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Men’s Hoops Prepares for Georgia Tech

February 26, 1999

Streaks and Notes

After enduring “Senior Night at both #1 Duke and #5 Maryland,Clemson will play host to its own “Senior Day” Sunday when GeorgiaTech comes to Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson is 62-25 in “SeniorNight” games at Clemson over the years, including 23-4 since1971-72. The Tigers are 7-2 all-time against Georgia Tech in”Senior Night” games, including last year, 76-62 in Greg Buckner’sfinal home game. This will be the final home game for senior guardTerrell McIntyre, one of Clemson’s finest players in history.McIntyre’s first point against Georgia Tech will move him ahead ofHorace Grant into fourth place in Clemson history in careerscoring. His fourth point will give him 1700 as a Clemson Tiger.McIntyre is also first in career three-point goals, second inassists and third in steals. Senior Harold Jamison is first inClemson history in career field goal percentage (.606), and fifthin career rebounding with 854. He is third in the ACC in reboundingentering this weekend. He has had four consecutive double figurerebounding games and has nine double-doubles this season. TomWideman, ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan scholar and Academic All-Americacandidate, has 654 career points and 655 career rebounds enteringhis final home game. He was Clemson’s leading scorer againstMaryland with 14 points and held Terence Morris to just 12 pointsand 3-9 shooting. Wideman and Jamison have combined for 1509 careerrebounds, the second highest figure for two players in the sameclass in Clemson history (Tree Rollins and Dave Brown, 1973-77 ownthe record with 1684). Wideman and Jamison will play in their 123rdconsecutive game on Sunday. This will break the Clemson record forconsecutive games played (122 by Greg Buckner) and tie the schoolmark for overall games played in a career. Elden Campbell and JerryPryor both played in 123. Tony Christie is a fourth senior who willbe making his final appearance in Littlejohn Coliseum on Sunday.Christie is Clemson’s career leader in three-point goals by aforward with 102. He has scored 683 career points and is a veteranof 108 games, 43 as a starter. Clemson’s senior class has a recordof 74-48 entering its final home game. The class is tied for sixthin school history with victories. The class also has 29 wins overACC teams, 27 in the regular season and two in the ACC Tournament.That is the fourth highest figure in school history and just threeoff the school record of 32 set by the seniors of 1990. Clemson hasbeen dominant at home over its last three games, wins over NorthCarolina, Florida State and Virginia. Over the last seven gamesClemson is +71 points in scoring margin at home and -67 on theroad. A victory over Georgia Tech would give the Tigers a 4-4record in the second half of the season. It would be a three-gameimprovement from the first half. Clemson has made a three-gameimprovement from the first half to the second half just twice inschool history, both came in the 1960s. Andrius Jurkinas hasaveraged nine points a game in his last 13 contests. He is 26 forhis last 53 on three-point shots and 39 for his last 79 from thefield overall. Clemson has locked up a spot in the #7 vs. #8 gamein the first round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at theCharlotte Coliseum. That game will begin at 7:00 PM.

Clemson vs. Georgia TechLittlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, SC February 28, 1999 1:30 PM

   No   Clemson  (15-13, 4-11 ACC)          Pos   No   Georgia Tech  (15-13, 6-9)      5   Terrell McIntyre   5-9   182   Sr.    G     3   Tony Akins      6-0   185   Fr.       (17.3 PPG., 4.8 APG)                            (11.3 PPG., 5.0 APG)   44  Tony Christie      6-6   210   Sr.    G    34   Jason Floyd     6-6   195   Jr.      (5.6 PPG.,  1.8 RPG)                             (13.8  PPG., 4.9 RPG)   33  Tom Wideman       6-10   250   Sr.    C     4   Alvin Jones    6-11   257   So.      (7.3 PPG., 6.5 RPG )                             (12.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG)   32  Harold Jamison     6-8   250   Sr.    F    23   Jon Babul       6-7   218   So.      (12.1  PPG., 9.4 RPG)                            (5.5  PPG, 6.2 RPG)   3   Andrius Jurkunas   6-9   235   Jr.    F    52   Jason Collier   7-0   243   Jr.         (6.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG )                              (17.7 PPG., 7.0 RPG)         

Head Coach: Larry Shyatt (College of Wooster ’73) Head Coach: Bobby Cremins 15-13 at Clemson, 1st year 341-213 at Georgia Tech (18th year) 34-22 overall, 2nd year 441-287 overall, 24th year 0-1 vs. Georgia Tech 18-19 vs. Clemson

Series Record:     Tied at 46-46at Clemson:        Clemson leads 31-11at Littlejohn:     Clemson leads 22-4Last Meeting:      Georgia Tech 66-62 in Atlanta, 1-28-99Last CU Win:       78-62 at Clemson, 3-1-98Streaks:           Clemson has won 5 of last 8                   Clemson has won 5 in row at home                   Home team has won 10 of last 11

Television: Raycom/JP (Steve Martin, Gil McGregor) Tickets: Available, call 1-800-CLEMSON $15 at the gates

Upcoming Clemson Games:

Feb.   28   Georgia Tech,   1:30 PM (RJ)Mar.    4   ACC Tournament, 7:00 PM (ESPN)

Clemson on “Senior Day” Clemson seniors Terrell McIntyre, Harold Jamison, Tom Wideman and Tony Christie will be honored prior to Sunday’s game against Georgia Tech. It will be the final regular season home game for the group that has helped Clemson gain in national esteem. This class has been a part of 74 victories the last four seasons, sixth highest figure in school history. The total includes 29 against ACC team, fourth most in school history. Additionally, 13 of the 74 wins have come against Top 25 teams, including this year’s win over #9 North Carolina.

Clemson has been very successful on “Senior Day”. Since 1971-72, the Tigers are 23-4 in the final home game for the regular season. That record might include a couple of years when Clemson did not have a senior (1996 is the only year in recent memory). During the last 27 years, Clemson is 12-4 in senior day games against ACC teams. Clemson has won just 36 percent of its ACC games during that time, so it appears senior day has an impact.

Clemson’s only senior night losses since 1972 have come to an eighth ranked North Carolina team (1997), a number-one ranked Duke team (1992 and 1986) and to Georgia Tech in 1993.

Overall, Clemson is 62-25 in the final regular season home game, and that includes 7-2 against Georgia Tech. Due to the similarity in ACC schedules in recent years, Georgia Tech has been Clemson’s senior day game seven times in the last 12 years. Clemson has won six of those seven.

That includes last year when Greg Buckner scored 29 points on 12-18 shooting in one of the top performances of his 122-game career. He led the Tigers to a 76-62 victory that all but clinched an NCAA bid for Clemson.

Tech was also the final home game for the Tigers in 1994-95, a 65-63 Tiger victory for seniors Bruce Martin, Rayfield Ragland and Andy Kelly. Dale Davis, Horace Grant, Grayson Marshall and Jerry Pryor also experience senior day victories over Georgia Tech.

The only senior day win for Tech at Clemson in the last 30 years came in 1993 when Bobby Cremins team upset Chris Whitney’s senior day game, 66-59. Clemson had entered that game with a three-game ACC winning streak and had beaten Tech in Atlanta earlier in the season. Whitney had a double-double that day, but was 1-11 on three-point shooting.

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech on Senior Day

   Year   W  L   Score  Clemson Seniors   1966   W      106-90  Garry Helms (37 points)   1968      L   51-80   Dave Dempsey (0 pts)   1987   W      88-77   Horace Grant (33 pts, 20 reb)   1988   W      97-94   Grayson Marshall (19 pts, 8 reb., 11 assts)   1989   W      81-79   Jerry Pryor (1 pt)   1991   W      69-62   Dale Davis (23 pts, 18 reb)   1993      L   59-66   Chris Whitney (10 pts, 10 ast, 1-11 3pt shooting)   1995   W      65-63   Bruce Martin (8 pts), Rayfield Ragland (4 pts), Andy Kelly (10 pts)   1998   W      76-62   Greg Buckner (29 Pts, 12-18 FGs)

Outstanding Senior Days vs. Tech Five Clemson seniors have had near career best days on senior day against Georgia Tech. In 1966, Garry Helms closed his career with 37 points on 16-20 field goal shooting in a 106-90 Clemson win. That is the highest percentage (80%) in Clemson history given a minimum of 20 attempts. In 1987 Horace Grant closed his Clemson home career with a 33 points, 20-rebound performance in a 88-77 Tiger victory.

The very next year, Grayson Marshall, Clemson’s all-time assist leader, nearly had a triple double from the point guard position. He had 19 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists in a 97-94 double overtime Clemson win. In 1991, Dale Davis had 23 points and 18 rebounds in Clemson’s seven-point win over Kenny Anderson and the Yellow Jackets. Last year, Greg Buckner was one point from his career high with 29 points in a victory over Tech.

Home Attendance Will Average over 10,000 The efforts of this senior class have certainly stimulated interest in the Tiger program. Over the last four years, this senior class has played in front of 595,063 fans, an average of 10,086 fans per game for 59 games. That is a record in terms of average and total attendance for a four-year period in Clemson history. With a crowd of at least 10,500 expected for Sunday’s game, this senior class will have played in front of the top four total home attendance seasons in school history and to four of the top five attendance averages in school history.

Clemson has averaged 10,136 this year, a total of 141,904 for 14 home games. The above attendance does not court two home games played in the new BiLo Center in Greenville that attracted an average of 14,000 per game.

Clemson Top Home Attendance Seasons–Total

 Season   Games   Average   Total   1997-98   14   11,151   156,103   1995-96   16   9,377   150,037   1996-97   15   9,801   147,019   1980-81   16   9,112   145,792   1985-86   19   7,616   144,699   1978-79   16   9,033   144,535   1986-87   17   8,369   142,274   1998-99   14   10,136   141,900   Note:  Georgia Tech game will move this season to second all-time.

Clemson Top Home Attendance Seasons–Average

Season   Games   Total   Average   1997-98   14   156,103   11,151   1998-99   14   141,900   10,136   1996-97   15   147,019    9,801   1974-75   12   113,515    9,460   1995-96   16   150,037    9,377

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Series The Clemson vs. Georgia Tech series has been the most homecourt dominated series in the Clemson books. In the 35 regular season games since Bobby Cremins became head coach at Georgia Tech the road team has won just eight times. In the last 12 years, the tendency has been even stronger, as the road team has just three wins in 23 games, and two of those took place in 1993. Clemson won at Georgia Tech that year, then Tech returned the favor on senior day at Clemson.

There have been just two series sweeps since 1985-86. Clemson took both games in 1986-87 and did it again 10 years later. That was a struggle because Clemson defeated a last place Georgia Tech team, just 55-53 in Atlanta in the final regular season game.

This series dates to the 1913 season when the two teams met twice. Ironcially, the road team won both games. Clemson won at Tech, 26-22 and Tech won at Clemson 29-13 in a game that was played outside on Bowman Field. The two games were played on consecutive days.

Tech came into the ACC in 1979-80. The Tigers won the first six meetings between the two teams after the Yellow Jackets joined the league. Tech’s first win over Clemson took place in 1982-83 in Atlanta. That night, Clemson had a 10-point lead in the second half, but a power failure stopped play for 20 minutes. Tech outscored Clemson by 15 after the power failure and claimed the victory.

Overall, Tech and Clemson are tied at 46 games apiece. Clemson has won 22 of 26 meetings at Littlejohn Coliseum and 31 of 42 played at Clemson. Bobby Cremins is 18-19 versus the Tigers, 3-14 in Littlejohn Coliseum.

Cremins was 7-0 as a player against Clemson, including two wins in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Gamecocks defeated Clemson 106-79 in Littlejohn his junior year and 97-76 in 1969-70, senior season. As a sophomore, the Gamecocks defeated Clemson in Fike Fieldhouse, 93-71.

Last Outing vs. Tech Georgia Tech 66, Clemson 62 Clemson missed five field goal attempts that would have tied or won the game inside the last 20 seconds, and Georgia Tech went on to a 66-62 victory over Clemson on January 28 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta. It was the sixth straight loss for Clemson, five of which were by seven points or less.

Clemson trailed 63-62 with 20 seconds left and had control of the ball. Terrell McIntyre took an open 16 foot jumper from the right side, but the shot came off the rim. Georgia Tech’s Alvin Jones made one free throw, giving Clemson another chance. The Tigers took four shots inside the last 16 seconds, but all four came off and the Tigers fouled with 0.4 seconds left. Tech made both free throws to make it a four-point victory .

Clemson won the rebound battle 48-28, the first time in history Clemson had won the rebounding by 20, yet lost the game. It was the first time in school history that Clemson had won the rebounding stat by 20, yet lost the game. Clemson had won 46 consecutive games when outrebounding the opposition by at least 15.

Clemson had 17 turnovers to just 10 and the -7 turnover margin hurt Clemson. The Tigers shot just 38.5 percent from the field, 21.4 percent on three-point shots. Tech shot just 44 percent from the field and 56 percent from the line, yet won the game.

Clemson was led by freshman Will Solomon, who had 20 points, four rebounds and two steals, the most points by a Clemson freshman since 1995-96 when McIntyre had 20 against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. Terrell McIntyre scored 13 at Tech and moved into sixth place in Clemson history in career scoring, but the senior made just 5-20 field goals and 1-8 on three-point shots. Clemson had another fine game from Harold Jamison, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 6-7 from the field. Tom Wideman had eight points and 10 rebounds, including eight off the offensive boards. Tech was led by Jason Collier, who scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds.

The two teams struggled at the outset, in fact the score was 0-0 for the f irst five minutes. Tech scored on a layup by Tony Akins with two seconds left in the first half to take a one-point lead. Clemson pulled ahead 48-40 with a spurt by McIntyre and Solomon, holding that eight-point lead with 10 minutes left. But, after Jamison picked up a fourth foul, Tech got eight of the next nine rebounds and tied the game at 50. The contest was close the rest of the way until Tech took a 63-58 advantage with 1:47 left. Clemson closed the gap to 63-62, but Clemson could not get over the hump.

Jamison-Wideman 2nd Best Rebounding Tandem Seniors Harold Jamison and Tom Wideman stand as the second best classmate rebounding tandem in Clemson history. Jamison has 854 career rebounds, while Wideman has 655, for a total of 1509. They rank second in Clemson history to the combination of Tree Rollins and Dave Brown, who combined for 1684 between 1973-77.

That might surprise some people, but it shows the dominance of Tree Rollins. Clemson’s all-time leading rebounder had 1311 in his career and Brown added 373. That record is like the major league mark for home runs by brothers. Henry Aaron had 755 and his brother Tommie had less than 100, but their total is still more than any brother combination in history.

The most famous rebounding duo in Clemson history would be Elden Campbell and Dale Davis. Both players are now in the NBA, but they were not classmates. Campbell’s career lasted from 1986-87 to 1989-90 and Davis followed a year later. However, in the three years they played together, Davis and Campbell combined for 1467 rebounds.

Sharone Wright and Devin Gray were classmates and combined for 1428 rebounds, but the two combined to play just seven games in their fourth years. Wright went pro and Gray played just seven before becoming academically ineligible.

Maryland 77, Clemson 60 Steve Francis scored 32 points on 11-15 shooting, and also had eight rebounds and six steals to lead Maryland past Clemson 77-60 at College Park on Feb. 24. It was the second straight loss for the Tigers against a top five team. The Tigers had lost at number-one Duke in the Blue Devils Senior Night in the previous game.

Clemson had four players in double figures. Tom Wideman played perhaps his best game in an ACC contest this year, as he scored 14 points to lead all scorers. It was just the second time this year he led the Tigers in scoring. Wideman also did a fine defensive job on Terence Morris, holding the talented sophomore to 12 points and 3-9 field goal shooting. Wideman also had a career high three blocked shots.

Harold Jamison had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including five off the offensive boards. It was the fourth straight double figure rebounding game for Jamison, who had just six shots from the field. Andrius Jurkunas had 12 points and six rebounds, while Terrell McIntyre added 12 points and six rebounds to go with three steals.

Maryland led 38-26 at the half, then Clemson cut the margin to seven at 42-35 with 16:10 left. But, Maryland went on a 10-0 run behind Francis, who had five dunks in the game. The lead varried between 19 and 11 points the remainder of the game.

Clemson made just 36 percent of its field goals and 57 percent from the line. Maryland won the rebounding battle by just one. Clemson had 21 turnovers, its third highest total of the season, but forced 17. Still, points off turnover were 25-15 in favor of the Terps.

Tigers Will Play 7 vs. 8 Game in ACC Tournament By virtue of Georgia Tech’s win over Virginia on Thursday, Clemson will play in the 7-8 game in the first round of the ACC Tournament next week. The Tigers will play at 7:00 PM on Thursday evening in the tournament held at the Charlotte Coliseum. Clemson’s opponent is not known as of this Friday writing, but if Maryland wins at Florida State on Saturday, Clemson’s opponent will be FSU. Clemson would be listed as the seventh seed if that happens because Clemson defeated North Carolina this year.

Clemson Hopes for Postseason Play Clemson needs a victory to enhance its chances of an NIT bid. The Tigers are 15-13 and a win over Tech would ensure Clemson of at least a 16-14 record through the ACC Tournament. Clemson has gotten an NIT bid every year it has had a winning record and was not selected for the NCAA Tournament since the NCAA went to a 64-team field.

Clemson has gotten into the NIT once with a .500 record. The Tigers were 14-14 in 1987-88 and were invited to the tournament. In 1991-92 Clemson was 14-14, but was not extended an invitation. Overall, Clemson has been to the NIT 10 times, more than any other ACC team. Clemson’s last appearance in the event came in 1994-95. The Tigers were 15-12 through the ACC Tournament that year before losing at Virginia Tech in the first round. The previous year Clemson was 16-15 through the ACC Tournament before getting an invitation to the NIT. Clemson advanced to the final eight that year.

Clemson is fourth among ACC teams in postseason bids over the last 20 years. Clemson has been to postseason play 16 of the last 20 years. Only North Carolina with 20 straight (all NCAAs), followed by Duke and Virginia with 17 apiece, have been to more postseason tournaments than Clemson since 1978-79.

Clemson Strong at Home in Second Half Clemson has played well at home all year, but has been particularly effective in the three ACC home games in the second half of the schedule. For the three home ACC games in the second half, Clemson is +71 points on the board, an average victory margin of nearly 24 points. Over the last three games at home, Clemson has beaten North Carolina by 15, defeated Florida State by 33 and stopped Virginia by 23.

The win over North Carolina was Clemson’s largest margin of victory over the Tar Heels since 1980. The win over Florida State was the second largest Clemson margin of victory in any ACC game in history, while the win over Virginia was Clemson’s largest in the series since 1965.

In the last three home games, Clemson has shot 50 percent as a team, 42.6 percent from three-point range and won the rebounding battles by 17.3 rebounds per outing. The top Tiger during this time has been Terrell McIntyre, who has a 22.3 average, has made 22-40 field goals and 13-28 three-point goals. Harold Jamison is 18-25 from the field in Clemson’s last three home games and has scored 14.0 points per game. Tony Christie has averaged 10.3 points in the stretch. Tom Wideman has averaged 8.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in the three contests.

In the 14 games in Littlejohn Coliseum this year, the Tigers are 11-3. Terrell McIntyre has averaged 19.4 points per game at home and is shooting 56 percent from the field, 50.6 on three-point shots (43-85). Harold Jamison is shooting .798 at home this year, 71-89. He has averaged 12.6 points and 8.4 rebounds at home this season. As a team, Clemson is +16 points per game at home in terms of scoring margin and +8.0 in terms of rebounding. Clemson has made exactly 50 percent of its field goals and 38 percent of its three-point goals at home this year.

Tigers Must Reduce Turnovers One area Clemson needs to improve is turnovers. Over the last two games Clemson has committed 47 turnovers, 26 at Duke and 21 at Maryland. Of course, a lot of teams have turnovers in those two arenas, they rank in the top two in the league in forcing errors. Clemson has had five games with 20 turnovers or more this year. Clemson has just 18 assists and 47 turnovers over the last two games. In the two previous contests, wins over Florida State and Virginia, Clemson had 39 assists and just 29 turnovers.

Field Goal % Defense Has Improved While Clemson has lost its last two games, the field goal percentage defense has improved. Duke and Maryland combined to shoot 59-131 from the field, 45 percent. Those teams are both shooting over 50 percent for the season. On three-point shots, Duke and Maryland made just 14-46, 30.4 percent. Clemson held Florida State to 30.4 percent shooting overall, while Virginia made just 38.6 percent. Thus, over the last four games, opponents are just 98-244 from the field, .402 and the combined three-point shooting mark is just 28-98, a 28.6 percentage.

Jones vs. Jamison The top matchup of the Clemson vs. Georgia Tech game might be in the middle. Two of the top three rebounders in the ACC will be battling on the inside. Georgia Tech’s Alvin Jones leads the ACC with a 10.0 average, while Clemson’s Harold Jamison is third with a 9.4 figure. Jones is shooting 53 percent from the field, while Jamison is shooting 69 percent. Jamison does not have enough made field goals to qualify for the NCAA stats.

In the first meeting, Jamison was 6-7 from the field, had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jones had 13 points on 5-13 field goal shooting, and had five rebounds. Jamison had the better stats, but Jones team won the war.

Clemson and Tech Battle for Second Time This Week This will be the second time Georgia Tech and Clemson have battled in intercollegiate play. The two schools are both ranked among the top 10 golf teams in the nation and went head to head in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Both teams played at a high level, but Clemson came away with a four-stroke victory. Clemson was 34 under par, Georgia Tech 30 under and third place Georgia was six under, so it was a two-team race in the 18-team field.

Clemson is currently ranked number-one in the nation in golf, while Tech is sixth in the latest Sagarin Rankings (yes, he does golf rankings too). Clemson ranked second in the nation at the end of last season, while Georgia Tech was third.

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