Clemson hopes to keep NCAA tourney hopes alive against Pittsburgh

Clemson will have the size advantage in the matchup

Tony Crumpton · Assoc. Editor · Tuesday, February 26 2019

Clemson (16-11, 6-8 ACC) will need to try to steal a road win to keep their NCAA hopes alive against a feisty but last-place Pittsburgh (12-15, 2-12) squad.

The game will tipoff at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Peterson Events Center.

Tom Werme and Debbie Antonelli will broadcast the game on Fox Sports South and Don Munson and Tim Bourret will have the radio call on the Clemson Sports Network.

Projected lineups

Clemson

G 2 Marcquise Reed 6-3 188 Gr. Landover, Md. 24/23 19.2 5.5 3.0 34.6

G 4 Shelton Mitchell 6-4 200 Gr. Waxhaw, N.C. 27/27 11.9 2.6 3.0 32.6

F 14 Elijah Thomas 6-9 245 Sr. Dallas, Texas 27/25 13.1 7.8 1.2 25.3

F 24 David Skara 6-8 213 Gr. Zadar, Croatia 27/27 7.4 4.1 1.5 30.7

F 25 Aamir Simms 6-7 248 So. Palmyra, Va. 27/27 8.7 4.6 0.9 27.8 G 0

Pittsburgh

G 1 Xavier Johnson 6-3 190 Fr. Woodbridge, Va. 27/27 16.6 3.8 4.6 31.3

G 2 Trey McGowens 6-3 185 Fr. Pendleton, S.C. 27/27 12.0 3.2 1.7 27.9

G 5 Au’Diese Toney 6-6 210 Fr. Huntsville, Ala. 26/23 8.0 5.9 0.5 25.7

G 11 Sidy N’Dir 6-3 180 Gr. Cosne, Burgandy, France 23/4 6.0 2.2 2.0 20.0

F 15 Kene Chukwuka 6-9 225 Jr. Stockholm, Sweden 27/15 3.8 3.4 0.3 16.8

Clemson Basketball notes

• The Tigers will look for its sixth-straight victory over Pittsburgh tonight, including a season-sweep of the Panthers.

• Clemson ranks fourth in the ACC in scoring defense (64.3 points allowed per game) and second in conference games (62.9).

• According to KenPom, Clemson’s adjusted defensive efficiency now ranks 15th in the country (92.2).

• The Tigers’ head man will also look for his 166th career victory at Clemson. He is currently just 12 shy of tying Cliff Ellis for the most in program history (177).

• Marcquise Reed is one just two guys in the country to average at least 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game this season.

• Reed jumped into 18th on the all-time scoring list. Reed now has 1,342 points in his Clemson career.

• Thomas is 10th in program history with 164 career blocks at Clemson and also stands fourth in Clemson history with a 1.91 blocks per game average.

• Thomas surpassed 900 career points (907) and is nearing 600 career rebounds (595) in a Clemson uniform. He would become the 21st player in program history to achieve that feat.

• In addition, Thomas would be one of just seven in program history to amass 900 points, 600 rebounds and 150 blocks.

• Shelton Mitchell is approaching the 325-assist mark in his career and has 304 following the Tigers’ win over Boston College.

Clemson men NCAA Tournament profile

Record: 16-11 (6-8 ACC)

NET: 43

Record v. NET Quadrant 1 & 2: 4-11

Strength of Schedule: 34

Average NET of Wins: 153

Average NET of Losses: 33

Bad losses (150+ NET): None

RPI: 60

Road/neutral record: 4-8

KenPom: 34

Record v. current KenPom top-50: 2-10

Top-25 ranked wins (at the time): No. 11 Virginia Tech (59-51 at home).

Last 10: 5-5

Bracket Breakdown with @TheAndyKatz!
?? Gonzaga - new No. 1 overall seed
?? Kentucky - newest 1-seed
?? Kansas seed > K-State seed
?? Clemson edges out Georgetown for the final spot
?? Arizona State’s wins are significant pic.twitter.com/OScMR7uToa
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 26, 2019