Clemson vs GT postgame notes

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports">

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

by Press Release - Fri Mar 14 00:57:24 GMT-04:00 2014

* Sixth-seeded Clemson raised its record to 20-11, the 12th time in its history it has won 20 games.

* The Tigers play third-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals Friday at 9 p.m. (starting time approximate). Clemson took a 72-59 win over the Blue Devils at home on Jan. 11.

* Three Tigers posted double-doubles in that win – K.J. McDanielsK.J. McDaniels
Jr. Forward
#32 6-6, 200
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View Full Profile (24 points, 10 rebounds), Jaron BlossomgameJaron Blossomgame
RS Fr. Forward
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View Full Profile (14, 14) and Landry NnokoLandry Nnoko
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#35 6-10, 245
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View Full Profile (10, 13). Clemson won just its 18th ACC Tournament game against 60 losses. It beat Georgia Tech for the first time in four tries in the tournament.

* The victory was Clemson’s sixth of the season by four points or fewer. The Tigers are 2-2 in overtime games. The Tigers won their third game against the Yellow Jackets this season, after posting wins of 45-41 at home and 63-55 in Atlanta.

* Free-throw shooting, a strength all season, proved crucial for Clemson. It entered the game as the ACC’s second-best team at the line, converting 73.3 percent. Against Tech, the Tigers knocked down 25 of 29 (86.2 percent).

* Clemson came in leading the ACC in blocked shots and added nine more, bringing its season total to 184. Landy Nnoko led the effort with six rejections.

* K.J. McDaniels continued to be a stat-stuffer for the Tigers. He scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, and added an assist, two blocks and a steal.

* Clemson won its first-ever ACC Tournament overtime game and now stands 1-6 in such contests. Georgia Tech slipped to 2-4 in tournament overtime games.

* With both Thursday night’s game and Georgia Tech’s first-round win over Boston College being decided in overtime, the 2014 ACC Tournament sits one shy of the record of three overtime games, which was set in the first very first tournament in 1954 and matched in 2007.

* Despite playing an overtime game in each of the first two rounds, Georgia Tech fell short of the tournament team record. Wake Forest played three straight overtime games in the aforementioned 1954 tournament at Raleigh N.C. The Demon Deacons defeated South Carolina and Maryland before falling to NC State (by an 82-80 score) in the title game.

* Six different teams were involved in the three-overtime games tournament at Tampa, Fla., in 2007. First-round action saw NC State defeat Duke in OT, followed by Wake Forest’s double-overtime win over Georgia Tech. Boston College then worked overtime to defeat Miami in the quarterfinals.

* This marked the first time since 1987 (NC State) that any team’s first two ACC Tournament games went into overtime. The sixth-seeded Wolfpack defeated No. 3 Duke 71-64 in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Wake Forest 77-73 in the semifinals en route to the title, which it won in regulation over North Carolina that year in Landover, Md.

* The 2014 Yellow Jackets became the fifth club taken beyond regulation in consecutive games of any tournament and the first since the 1995 North Carolina team, which defeated Maryland in the semifinals before losing to Wake Forest in the title game.

* Georgia Tech was seeking to become the fifth team seeded 10th or lower to win multiple games in the ACC Tournament in the 10 years with 10 or more clubs in the bracket. The overachievers are No. 12 Miami and No. 11 NC State in 2010; the 10th-seeded Wolfpack in 2007; and No. 12 Wake Forest in 2006. The 2007 Pack won three gamesto advance to the championship game of a 12-team field.

* Georgia Tech’s Robert Carter (13 points, nine rebounds) fell one board short of becoming the first Jacket to record double-doubles in consecutive ACC Tournament games. Only Derrick Favors (quarterfinals and finals of 2009) has had multiple double-doubles in the same tournament.

* Carter entered Thursday shooting 44-for-86 (.511) in games in which he attempted 10 or more field goals, but he was 5-for-21 against the Tigers.

* The Yellow Jackets’ Daniel Miller, whose streak of 12 games with at least one blocked shot ended during Wednesday night’s win over Boston College, rejected three Clemson attempts to take his career total to 286. That’s good for 11th in ACC history.

* With Clemson’s win, the No. 6 seed now stands 39-55 all-time in ACC Tournament play. Georgia Tech, the first No. 14 seed in tournament history, finished 1-1 in this year’s event.