Clemson Men’s Basketball Team to Travel to Blacksburg Sunday for Regular Season Finale

March 2, 2007

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Series Notes Overall: VA Tech leads 10-7 at Clemson: tied at 4-4 at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 4-1 at Blacksburg: Va Tech leads 6-3 at Neutral: 0-0 In 2006-07: First meeting Last Meeting: Clemson won 86-81 at Blacksburg, 2005-06 Streak: Clemson won 2 of three Last 4 games decided by 5 points or less

Quick Facts • Clemson will be Virginia Tech’s opponent on Senior Day. Clemson upset Virginia Tech on Senior Day last year. Clemson is 12-35 lifetime on opponent senior days.

• Each of the last four meetings between Clemson and Virginia Tech have been decided by five points or less with each team winning twice. Those are the four meetings between the two teams since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004-05.

• Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell has coached against Virginia Tech as the head coach at Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson. Last year’s Clemson victory was his first at Cassell Coliseum.

• Clemson’s victory against Miami (FL) on Wednesday gave the Tigers 20 wins for the first time since 1998-99. It was the first 20-win season for Oliver Purnell at Clemson. He has now had at least one 20-win season at four different schools, one of just seven active Division I coaches to do it.

• Clemson and Virginia Tech are the top two teams in the ACC in turnover margin. Virginia Tech leads the ACC in fewest turnovers committed per game (11.2) and Clemson leads the ACC in turnovers forced per game (17.8). Five the top eight players in the ACC in terms of steals will be on the floor on Sunday afternoon. Clemson’s James Mays, Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds, and Virginia Tech’s Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon are all ranked in the top eight.

• Cliff Hammonds needs 15 points to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career. When he does he will become just the 15th player in Clemson history to reach 1,000 points before the end of his junior year.

• Clemson freshman center Trevor Booker is shooting 60.4 percent from the field this season. He is just short of the Clemson freshman record of 60.6 by Sharrod Ford in 2001-02. Booker has made 35 of his last 52 shots from the field. His 62 blocks rank second in Clemson history among freshmen.

• Cliff Hammonds has an ACC best 3.08 assist/turnover ratio a figure that is on pace to be the best in Clemson history. Hammonds has had more assists than turnovers in 10 straight games and has not committed a turnover in his last two games.

• Clemson’s starting backcourt of Vernon Hamilton and Cliff Hammonds did not commit a turnover in 80 combined minutes against Miami (FL).

• James Mays needs two steals to set a Clemson record for steals in a season by a frontcourt player. He has 59, one behind Devin Gray’s 1992-93 total.

• A victory on Sunday would give Clemson three ACC road wins in the same year for the first time since the 1996-97 season. It would also give Clemson a 6-5 record for the year on the road overall.