Clemson looks to make it six straight wins tonight when it hosts rival South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson for a seven o’clock tip.
The Tigers (9-1) are coming off a 71-69 victory over Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic last Saturday in Sunrise, Fla. They rallied from 12 points down in the second half to beat the then 22nd-ranked Gators.
The win marked Clemson’s eighth win ever over a top 25 non-conference opponent during the regular season, and three of them have come under head coach Brad Brownell. Of course the last one came last season when the Tigers got a 62-60 win over No. 20 South Carolina in Columbia.
That was Clemson’s first win over a non-conference top 25 team in a true road game in school history. The Gamecocks went on to advance to the Final Four.
GAMEDAY SETUP
CLEMSON (9-1) vs. SOUTH CAROLINA (8-2)
Date: Tuesday, December 19
Tipoff: 7:01 p.m. ET
Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000)
Radio: CTN (Don Munson-pbp; Tim Bourret-color)
TV: ESPN2 (Tom Werme -pbp; Dino Gaudio-color)
- Clemson will face its in-state rival for the 168th time in program history.
- Clemson is 77-90 all-time against South Carolina; 46-32 in Clemson
- The Tigers are 3-4 against the Gamecocks under head coach Brad Brownell.
- Donte Grantham is a mere 14 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career.
- Clemson is 19-9 all-time on Dec. 19; 68-29 in Nov./Dec. under Brownell.
- Clemson has won four-straight games against SEC opponents.
SERIES HISTORY
CU Series W-L record: Clemson is 77-90 all-time against South Carolina.
Streak: Clemson won the last meeting between both programs last season in Columbia, 62-60.
TIGER TRACKS
- The Tigers received 35 votes in this week’s AP Top 25 poll (ranked 28th). They received 10 votes in USA TODAY Coaches poll. Clemson’s RPI checks in at 31st nationally.
- Marcquise Reed earned named ACC Player of the Week honors.
- Brad Brownell earned his 300th career victory in a 71-69 win over Florida.
- Brownell (133 victories at Clemson) is five wins shy of tying and six shy of passing Oliver Purnell for the third most wins at Clemson.
- Marcquise Reed eclipsed 1,000 career points with 22 in a win over Florida. He has scored 475 at Clemson (scored 529 at Robert Morris).
- In two games that have ended in wins of five points or less, Reed has scored 13 points in the last five minutes combined in both contests, including eight in the win over Florida.
- Elijah Thomas is one of only 13 players in the country currently averaging 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.75 blocks per game.
SOUTH CAROLINA SCOUTING REPORT
- The Gamecocks enter tonight’s matchup with an 8-2 overall mark this season, including losses to Illinois State and Temple.
- South Carolina has produced three double-digit scorers this season, including leading scorer Chris Silva (13.7 ppg).
- Silva also leads the Gamecocks in rebounding with 8.0 boards per contest.
- The Gamecocks carry a nice +6.9 rebounding margin this season, while also outscoring its opponents by an average of 9.7 points per game.
- As a team, South Carolina has struggled at the foul line, connecting on just 65.4 percent of its free throws.
—Staff Reports
—Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports