, another rookie, is at 8.2 rebounds per game in conference play.
How productive has Hobbs been when it comes to carom
collecting? When comparing Hobbs against the great Clemson
rebounders in history his freshman rebounds per minute figure stands
second only to Tree Rollins. Rollins grabbed a rebound every 2.52
minutes his freshman season (1973-74), while Hobbs gets one every
2.65 minutes. Hobbs is ahead of the freshman pace set by such greats
as Dale Davis, Elden Campbell, Horace Grant, Sharone Wright and
Larry Nance.
His father, Greg Hobbs, is a videographer for Duke Medical
Center. In his spare time, he has served as a videographer for
Coach Mike Krzyzewski's television show. Many times Chris tagged a
long to watch the game. Both of his parents are North Carolina
graduates.
Clemson's Best Rebounds/Minute by Freshmen Player Year Min Reb Min/R Tree Rollins 1973-74 795 316 2.52 Chris Hobbs 2000-01 289 109 2.65 Dale Davis 1987-88 714 223 3.20 Sharone Wright 1991-92 747 227 3.29 Larry Nance 1977-78 273 78 3.50 Elden Campbell 1986-87 534 126 4.24 Horace Grant 1983-84 551 129 4.27
Clemson Three-Point Shooting Improved
Clemson is much improved this year when it comes to the
perimeter aspect of the game. The Tigers are shooting 36.5 percent
on three-point shots and limiting teams to 31.5 percent in that same
category. Clemson is averaging 8.17 three-point goals per game,
above the previous record rate of 7.06 per game set in 1993-94.
They are shooting and making more threes and doing it at the third
best percentage in school history.
Clemson's 1986-87 team made 203 of 453 three-point attempts,
a .448 figure, still by far the Clemson record and still the ACC mark
for that category. Clemson's 1991-92 team made 38.2 percent and the
current 36.5 figure is third.
Leading the way in terms of three-point shooting is Will
Solomon, who has made 58 three-point goals in 17 games, 3.41 per
game. Solomon's 3.41 per game figure is ahead of the 3.34 per game
by Clemson's entire team in 1989-90, the Tiger squad that won the
school's only ACC regular season championship.
Clemson's Top Three-Point Goal/Game Teams Season Made GP 3FG/G 2000-01 147 18 8.17 1993-94 240 34 7.06 1994-95 197 28 7.04 1998-99 233 35 6.66 1986-87 203 31 6.55 1992-93 192 30 6.40 1999-00 189 30 6.30
Clemson's top 3-Point Percentage Seasons
Season Made Att Pct
1986-87 203 453 .448
1991-92 161 422 .382
2000-01 147 403 .365
1994-95 197 554 .356
1998-99 233 665 .350
Clemson Veterans vs. Georgia Tech G-GS Min FG-A 3-A FT-A Reb A-T B-S Pts. Avg. Allenspach 5-2 66 11-24 0-0 7-7 22 0-5 3-2 29 5.8 Bains 2-0 30 3-6 1-1 0-0 4 2-1 0-0 7 3.5 Braddick 4-1 67 6-9 0-0 7-10 14 6-4 0-3 19 4.8 Gilmore 4-2 54 4-15 0-0 0-0 10 3-2 3-3 8 2.0 Henderson 2-0 28 5-8 0-0 0-1 5 3-0 0-0 10 5.0 Holt 2-0 2 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0-0 0 0.0 Nagys 2-0 9 0-2 0-0 0-1 4 0-1 0-0 0 0.0 Scott 2-2 73 4-11 3-4 1-2 14 6-2 0-1 12 6.0 Solomon 4-3 136 25-60 6-24 18-22 15 12-18 2-6 74 18.5
Group Tickets on Sale
The Clemson University Athletic Department Ticket Office is
offering a limited number of group tickets for the following Men's
ACC Basketball games at $5.00 each. The minimum amount to order is
twenty (20) per game. All group tickets are located in the Upper
Arena of Littlejohn Coliseum.
The special offer will be available for the following games:
Jan. 27, 2001 Virginia 4:00 PM
Feb. 21, 2001 Wake Forest 7:00 PM
March 3, 2001 Florida State 12:00 Noon
You may contact Lynn Sparks at 864-656-4288 for group ticket information.
What Clemson has Done Well
*Three-point Shooting--Clemson has averaged 8.2 three-point
goals a game, a record pace for the program, and is hitting .365 on a
percentage basis. Clemson has three players hitting at least 38
percent on three-point shots. Clemson is actually shooting 38.7
percent on three-point shots in ACC games, ahead of its overall
figure.
*Free Throw Shooting--Clemson has made 70.5 percent of its
free throws this year. No Clemson team has made 70 percent for a
season since the 1986-87 season, Horace Grant's senior season.
Leading the way are guards Will Solomon and Tony Stockman. Clemson
made 17-20 on the road at Wake Forest in its most recent game.
*Defending the Three-Point Shot--Clemson opponents are
shooting just 31.5 percent from three-point range this year. Clemson
has made seven more three-point goals than its opponents while taking
42 fewer three-point goal attempts.
Where Clemson has Struggled
*Rebounding--We say this in the comparative sense because
Clemson has been so strong in rebounding for many years. Clemson
has been first or second in the ACC in rebounding each of the last
two years. The Tigers are outrebounding the opposition for the
season, 40-39 (per game), but the opposition has 31 more offensive
rebounds. The Tigers are limited in terms of post players due to the
season ending injury to Chucky Gilmore and Adam Allenspach's back
problems.
*Assist/turnover ratio--Clemson has 259 assists and 298
turnovers so far this season. That includes a 56/94 assist/turnover
ratio in five ACC games. Clemson committed 20 turnovers at North
Carolina and 21 more in an eight-point loss at Wake Forest The
Tigers are averaging 16.6 turnovers per game and only NC State is
committing more per game (16.8).
Clifton Showing Improvement
After scoring just seven points in the first six games of the
season, freshman forward Dwon Clifton has scored 61 in the last 11
games. That includes consecutive games of nine points. He had nine
on 4-6 shooting in the win over NC State, then had nine points on 3-4
shooting at North Carolina. The native of Louisburg, NC has made 8
of his last 14 shots from the field, including each of his last three
three-point goal attempts. Clifton has just three turnovers in his
last 90 minutes of play.
Clifton had a highlight at the end of the North Carolina
game when he had a rebound dunk after a running start from the foul
line. The play was listed as the sixth best highlight of the day on
ESPN/s SportsCenter.
Henderson Productive Rebounder
Ray Henderson has stepped up his game of late, especially
when it comes to rebounding. His playing time has increased due to
the back problems that Adam Allenspach is dealing with at this time.
The native of Charlotte, NC has collected 36 rebounds in his last
four games, 9.0 per outing. He has collected 39 rebounds in five
ACC games in just 108 minutes. That would pro rate to 15 rebounds
per 40 minute game.
Henderson had a career high 13 rebounds at Duke in just 19
minutes, he followed that with 10 rebounds in the win over NC State.
He added eight rebounds in just 23 minutes at North Carolina and
seven in 29 minutes at Wake Forest. For the year, Henderson has 85
points and 85 rebounds, 5.3 per game in both areas.
Clemson Downs NC State
Clemson 72, NC State 69
Will Solomon scored 29 points, including 25 in the second
half and all seven of Clemson's points in the final 2:41, leading the
Tigers to a 72-69 win over NC State on January 13. The victory was
the first of the season in conference play for the Tigers, who have
now won five of six against the Wolfpack. The win was the 10th of
the year for the Tigers, equalling the win total of last last year
for Larry Shyatt's team.
Clemson improved dramatically on defense in its win over NC
State. The Tigers had given up 219 points in their first two ACC
games and had allowed 54 percent shooting. But, Clemson held the
Pack to 29.9 percent shooting, tying for the best field goal
percentage defense of the year, and best in an ACC game since
February of 1998 when Florida State shot just 26.8 percent against
the Tigers in Tallahassee.
Solomon scored 25 of Clemson's 43 second-half points, but he
did have significant support from his teammates. Freshman forward
Chris Hobbs had a double-double, accumulating 10 points, 11 rebounds
and three assists in 28 minutes. Ray Henderson, who started at
center in place of the injured Adam Allenspach, had 10 rebounds and
eight points in 26 minutes. Edward Scott had 10 points and just two
turnovers in 38 minutes running the point. Dwon Clifton had nine
points on 4-6 shooting in 22 minutes.
Scott was a key on defense, holding Anthony Grundy, NC
State's top scorer and a 49 percent field goal shooter, to 6-27
shooting. Damien Wilkins shot just 1-10 against the Clemson defense.
Kenny Inge led the Pack with 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Pack
made just 20-67 shots from the field, 8-32 on three-point goals.
They entered the game shooting 42.5 percent on three-pointers.
State played without Archie Miller, who was leading the nation in
three-point percentage (.620) entering the contest.
The game was close throughout with few scoring runs. Over
the first 35 minutes of the game the largest lead for either team was
six points. The Pack had a 42-36 lead at the 16:05 mark when Kenny
Inge made a conventional three-point play. The Tigers then went on
a 20-8 run to take a 56-50 lead with 7:34 to play. Clemson expanded
the lead to 60-52 at 5:53 when the Pack called timeout. Clemson's
largest lead was 65-56 with 3:22 to go.
But, NC State went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by a pair of
three-point goals by Scooter Sherrill. Clemson led 71-69 with 16
seconds left, but Grundy was called for traveling with five seconds
left. Solomon made one free throw and Clifford Crawford's 40-foot
three-point attempt missed at the buzzer.
Allenspach Questionable for Georgia Tech
Clemson's only senior on the roster, Adam Allenspach, did not
play in Clemson's win over NC State. He played just seven minutes
and did not score at North Carolina, then missed the Wake Forest game
altogether. The 7-1 center, who has played 110 games in his Clemson
career, has missed time due to inflamation of the Sacroilliac Joint
(where hip meeds the spine). The problem caused back spasms and a
loss of motion and mobility. He is day to day and would be
classified as questionable for the Georgia Tech game.
Allenspach had surgery this past summer to repair a herniated
disk. He has been troubled by the back problems off and on since
last year. He first went down due to the injury last year at Duke
when he collapsed just six minutes into the game due to the pain.
Allenspach has had many highlight moments this year. He was
still tied for first in the league in double-doubles with six
heading into the Wake Forest game. He had four in succession until
the streak came to an end against Cincinnati during a game in Puerto
Rico.
Allenspach had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds vs.
Wofford Dec. 16 and had 15 points and15 rebounds at South Carolina,
then 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Winthrop. The last Tiger to post
four consecutive double-doubles was Sharone Wright, who last did it
his sophomore year in 1992-93.
For the season, Allenspach is still third on the club
in scoring and first in rebounding per game. He has averaged 10.1
points and 7.1 rebounds per contest and leads the team in blocked
shots with 12. The rebounding average is still eighth in the league.
For his career, he has averaged 6.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and has shot
70.1 percent from the foul line, one of the top percentages in
history for a Clemson center.
Allenspach Achieved Triple Leadership at South Carolina
Adam Allenspach pulled off a rare achievement in Clemson's
loss to South Carolina in December. The 7-1 center led the Tigers
in scoring (15), assists (4) and rebounding (15). Leading Clemson
in scoring and rebounding is not an earth shattering accomplishment
for Allenspach, but adding in assists makes it an unusual
accomplishment. In fact, he also led Clemson in blocked shots in the
game, meaning he led the Tigers in four important categories.
Leading Clemson in all three areas in the same game is rare.
Below is a list of Clemson players who have done it in the last 31
years (since assists were kept as an official stat). Terrell
McIntyre did it twice in his career. Allenspach was the first to do
it as a center since Sharone Wright against UT Arlington in 1993-94.
David Angel is the only other center to do it and he did it twice.
Here is a list of Clemson players who have led Clemson in
scoring, rebounding and assists in the same game:
Clemson Triple Leadership Name Opponent Date Pts Reb Ast Dickie Foster Virginia 1-28-71 15 12 2 David Angel North Carolina 2-13-71 14 8 3 Dave Thomas Virginia Tech 2-20-71 13 9 3 David Angel Furman 1-19-72 21 14 3 Vincent Hamilton South Alabama 12-1-84 21 18 7 Andre Bovain Howard 12-5-92 19 9 7 Sharone Wright UT-Arlington 11-29-93 22 18 4 Terrell McIntyre Maryland 12-4-97 21 9 9 Terrell McIntyre at NC State 2-6-99 20 7 7 Adam Allenspach at S. Carolina 12-9-00 15 15 4
Scott Running the Offense
Clemson point guard Edward Scott has scored in double figures
in three of his last four games and four of his last six. He has
averaged 10 points a game during the six-game stretch. He has a 6.7
career average. Scott has improved his offensive production of
late, hitting 10 of his last 29 three-point goals (.355) after
hitting just one of his first 19 threes to open the season.
Scott has done a good job running the Clemson offense. He
has 84 assists and 47 turnovers. He has already surpassed his assist
total for all of last year when he had 69 assists in 789 minutes.
This year he has 84 assists in 592 minutes. Overall, Scott has six
double figure scoring games this year, he had five all of last year.
The native of Eastover, SC (near Columbia) has improved his
assist/turnover ratio from 1.30 to 1.79 so far this year. He has
had more assists than turnovers in 15 of the 18 games. He has
averaged a turnover every 12.6 minutes of play so far this year, a
solid figure for a point guard who plays 32 minutes per game.
Solomon Productive in the Second Half
Will Solomon still leads the ACC in scoring with a 22.1
average. He ranked 11th in the nation last week began. He was
also 11th in the country in three-point goals per game. His
rankings should increase this week.
Solomon had a 29-point performance against NC State. He
scored 25 points in the second half, the third highest half of his
career. Solomon is a player who likes the second half. He has nine
career games in which he has scored at least 20 points and all nine
have been in the second half of games. Four times he has scored at
least 20 points in a half this year. He had 24 in the second half
against Seton Hall, 21 in the second half against Cincinnati and 20
in the second half against Washington.
This year, Solomon has averaged 9.1 points in the first half
and 13 points in the second half. Last year he averaged 7.8 in the
first half and 13.0 in the second half. His highest scoring half as
a Tiger is 29, the total he had in the second half against Virginia
last year when he scored 43, his career high. He scored 26 in the
second half of a 37-point effort against Penn State last year.
Solomon is ahead of his national finishes of last year. As
a sophomore, Solomon averaged 20.9 points a game, good enough for
16th in the nation. He was 17th in three-point goals per game last
year with a 3.2 figure. Solomon's scoring ranking of 16 last year
was the best by a Clemson player since 1968-69 when Butch Zatezalo
was 14th in the country with a 25.8 mark. The highest scoring
ranking in history for a Clemson individual is fourth. The late Bill
Yarborough was fourth in 1954-55 with a 28.3 figure.
Solomon Improved over Last Year
Clemson guard Will Solomon was named first-team All-ACC last
year as a sophomore, the first Clemson guard to be named first team
in 20 years, the first sophomore or freshman to earn first-team
honors from Clemson in 25 years. Based on his production so far this
year, he will again be a strong candidate for the honor. No
Clemson player in history has ever been first-team All-ACC in two
different seasons.
Solomon has shown improvement in just about every area this
year, including scoring and all three of the shooting percentages.
He has done it while playing less time (36 minutes a game last year
to 34 minutes a game this year). Additionally, his assist/turnover
ratio is improved. As he did last year, his stats in ACC games are
better than in non-conference games.
Category 1999-00 2000-01 Scoring Average 20.9 22.1 Field Goal % .401 .433 3pt Shooting .375 .389 Free Throw % .684 .800 Assist/Turnover 0.76 0.86 Steals/Game 1.27 1.76 Minutes/Game 36.0 34.2 Scoring in ACC Games 21.3 24.2 FG % ACC Games .422 .470
Solomon Moving up Career Lists
Will Solomon had two three-point goals in the win over NC
State and moved into second place on the Clemson all-time list in the
process. The Tiger junior has 177 for his career, including a
league best 58 this year. Terrell McIntyre is the career leader with
259.
Solomon has made 58-149 three-point goals this year, 39
percent. He is now hitting 36.6 percent for his Clemson career in
that area and has made at least three three-point goals in 13 of his
17 games so far this season. He had a season high seven three-point
goals against Maryland in the ACC opener, one off the Clemson single
game record. That is a record is he co-holds with Terrell McIntyre,
Chris Whitney and David Young.
Solomon now has 1216 career points, 18th best in school history. He needs 16 points to move into 16th place in Clemson history. If Solomon averages 20 points a game over the course of the rest of the regular season he will move into the top 10 in Clemson history. With his recent six-game streak of 20-point games, he now has 26 for his career, ninth in Clemson history. Eight of those 26 games he has scored at least 30, including four times this year. His career high is 43 against Virginia at Littlejohn Coliseum last year.
Solomon now averages 15.01 points per game for his career.
He and Elden Campbell are the only Clemson players since the advent
of eligibility for freshmen in 1972-73 that have averaged at least 15
a game for their career. Overall, Solomon's scoring average is
eighth best in school history on a career basis.
Clemson Career Leaders in 3-Point Goals Rk Name Yrs GP Att Goals 1. Terrell McIntyre 1995-99 126 696 259 2. Will Solomon 1998-00 81 482 177 3. Chris Whitney 1991-93 58 404 167 4. Andrius Jurkunas 1995-00 115 414 146 5. David Young 1988-92 97 402 138 6. Bruce Martin 1991-95 88 336 129 7. Merl Code 1993-97 97 371 125
Solomon Had 6 Straight 20-point Games
Clemson guard Will Solomon scored at least 20 points in six
consecutive games between December 20 to January 2. The junior from
East Hartford, CT averaged 26.2 points a game during the six games.
The streak was stopped at Duke when he was held to 13 points by 6-6
Blue Devil forward Nate James.
Solomon talled 32 points in two of the games in the streak,
both against ranked opponents. He had 32 in an eight-point loss to
20th ranked Cincinnati and also had 32 in Clemson's 12-point loss to
17th-ranked Maryland. Playing well against top opposition is
nothing new for Solomon. Last year he had a higher scoring average
in ACC games than in non-conference contests.
Solomon's streak of six consecutive 20-point games was the
longest since Horace Grant had six straight during the 1986-87
season, the year he became Clemson's only ACC MVP. Grant's streak
was stopped by North Carolina when he scored 19. The Clemson
record for consecutive 20-point games is 19, held by the late Bill
Yarborough. He scored at least 20 in the last three games of 1953-54
and the first 16 of the 1954-55 season. Yarborough averaged 28.3
points a game in 1954-55 and scored at least 20 in every game. His
only non-20 point game was an 18-point outing.
Solomon has already established one Clemson streak record
this year. He has scored in double figures in 47 straight games,
every game last year and all 17 games he has played so far this
season. He has a streak of 22 straight ACC games in double
figures.The previous mark was by Vince Yockel, who had 36 in a row
over two seasons in the 1950s. Solomon's current 47-game streak is
the longest active streak in the ACC. The ACC record book does not
have a listing for consecutive games of double figure scoring. North
Carolina's Larry Miller had a 64-game streak in the 1960s.
Clemson Could Break Record for Ranked Opponents
Clemson has played six top 20 opponents so far this year and
Clemson is 0-6 in those games. But, the Tigers have played well in
four of those games, having a chance to win each contest with under
two minutes left. Clemson lost to 10th ranked Seton Hall 79-78 on
November 21 in the second game of the season, then lost to 20th
ranked Cincinnati by 88-80 on December 21 in San Juan. Maryland,
ranked 17th at the time, downed the Tigers, 104-92 on January 2.
Third ranked Duke defeated Clemson 115-74 on January 7. Clemson lost
to sixth ranked North Carolina on January 17, by a 92-65 score.
Clemson trailed Wake Forest by just five points with two minutes left
before losing by eight.
Clemson had the ball for a final shot to beat Seton Hall.
Clemson trailed by just two against Cincinnati with four minutes
left, and by just six with two minutes left. Clemson trailed
Maryland by just four (96-92) with two minutes remaining.
Playing against top flight competition will be the norm this
year. The ACC is filled with top 20 teams and it appears Clemson
will play at least 10 conference games against ranked teams.
Combined with the two non-conference games against top 20 teams,
Clemson should play 12 regular season games this year against top 20
teams. That would be a first in Clemson history if that happens.
Clemson has played 10 top 20 teams in a season four previous
years. It first took place in 1979-80 when Clemson had a 6-4
record against top 20 teams on the way to a NCAA Final Eight finish.
Clemson also played 10 top 20 teams in 1980-81, 1994-95 and 1996-97.
The record for most top 25 teams played in a season is 13,
set in 1996-97. Clemson had a 5-8 record against ranked teams that
year. That was Larry Shyatt's last season as associate head coach at
Clemson.
Clemson been known to upset ranked teams in the past.
Clemson has 68 win over ranked teams (AP or USA Today/Coach's),
including at least one every year since 1986-87. Clemson had one win
over a ranked team last year, a 59-42 win over 21st ranked NC State
in a game played at Clemson.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
