Clemson to Face Florida in Orange Bowl Tourney

Clemson’s 2017-18 men’s basketball schedule will feature a trip to Sunrise, Fla., for the 24th annual MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic where the Tigers will take on the Florida Gators. Clemson and Florida have played 19 times previously but have not met on the hardwood since Dec. 28, 1956. 

The Florida Gators, who made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in head coach Mike White’s second year, finished 27-9 overall and 14-4 in the SEC, will host the Clemson Tigers from the ACC. Clemson, whose coach Brad Brownell is in his eighth season with the Tigers, finished 17-16 and 6-12 in the ACC last year earning an NIT bid. During the regular season, Clemson defeated NCAA Final Four team South Carolina, the team that eventually eliminated Florida.

In the other game, the Florida State Seminoles, who finished 26-9 a year ago and 12-6 in the ACC under 15-year head coachLeonard Hamilton  before bowing out in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32, will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys from the Big 12 Conference.  The Cowboys, whose coach Mike Boynton is in his first year, finished 20-13 a year ago and 9-9 in the conference before losing by a point to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hamilton served as the Cowboys head coach from 1986-90 before becoming the head coach at University of Miami.

The Florida Gators will be making their 19th appearance in the Classic and have a 16-2 all-time record. The Gators return their leading scorer from a year ago, KeVaughn Allen (14.0 ppg, 37% from behind the arc). Also returning are Chris Chiozza (7.2 ppg, 3.8 apg), who hit the game-winning three-pointer in overtime to send the Gators to the Elite Eight, and Kevarrius Hayes, who joined Dwayne Schintzius, Joakim Noah and Al Horford as the only Gators with 60 or more blocked shots in a season. They will be joined by two transfers and the No. 10 ranked recruiting class in the country according to ESPN.com.

The Clemson Tigers return five of their top seven scorers from last year’s NIT Tournament team, including second-leading scorer and leading assist man Shelton Mitchell (10.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 45% three-point). Despite not starting a game, Marquise Reed was fourth in scoring (10.0), second in assists, first in steals, shot 40% from behind the arc and 90.6% from the free throw line, second in the league. Eight of the Tigers’ 12 ACC losses were by six points or less, including three one-point losses, a two-point loss at Duke and a three-point loss in overtime at North Carolina. This is their first appearance in the Classic.

Florida State is back to make its ninth appearance (7-1 record) in the Classic. The ‘Noles boast a consensus top 20  recruiting class  that will join Terance Mann, who shot 58% from the field a year ago and is the leading returning scorer (8.4 ppg), rebounder (4.5 rpg)  and assist man. Other top returners include C.J. Walker, FSU’s sixth man of the year in 2016-17 and 7’4” Christ Koumadje, the tallest player in FSU history, who had four blocks in the NCAA Tournament game against FGCU. 

Oklahoma State is making its second appearance in the Classic, having lost to Florida in 2015. The Cowboys return 53% of their scoring from the NCAA tournament team a year ago. They are expected to be led by Jeffrey Carroll, their leading rebounder and second leading scorer(17.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg), who was a second team All-Big 12 performer a year ago. The Cowboys will also welcome senior transfer Kendall Smith, a two time All-Big West performer from Cal State Northridge (CSUN ). Smith averaged 16.7 ppg and 4.8 apg a year ago at CSUN.

With assistance from title sponsor MetroPCS and associate sponsors American Airlines, BB&T Center, Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, Dave & Buster’s, Florida Prepaid College Board, FOX Sports Sun, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, Panera Bread, Sunshine Health, The Miami Herald and Toyota, the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will be the only Division I basketball played in Broward County again next season.

For ticket information, click here or contact the Orange Bowl ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or emailtickets@orangebowl.org

About the Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl is a 362-member, primarily-volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, 2017. For more information on the 2017-18 Orange Bowl events, including promotional and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to www.orangebowl.org. Follow Orange Bowl: @OrangeBowl, Facebook and Instagram.

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About MetroPCS

MetroPCS is the flagship prepaid brand of T-Mobile US, Inc., and a leading provider of unlimited data, talk, and text  plans with taxes and regulatory fees included – there are no surprises, period. MetroPCS offers the freedom and convenience of an affordable, no-contract wireless service, riding on the 4G LTE T-Mobile network.