Game Information vs. Florida State:Who: Clemson Tigers (11-15, 1-12 ACC) at No. 12/12 Florida State Seminoles (21-4, 9-3 ACC)When: Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.Where: Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Fla.Watch: ACC Network ExtraListen: Clemson Tigers Network/ClemsonTigers.com (William Qualkinbush & Kelly Gramlich)Live Stats: Seminoles.comFollow: Twitter & Instagram: @ClemsonWBB
Clemson Team Notes:
– The Tigers (11-15, 1-12 ACC) are coming off of a 60-35 loss to No. 19/18 Duke on Feb. 11 at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Clemson defense held the Blue Devils to 10 points below their season average in the game. Junior Aliyah Collier posted 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the Tigers.
– In a road game on Feb. 7, the Tigers held No. 4/4 Louisville to 14 points below its season average, ultimately falling 65-46 to the Cards. It was only the fourth time this season Louisville has been held to 65 points or less.
– Clemson leads the ACC and ranks 36th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding its opponents to just 28.4% from behind the arc on the season. The Tigers are fifth in the conference in scoring defense (59.3), and are only 3.5 points behind first-place Duke (55.8) in that category.
– As a team, the Tigers rank third in the ACC in blocked shots (129) and blocked shots per game (5.0). The total blocked shots figure ranks 24th in the nation, while the per-game figure is 31th nationally.
– The Tigers are also in the top-half of the conference in four other defensive categories, as they are sixth in field goal percentage defense (37.9%) and seventh in steals (217), steals per game (8.3) and turnovers forced per game (16.77).
– Clemson finished nonconference play with a 10-3 record in 2017-18. In the past two seasons, the Tigers have a 21-5 (.808) record in nonconference play (11-2 in 2016-17 and 10-3 in 2017-18). It is the best two-year nonconference record for the program since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons, when Clemson was 23-4 (.852) in two seasons.
– During the nonconference season, the Tigers won their Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup, defeating Nebraska on the road by a score of 67-66 on Nov. 30. The Cornhuskers are now 18-7 overall, 9-3 in the Big Ten and receiving votes in this week’s AP poll. In that game, junior Danielle Edwards scored a career-high 33 points in the game, shooting 9-for-15 (60%) from field goal range, 5-for-9 (55.6%) from three-point range and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Clemson Player Notes:
– Sophomore Kobi Thornton leads the Tigers in scoring overall and in ACC play. The 2017 ACC All-Freshman Team selection is averaging 10.5 points per game on the season, and 12.4 points per game through 13 conference games. She has scored in double figures in nine of the Tigers’ 13 ACC games.
– Thornton also leads the team in rebounding on the season (6.5 per game) and in ACC play (5.7 per game).
– Edwards ranks second in scoring for the Tigers, averaging 9.3 points per game. She also leads the team in steals (68, 2.6 per game) and assists (59, 2.3 per game.)
– Edwards’ 68 steals and 2.6 steals per game rank third among all ACC players, and the 66 steals also put her at 25th in the nation in that category. On Nov. 13, 2017, Edwards posted nine steals in the Tigers’ 56-48 win over South Carolina State, tying the Clemson record for steals in a single game. Four different players have recorded nine steals in a game previously for the Tigers, however, it had not been done in 30 years, when Ramona O’Neil picked up nine steals against Virginia on Feb. 14, 1987.
– The Tigers have two players in the top six in the ACC in blocked shots. Freshman Tylar Bennett ranks fifth with 42 blocked shots and a 1.6 per game average, while Thornton ranks sixth with 41 blocked shots and 1.6 blocked shots per game.
Series Information:
– The Seminoles have a 29-24 all-time record in the series against the Tigers in women’s basketball.
– Earlier this season, then No. 11/13 Florida State defeated the Tigers 69-47 on Jan. 4 at Littlejohn Coliseum. At the time, the 69 points were the Seminoles lowest point total of the season, and 19 points below their season average. Seniors Alexis Carter and Ivy Atkism led the Tigers in scoring in the game, with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
December 5, 2024
