Countdown to tipoff
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net February 17, 2013

By Will Vandervort.

Clemson will host No. 3 Miami tonight at 6:02 on ESPNU.

 

 

 

 

 

GAME SETUP
Site: Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000)
Date: Sunday, February 17, 2013
City: Clemson, SC
Time: 6:02 PM
Radio: Clemson Tiger Sports Network (Pete Yanity – play-by-play; Tim Bourret – color)
TV: ESPNU (Carter Blackburn – play-by-play, Jay Williams – color, Allison Williams – sideline)
Rankings: Miami – No. 3 AP, No. 4 USA Today

PROBABLE STARTERS

Clemson (13-11, 5-7 ACC)

G             Rod Hall                               6.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG

G             Jordon Roper                     6.9 PPG, 1.2 RPG

C             Devin Booker                    12.3 PGG, 7.9 RPG

F              K.J. McDaniels                   11.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG

F              Milton Jennings                               10.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG

Miami (20-3, 11-0 ACC)

G             Shane Larkin                      13.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG.

G             Durand Scott                      14.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG

C             Julian Gamble                   6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG

F              Trey McKinney Jones     9.3 PPG, 3,4 RPG

F              Kenny Kadji                        6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG

SERIES NOTES
Overall: Clemson leads 11-7
at Clemson: Clemson leads 5-1
at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 5-1
at Miami: Miami leads 4-3
at Neutral: Clemson leads 3-2
First Meeting: Clemson won, 98-96, in 1955-56
Last Meeting: Miami won, 76-73, in 2011-12
Streak: Clemson has won five of last six

QUICK FACTS
• Clemson and Miami meet for the first time this season, and for the 19th time in the series. The Tigers hold an 11-7 lead all-time in the series and are 5-1 against the Hurricanes at home. Clemson has won five of the last six games overall.
• Miami is the highest ranked team to come to Littlejohn Coliseum since Clemson defeated a third-ranked Duke team in the 2008-09 season by a score of 74-47. The Hurricanes are No. 3 in the current AP poll and No. 4 in USA Today.
• After Sunday’s game, Clemson will have played four of the top nine ranked teams in the current AP poll. Duke (2), Gonzaga (5) and Arizona (9) are the others.
• Clemson owns nine wins all-time over teams ranked in the top three, including as recently as 2009 when the Tigers knocked off No. 3 Duke at home, 74-47.
• This will be Clemson’s second appearance on ESPNU’s Sunday Night Hoops package. The Tigers dropped a road game to NC State, 66-62, earlier this season in their first appearance.
• Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell and Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga have competed for years, going back to their days in the Colonial Athletic Association. Larranaga held a 6-4 advantage in 10 head-to-head matchups when he was at George Mason and Brownell was at UNC Wilmington.
• Clemson notched its first ACC road win of the season at Georgia Tech. The Tigers’ 56-53 victory was their seventh straight over the Yellow Jackets, Clemson’s longest versus an ACC foe since 11 in a row over Virginia from 1959-65.
• The Tigers swept the regular season series over Georgia Tech for the third straight season, the first time Clemson has accomplished that feat since the 1979-82 era.
• Sunday’s game features the ACC’s top two shot-blocking teams. Clemson is first at 5.3 per game, Miami second at 5.0.
• K.J. McDaniels has blocked at least one shot in 14 straight games and has scored double figures in six of Clemson’s last seven games, including a game-high 14 in the win at Georgia Tech. He scored Clemson’s final two field goals to help the Tigers stave off a late rally by the Yellow Jackets.
• Freshman guard Jordan Roper leads Clemson in three-point percentage with a .400 figure this season. If the season ended today, he would be one of five freshmen in school history to shoot at least 40 percent from three as a rookie.