Men’s Basketball to Travel to Columbia to Face South Carolina Saturday Afternoon

Dec. 1, 2006

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SERIES NOTES Overall: S. Carolina leads 86-70 at S. Carolina: S. Carolina leads 52-25 at Colonial: Tied 1-1 at Clemson: Clemson leads 42-31 at Neutral: tied 3-3 Last Meeting: Clemson won at Clemson 82-63 last season

• Clemson point guard Vernon Hamilton will play his 100th game as a Clemson Tiger on Saturday afternoon against South Carolina. Hamilton is already Clemson’s career leader in steals with 215 and is the only player in Clemson history with 800 points, 300 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals.

• K.C. Rivers established a Clemson record for consecutive double figure scoring games off the bench when he scored 22 points at Minnesota. It was his eighth straight double figure scoring game off the bench breaking the Clemson record of seven in a row by Dale Davis in 1988-89. Rivers 14.3 scoring average is on track to be the second best in Clemson history for a non-starter.

• Rivers has made 14 of his last 27 shots from threepoint land and 13 of his last 14 free throws.

• Clemson closed out the month of November with an 8-0 record. It is a school record for wins in the month of November and the first time Clemson has won eight games in any month since December of 1992.

• Clemson freshman Trevor Booker is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, 11th in the ACC and third best among league freshmen. The Union High product also has 16 blocks in eight games to rank fourth in the ACC and first among freshmen. He has blocked at least one shot in every game this year.

• James Mays, at 6-9, is second in the ACC in steals per game with a 2.88 figure. He is also sixth in rebounding at 7.8. Clemson has won 19 consecutive games that he has played in over the last two years. His career high of 19 points was achieved against South Carolina last year.

• Clemson has won two consecutive games from South Carolina, including a 19-point victory last year at Clemson. The Tigers are looking to defeat the Gamecocks for the third straight time, which has not happened since Clemson won six in a row between 1994-00 era.

• So far this year Clemson has 81 steals compared to just 43 for the opposition and has had a positive turnover margin in seven of the eight games. Clemson is second in the ACC in steals per game at 10.13, just behind Georgia Tech’s 10.14.

• Cliff Hammonds has a 16/4 assist/turnover ratio over the last four games.

• Clemson is looking for a third straight victory over a Dave Odom coached team. Clemson has not defeated Odom three straight since it won all three games against his Wake Forest team in 1989-90.

• Clemson has won 28 of 42 games with South Carolina since the Gamecocks left the ACC. South Carolina had won each of the last 11 between the two schools when South Carolina was an ACC member.

Note: On Saturday, December 2nd, Clemson and South Carolina basketball fans will have the opportunity to help Columbia children. Fans are being asked to bring a teddy bear to the South Carolina – Clemson basketball game to toss onto the court at half time. All bears will be given to the Columbia City Police Department Victim’s Assistance Unit.