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Men’s Basketball Travels to N.C. State

Feb. 23, 1998

Series Record: NC State leads 85-35 At NC State: NC State leads 40-8 At Clemson: NC State leads 26-22 Last meeting: NC State won 82-80 in OT Last at NC State: NC State won 58-54 Streaks: State has won two in a row Clemson has won 8 of last 11 TV : ESPN

Upcoming Clemson Games:

Feb. 26 at N.C. State, 7:30 PM (ESPN) Mar. 1 Georgia Tech, 12:30 PM (ABC)

Streaks and Notes

*Clemson has lost seven ACC games by five points or less this year, more than any Clemson team in history. The ACC record is 11, by NC State in 1995-96.

*Clemson has won just eight times in Raleigh over NC State in history, but Rick Barnes has won twice, his first two years as Clemson coach.

*Terrell McIntyre had 28 points in Clemson loss at Virginia, the second highest scoring total of his career.

*Clemson has a 5-9 ACC record, yet has scored 55 more points than the opposition in ACC play. NC State has the same league record, but has been outscored by 54 points in league game.

*Clemson forward Harold Jamison has 550 rebounds, in his career, 277 offensive and 273 defensive. He has made 32 of his last 44 shots (.727) from the field and is averaging 14 points per game in the last five games.

*Greg Buckner moved into fourth place in Clmeson history in career scoring with 12 points against Duke. He is now 26 points away from overtaking Horace Grant for third place on the all-time list. Buckner currently has 1671 career points. He has started 117 in a row, every game of his career, entering Saturday’s game.

*Clemson Coach Rick Barnes will be looking for his 200th career win as a Division I coach. He has 71 wins at Clemson, 108 at Providence and 20 at George Mason.

*Terrell McIntyre has a 30/8 assist/turnover ratio over his last five games. He moved into fifth place on Clemson’s career assist list with five at Virginia. He now has 359 for his career.

*Tony Christie needs just one three-point goal to become the fourth forward in Clemson history to make at least 50 three-point goals in a single season.

*Clemson has a 5-8 record in the ACC, yet has the third best scoring margin in league games in the conference (+4.5).

Clemson Has 88/51 Assist/TO Ratio last 5 Games

One area of the game Clemson has improved is this season is handling the basketball. The Tigers have an assist/turnover ratio +65 for the season, including +37 in ACC games. That includes a 88/51 ratio over the last five games. Combined with Clemson’s fine defense of late, the numbers are just about reversed for the opposition. The last four Clemson opponents have a 54/91 assist/turnover ratio.

Clemson has just 73 turnovers in its last seven games, including just eight apiece in the wins over Western Carolina and Florida State. The Tigers had a season best 29 assists against the Catamounts, most by a Clemson team since the 1990-91 season. The 3.625 / one, assist/turnover ratio for the Western Carolina game was the sixth best for a single game in Clemson history. The record is a 32/6 ratio in a victory over Illinois Tech in 1980-81.

The Tigers had a streak of six straight games with more assists than turnovers between Dec. 28-Jan. 17. Fifteen times this year Clemson has had more assists than turnovers, including each of the last five games.

Clemson has averaged 13 turnovers per game this year. This has been an area of success for Rick Barnes coached teams. Each of his three previous Clemson teams rank 1-2-3 in Clemson history in fewest turnovers per game over the course of a season. In fact, each of his first two Clemson teams ranked in the top three in ACC history in fewest turnovers/game.

Clemson vs. NC State                         Reynolds Coliseum  (12,400) February 26, 1998  7:30 PM    No  Clemson  (15-12, 5-9)               Pos NO  NC State  (15-11, 5-9)      5   Terrell McIntyre    5-9 170 Jr.     G   23  C.C. Harrison   6-4 194 Sr.        (14.0 PPG., 5.2 APG)                        (16.7  PPG,  4.1 RPG)    21  Greg Buckner    6-4 210 Sr.         G   5   Ishua Benjamin  6-4 194 Sr.        (16.2 PPG.,  4.2 RPG)                       ( 10.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG)    55  Adam Allenspach 7-1 235 Fr.         C   33  Cornelius Williams  6-11    265 Fr.        (2.3  PPG., 1.2 RPG )                        (1.9 PPG,  2.1 RPG)    44  Tony Christie   6-6 210 Jr.         F   40  Ron Kelley  6-10    230 Fr.        (8.2  PPG., 1.9 RPG)                        (8.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG)    33  Tom Wideman 6-10    240 Jr.         F   21  Kenny Inge  6-8 205 Fr.         (4.8 PPG., 5.2 RPG)                     (10.9 PPG  7.1 RPG)         Head Coach: Rick Barnes (Lenoir Rhyne '77)      Head Coach:     Herb Sendek  (Carnegie Mellon '85)            71-46  at Clemson, 4th year         32-26 at NC State, 2nd year            199-132 overall, 11th year          95-52 overall, 5th year            4-3 vs. NC State                        2-1 vs. Clemson          

Buckner Could Reach Second in Scoring

Clemson senior Greg Buckner currently ranks in the top 10 in seven different statistical categories in Clemson history and should reach the top five in seven categories by the end of his days as a Tiger. Buckner needs 26 points to move into third place in Clemson history in career scoring. Dale Davis has 1650 and Buckner now has 1671. Next on the list is Horace Grant at 1696.

The Clemson career scoring record is 1880, held by current Los Angeles Lakers forward Elden Campbell. While Campbell’s record appears to be safe, Buckner could reach the #2 position in Clemson history by averaging 18 points per game over the remainder of the season. (That is assuming a minimum of 4 games left for the Tigers).

Buckner is already first in games started, second in double figure scoring games, third in steals and fourth in field goals. The native of Hopkinsville, KY could have the widest range of career rankings in Clemson history by time his career is finished. He is destined to join Hamilton as the only players in CU history in the top 15 in scoring, rebounding and assists.

In addition to his statistical accomplishments, Buckner has been named one of 30 mid-season candidates for the John Wooden Award, the Heisman Trophy of college basketball.

                            Current                     Projected    Category                Rk      Fig                 Rk          Fig    Scoring                 4th     1671                3rd         1744    Double Figure Games     2nd     93                  1st         97    Scoring Average         10th    14.3                10th        14.4    Field Goals             4th     646                 2nd         683    Free Throws             8th     329                 8th         342    Steals                  3rd     171                 3rd         182    Assists                 15th    243                 13th        250    Rebounding              16th    575                 14th        590    Games Played            7th     117                 5th         121    Games Started           1st     117                 1st         121    Minutes played          3rd     3810                2nd         4060

Show-stopping Dunks

Clemson had 10 slam dunks in the win over Western Carolina on Feb. 11, the fifth highest single game dunk total in Clemson history. The record is 16 held by the Elden Campbell/Dale Davis led Tigers of 1990 against Georgia State.

Clemson already has 73 dunks this season, already 21 more than all of last year when Clemson played 33 games. Harold Jamison leads the way with 32 slams for the season, including three against Western Carolina.

The Tigers had a slam fest in the last eight minutes of the Western Carolina game when they outscored the Catamounts 33-11. One of the dunks, by Vincent Whitt, knocked out the shock clock atop the Clemson basket and caused a slight delay. Whitt has 16 dunks for the season, second on the team.

Barnes Invites Student Support

When Clemson returned from Georgia Tech off a four-game losing streak, head coach Rick Barnes decided to open practice to the IPTAY Collegiate Club, a student organization that supports Tiger athletics. The group of about 150 students attended practice, then came down to the floor and stood around the hoop while the team, individually shot free throws.

Barnes was looking for a way to simulate game conditions when he his team was on the foul line. He also wanted to loosen up the end of practice in hopes of getting the Tigers out of their slump and into a positive outlook.

The presence of the students gave the team an emotional lift also. “I’m glad they’re still behind us,” said Harold Jamison. “It is nice to know that they haven’t given up on us. It was good to have them there.”

Jamison hit 6-9 free throws against Wake Forest the next day and has 67 points in the last five games since the students attended practice. He has shot over 73 percent from the field in those games and has averaged eight rebounds per contest.

Down the Stretch They Come

There have been many comparisons between this Clemson basketball season and the Clemson football season. Clemson quarterback Nealon Greene suffered a turf toe injury early in the season and had to play with pain the entire year. That has been the case with Clemson basketball point guard Terrell McIntyre, who has had an injury in nearly the same area of the foot.

The Clemson basketball team hopes it can make the same stretch drive to the NCAA Tournament that the football team did to a bowl game. The Tiger football team won four of its last five regular season games to earn a Peach Bowl berth. Now the Clemson basketball team needs to win its last two ACC games to reach a 7-9 conference record, certainly the minimum needed to get an NCAA bid. Clemson had a 7-9 league mark in 1995-96 and got into the NCAA Tournament. However, that team was helped by a Clemson win over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament.

The Tigers have their work cut out with a game at NC State, a team that just defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and the season finale with a hot Georgia Tech team. The game with Tech will be at Clemson on Sunday, March 1 at 12:30 PM.

Clemson Schedule Ranked Fourth

Clemson’s schedule is ranked fourth in the nation by the RPI Index. Obviously the strength of the ACC has a lot to do with that, but many of Clemson’s 13 non-conference opponents are doing very well. No less than seven of Clemson non-conference opponents are first or second in their respective leagues.

Clemson’s non-conference opponents include Kentucky (24-4 overall, 12-2 in SEC), South Carolina (20-5 overall, 10-4 in SEC), Illinois (20-8 overall, 12-3 in Big Ten), Iona (23-5 overall, 13-3, first in Metro Atlantic) and Gonzaga (21-8 overall, 10-4 in Big West, 1st place). UNC Wilmington, Clemson’s first opponent back in November, is leading the Colonial, while South Carolina State is a half game behind Coppin State in the MEAC with a 13-2 conference record.

Barnes Looks for 200th Win

Clemson Head Coach Rick Barnes will be looking for his 200th win as a Division I coach. He has 71 wins at Clemson, 108 at Providence and 20 at George Mason for a total of 199.

Barnes already has 13 wins over top 25 teams in his 116-game career as Clemson head Coach. That includes the 86-65 win over Florida State in January, Clemson’s third win of the season over a top 25 team. Clemson also topped Maryland on Dec. 4 when the Terps were ranked in the top 25 and then defeated sixth ranked South Carolina at Littlejohn Coliseum by five points.

Barnes is more than halfway to the Clemson record for wins over a top 25 team in a career. Bill Foster had 22 top 25 wins in his nine years and 262 games as Clemson coach. Cliff Ellis had 20 ranked wins in his 305 games.

Barnes has 71 total wins at Clemson and 13 have come against ranked teams, 18 percent. Foster had 22 ranked wins out of his 156 total, 14 percent, while Ellis had 20 of his 177 wins over ranked squads, 11 percent.

Barnes is already sixth in total coaching victories in Clemson history with 71. The record is 177 by Cliff Ellis, now at Auburn. Bill Foster is second with 156 and Joe Davis is third with 101. Banks McFadden won 85 and Bobby Roberts 82 as Clemson head coaches.

Barnes has the Tigers off to a 3-3 start in February. Clemson needs a winning month to reach the NCAA field. The game in Raleigh against NC State is the final game of the month, so a victory would give Clemson its first winning February since the 1989-90 season when the Tigers were 8-0 in February on the way to the ACC Regular Season Championship.

Clemson Rankings This Week

Clemson enters the NC State game ranked 27th in the latest Sagarin ranking and 37th in the latest RPI. The Tigers were 22nd in the RPI heading into the Western Carolina game of Feb. 18.

Clemson’s strength of schedule ranks fourth in both computer rankings this week. Maryland has the toughest schedule in the nation according to the RPI and Florida State has the toughest according to the Sagarin rankings.

It is interesting to note that North Carolina has the highest ranking according to the RPI and Duke is number-one according to the Sagarin.

McIntyre Goes over 1000 Points

Clemson guard Terrell McIntyre broke three statistical milestones in the 81-80 loss to Duke on Jan. 17th. McIntyre went over 1000 career points, 300 career steals and 200 career rebounds in the same game. He came up one steal short of reaching the 100 mark for his career, then had two steals against Virginia to go over the 100 mark.

McIntyre scored 17 points at Duke to lead Clemson players and he now has 1145 points for his career. He is the 19th player in Clemson history and the 11th guard to reach 1000 career points. He is the first point guard to go over 1000 points since Derrick Johnson scored 1014 between 1975-79.

McIntyre became the 10th player in Clemson history to reach 300 career assists and just the third player in school history to have 300 assists and 1000 points. The others are Johnson and Vincent Hamilton. He now has 359 career assists, tied for fifth best in Clemson history.

NC State 82, Clemson 80 (OT)

First Meeting Jan. 31, 1998 at Clemson

N.C. State converted 13-22 three-point shots and road clutch shooting by C.C. Harrison and defeated Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 31, 82-80 in overtime. Harrison scored the tying field goal at the end of regulation and the winning three-point field at the end of overtime to give State the win.

Clemson shot 62 percent from the field, out-rebounded NC State, 27-24 and had just 11 turnovers, yet still lost the game. The Tigers hit 68 percent in the field half, but the game was tied at 37-37 thanks to 7-10 three-point shooting by the Pack.

Clemson’s downfall was at the foul line, where Clemson hit just 14-28 for the game, including just 6-13 in the second half.

Greg Buckner led Clemson with 24 points, while Terrell McIntyre had the first double-double of his career with 18 points and 10 assists. Tony Christie added 11. NC. State was led by Ishua Benjamin with 22 points, including 5-9 on three-point shots, while Harrison had 19 and freshman Archie Miller had 15.

Christie hit a three-point shot with seven seconds left to give the Tigers a 73-70 lead. NC State advanced the ball to midcourt with five seconds left and called timeout. Clemson coach Rick Barnes instructed his Tigers to foul, which Christie did against Harrison with 1.8 seconds left.

Harrison made the first shot, then intentionally missed the second. He got the rebound and scored to send the game into overtime. His three-point shot at the 0.2 second mark left in the overtime gave State the victory.

Clemson vs. NC State Series

Clemson has won eight of the last 11 games from NC State, but State has won the last two, one at Clemson (this year) and one in Raleigh. The Pack win in Raleigh last year was the first ACC win for Herb Sendek. Clemson has won four of seven since Rick Barnes became head coach of the Tigers.

Last year the two teams split with each team winning the home game. Clemson won at Littlejohn, 51-42 and NC State won in Raleigh, 58-54. The two teams had a switched split (road team winning both games) in 1995-96. Clemson had a sweep in 1994-95 and 1993-94. Obviously the Tigers are hoping for a switched split this year.

Last year Clemson had just 14 turnovers in the two games against the Wolfpack, including just six in the game at Raleigh, fewest in Clemson history in a Tiger loss. NC State had just three turnovers in the game, fewest in history by a Clemson opponent.

This has been a competitive series. Five of the last seven meetings between the two teams have been decided by five points or less, including each of the last two.

McIntyre Successful vs. Wolfpack

Clemson point guard Terrell McIntyre, a native of Raeford, NC, has played some of his best basketball against NC State. That school is the closest ACC institution to his hometown. The Pack did not recruit him out of high school.

Last year he was Clemson’s leading scorer in each game. In Clemson’s win at Littlejohn Coliseum he scored 16 of Clemson’s 51 points, including four three-point goals. In the loss at Raleigh, McIntyre had 12 points and eight assists in 32 minutes.

Earlier this year he posted the only double-double of his career in the Tigers 82-80 heart-breaking loss to the Pack. He had 18 points and 10 assists in running the Clemson offense. He was 6-11 from the field.

For his career, McIntyre has made 13-29 three-point goals against the Pack, 45 percent. He has a 14.6 scoring average with 27 assists and just 14 turnovers in five games.

McIntyre Had 28 at Virginia

Terrell McIntyre is coming off one of his better games as a Clemson Tiger. In fact, his 28 points scored at Virginia was the second highest of his career. The native of Raeford had 14 points in each half. The only higher scoring game of his Clemson career was a 29-point outing against Florida State in 1995-96.

McIntyre has scored in double figures in each of his last three games and has had at least five assists in five straight games. He has four 20-point games this year and has 18 double figure scoring games in the 24 he has played. McIntyre has made 10 straight free throws heading into the State game. he has started seven straight, a streak that started with the NC State game at Clemson on Jan. 31.

Buckner Had Career High at State in 1996

Clemson senior Greg Buckner is hoping for a repeat of his sophomore year performance at NC State. Then a sophomore, Buckner scored 30 points, had 10 rebounding, including six offensive and made 11-15 shots from the field in the finest all-around performance of his first three years as a Tiger. He did not have a turnover in 37 minutes.

Clemson finds itself in much the same situation as it did that year, needing a win in Raleigh for a chance to get into the NCAA tournament. Clemson won in Raleigh 80-76, then lost the regular season finale at Georgia Tech to finish 7-9 in the ACC. Clemson needs a win in Raleigh and a victory over Georgia Tech to finish 7-9 this year.

Heartbreak Hotel

Clemson has now lost seven games by five points or less in ACC play this year. That is a record for this category for a single season, breaking the mark of five, set by Clemson’s 1979-80 team, which ironically, advanced to the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC record for heart-breakers in a season (ACC losses by five or less) is 11, by NC State just two years ago.

Jamison Continues to Hit Offensive Boards

Clemson junior Harold Jamison already has topped the 100 mark in terms of offensive rebounds, the first Tiger to do so since Sharone Wright had 124 in 1993-94. This is just the ninth season in history that Clemson has had a player record over 100 offensive rebounds in a season.

Dale Davis has the record with 166 in 1989-90, while Horace Grant had 144 in 1985-86. In fact, Jamison is just the fourth different player in Clemson history to record over 100 offensive rebounds. Davis did it three times, Horace Grant twice and Sharone Wright twice.

Please take note that offensive rebounds were not a kept statistic when Clemson’s all-time leading rebounder Tree Rollins played (1973-77) for the Tigers. He had at least 300 rebounds in four straight seasons and we are sure he had at least 100 offensive rebounds in those years.

Tigers Could Finish 4th….or 8th

The ACC has quite a logjam in the standings heading into the last week of play. Clemson has a 5-9 record in league play, but can still finish as the number-four seed in the ACC Tournament if it wins two games this week.

Here is the scenario:

*Clemson defeats NC State and Georgia Tech; *Georgia Tech loses to both Duke and at Clemson. *Wake Forest loses to both North Carolina and NC State *NC State loses to Clemson and defeats Wake Forest

If those results take place, Clemson would by 7-9, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest would both be 6-10 andNC State would be 6-10. If Florida State defeats Virginia in its only remaining game, it too would be 6-10, meaning only three ACC teams would have winning league record. Only four times in ACC history has the league just three teams with winning records, 1963, 1972, 1973 and 1974.

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