Clemson Men’s Basketball Team to Face Missouri in NCAA Tournament Friday in Buffalo, NY

March 16, 2010

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GAME SETUP Event: 2010 NCAA East Regional Site: Buffalo, NY Arena: HSBC Arena (19,200) Date: Friday, March 19, 2010 Time/TV: 2:35 PM (Approximately) CBS (Gus Johnson, Len Elmore) Radio: Clemson Tiger Radio Network (Pete Yanity, Tim Bourret); Westwood One (Mark Champion and Kyle Macy) RPI: Clemson 34, Missouri 45

SERIES HISTORY Overall: Tied 1-1 at Clemson: 0-0 at Missouri: 0-0 at Neutral: 1-1 Last Meeting: Clemson 47-45, 11-30-96 in San Juan, Puerto Rico First Meeting: Missouri, 69-64, 12-29-85 in Honolulu, HI NCAA Records: Clemson: 8-9, Missouri: 21-22

QUICK FACTS Clemson is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, one of 21 schools who have played in each of the last three tournaments. This is just the second time in history Clemson has played in three straight NCAA Tournaments.

The games in Buffalo will be playd at HSBC Arena (opened 1996), the home of the Buffalo Sabres.

Clemson posted a winning record in ACC play for the third straight year, the first time Clemson has had three consecutive winning league seasons.

Trevor Booker is in the top five in Clemson history in scoring and rebounding. Booker is one of eight players, current or former, who rank in the top five in career scoring and rebounding at an ACC school.

Booker is the only player in ACC history with at least 1500 points, 1000 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 blocks and 100 steals.

Booker was named first-team All-ACC this year, just the third Clemson first-team selection in the last 20 years. He made both first-team All-ACC and first-team All-ACC defense, the only ACC player to make both teams this year.

Over the last four years, Clemson has a 93-40 record, a .700 winning percentage. Clemson ranks third among ACC schools in winning %. The only school with a better percentage for that time are Duke and North Carolina.

Booker will make his 134th consecutive start when he opens play in the NCAA Tournament. He will break the Clemson record for total games started in a career when he makes the start. Former teammate Cliff Hammonds started 133 games in his career from 2004-08. Booker will tie the Clemson record for games played when he participates in the NCAA Tournament.

The first time Clemson played Missouri, in Honolulu in 1985-86, Clemson’s top player was Horace Grant with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. His nephew, Jerai Grant, will start for the Tigers against Missouri.

Clemson and Missouri are both ranked in the top 10 in the nation in steals per game. Missouri is first and Clemson is seventh.

This is the sixth straight year Oliver Purnell has taken Clemson to postseason play. That ties Cliff Ellis for the most consecutive postseason appearances by a Clemson coach. Ellis did it from 1984-85 through 1989-90. He had three NCAAs and three NITs in that era, Purnell has had three NCAAs and three NITs in his streak.

Clemson joins Kansas, Notre Dame, Baylor and West Virginia as the only schools in the nation with four RPI top 50 wins over their last 10 games.