Clemson Returns to Postseason, Hosts Georgia State Tuesday in the NIT

CLEMSON, S.C. – A two-year absence from postseason play ended Sunday when Clemson accepted a bid to compete in the 2014 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The third-seeded Tigers host No. 6 seed Georgia State on Tuesday in a 9 p.m. game televised by ESPNU. Clemson is returning to the NIT for the first time since the 2006-07 team advanced to the championship game in Madison Square Garden.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $4 for ages 13-18. Admission is free for youth 12 and Clemson students with a valid ID. All seating is general admission. Tickets are on sale online on ClemsonTigers.com Sunday at 10 p.m., at the athletic ticket office between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or by calling 1-800-CLEMSON. Tickets ordered online and over the phone can be picked up at will-call or printed at home.

Clemson is making its 15th appearance in the NIT. The Tiger program has a 15-14 record all-time in the event, and advanced to the championship final in 1999 and 2007. Clemson has a 9-3 record in Littlejohn Coliseum in the NIT, losing its first three games before compiling a nine-game winning streak in the event in the Tigers’ home arena.

The winner of Tuesday’s tilt faces the winner of the Illinois vs. Boston University in the second round. The first three rounds of the NIT are held at host sites, while the semifinals and championship are scheduled for Madison Square Garden on April 1 and 3.

Clemson and Georgia State have played four previous times and the Tigers are 4-0 in those meetings. The most recent series game was in Littlejohn Coliseum in 2006-07.

Clemson enters Tuesday’s contest with a 20-12 overall record. The Tigers are coming off a one-point loss to a top-10 Duke team in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The 20 wins are the most in school history following a season with a losing record. Clemson has one of the nation’s stingiest defenses, ranking first nationally at defending the three (.282) and fourth in points per game allowed (58.0).

Georgia State comes to Clemson with an overall record of 25-7. The Panthers won the regular season crown in the Sun Belt with a 17-1 record but lost its conference title game Sunday in New Orleans, 82-81 to Louisiana Lafayette.