Clemson to Face Minnesota in ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge Wednesday

Nov. 27, 2006

SERIES NOTES Overall: Minnesota leads 4-1 at Minnesota: #Minnesota leads 2-0 at Clemson: Clemson leads 1-0 at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 1-0 at Neutral: Minnesota leads 2-0 Last Meeting: Minnesota 90-84 in 2 OT at 1997 NCAA Tournament at San Antonio, TX # 1-0 at Williams Arena

Complete Game Notes

• Wednesday evening’s game against Minnesota will be the 100th for Oliver Purnell as the head coach at Clemson. • This will be the second time Minnesota coach Dan Monson has coached against Clemson. He guided Gonzaga to a victory over a fifth-ranked Clemson team in November of 1998 in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. • Clemson has won its first seven games for the second straight year. The Tigers won their first 11 games last year. This is the third time in the last 10 years Clemson has won its first seven of the season. • K.C. Rivers is the only Clemson player to score in double figures in every game so far this season. He has done it without starting a single game. • Clemson senior point guard Vernon Hamilton now has 214 steals in his career and just 199 fouls. He has 13 steals and just six fouls this year. Hamilton has a 15/5 assist/turnover ratio for the last four games. • Clemson has won a record seven games in the month of November. The previous record was six November wins in 1998. • Cliff Hammonds scored 20 points to lead Clemson in scoring in the 69-66 win over Mississippi State. It was his first 20-point scoring game since he had 21 against Wake Forest on January 11, 2006. It was the fifth 20-point scoring game of his career. • Through games of November 26, Clemson was ranked 14th in the Sagarin computer poll. Clemson, Maryland, Illinois, Oklahoma State and Michigan were the only schools in the nation with 7 wins. • Clemson has a 5-2 record in the ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge. Only Duke (7-0) and Wake Forest (6-1) have a better record. • Clemson has a 1-4 record against Minnesota. This is the first meeting between the two schools since the 1997 NCAA Tournament when Minnesota won in double overtime, 90-84, in a third round game in San Antonio. • Clemson 6-9 forward James Mays is second in the ACC in steals with 20 in seven games. He leads the Tiger team in that category. He has had at least two steals in every game this year. • Clemson has had a positive turnover margin in six of the first seven games this year. • K.C. Rivers, Clemson’s leading scorer with a 13.1 average, has made 18 of his last 30 shots from the field, including 9 of his last 18 from long range. • Trevor Booker has blocked at least one shot in every game this year, including 10 over the last three games combined. He is second among freshmen in the ACC in rebounding. • Point guard Vernon Hamilton has a 15/5 assist/turnover ratio over his last four games.