Tiger Basketball Cracks Top 15 in Both Polls This Week

Dec. 10, 2007

Clemson, SC – The men’s basketball team is ranked 15th in this week’s Associated Press and USA Today polls. Clemson is off to an 8-0 start for the third straight year under Head Coach Oliver Purnell. The Tigers won 17 straight and reached a high ranking of #14 last season.

Clemson is one of only five schools ranked in the AP top 25 this week in both men’s basketball and football. The others are Kansas, Texas, Tennessee, and Brigham Young. Clemson is also the only school in the nation to rank in the top 15 in the most recent poll for baseball, men’s basketball, and football. The Tiger baseball squad finished in the top 15 of all three major baseball polls in the 2007 season.

It marks the first time since March 6, 1990 that both Clemson’s men’s basketball and football teams ranked in the top 15 at the same time. The Tigers were 11th in the final coaches’ poll in football and were 15th in the UPI rankings that week in basketball.

The Tiger basketball team is one of four unbeaten schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina, Duke, and Miami also have unblemished records so far this season.

The Tigers are currently in the midst of a 15-day break between game action. Clemson’s next contest will be Thursday, December 20 versus Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in the San Juan Shootout. Clemson will also take on DePaul and Ole Miss in the tournament. The Tigers won the event in 2005 when eight teams were involved.

National Basketball Polls (Dec. 10, 2007)

Associated Press Rk. Team – Record (Pts) 1. North Carolina – 8-0 (1,772) 2. Memphis – 7-0 – (1,708) 3. Kansas 9-0 (1,637) 4. Texas – 9-0 (1,560) 5. Georgetown – 7-0 (1,528) 6. Duke – 9-0 (1,434) 7. Washington State – 9-0 (1,358) 8. UCLA – 8-1 (1,356) 9. Michigan State – 8-1 (1,136) 10. Marquette – 6-1 (1,053) 11. Pittsburgh – 8-0 (1,034) 12. Tennessee – 8-1 (1,033) 13. Indiana – 8-1 (924) 14. Texas A&M – 8-1 (846)15. Clemson – 8-0 (702) 16. Oregon – 7-1 (694) 17. Xavier – 7-1 (503) 18. Butler – 8-1 (413) 19. Gonzaga – 8-2 (386) 20. Vanderbilt – 9-0 (379) 21. Arizona – 6-2 (360) 22. Louisville – 5-2 (286) 23. Villanova – 7-1 (279) 24. Saint Mary’s – 7-0 (197) 25. Brigham Young – 7-2 (191)

USA Today Rk. Team – Record (Pts) 1. North Carolina – 8-0 (763) 2. Memphis – 7-0 (740) 3. Kansas – 9-0 (717) 4. Georgetown – 7-0 (669) 5. Texas – 9-0 (635) 6. Washington State – 9-0 (608) 7. Duke – 9-0 (594) 8. UCLA – 8-1 (582) 9. Pittsburgh – 9-0 (487) 10. Michigan State – 8-1 (481) 11. Tennessee – 8-1 (430) 12. Texas A&M – 8-1 (407) 13. Marquette – 6-1 (391) 14. Indiana – 8-1 (385)15. Clemson – 8-0 (295) 16. Oregon – 7-1 (292) 17. Xavier – 7-1 (257) 18. Villanova – 7-1 (195) 19. Butler – 8-1 (185) 20. Louisville – 5-2 (174) 21. Vanderbilt – 9-0 (164) 22. Arizona – 6-2 (148) 23. Gonzaga – 8-2 (386) 24. Saint Mary’s – 7-0 (73) 25. Brigham Young – 7-2 (59)