Men’s Basketball Vs. Duke Game Notes

Feb. 6, 2004

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Clemson vs. Duke Series

Duke has beaten Clemson 16 consecutive games, including 12 in arow by double digits. It is the longest winning streak in theseries at any time for the Blue Devils. Clemson’s last win overDuke took place during the 1996-97 season, an 86-82 overtimevictory in Littlejohn Coliseum behind a late steal and dunk by GregBuckner, now with the Philadelphia 76ers. Clemson has a 4-52 recordin Durham and has not won in Cameron Indoor Stadium since the1994-95 season when Rick Barnes beat Mike Krzyzewski in his firstACC game as Clemson coach. Clemson has lost eight in a row inDurham. Duke is one of just two ACC teams with a winning recordover Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum. Duke holds a 20-16 lead in theprevious 36 meetings in the facility, including the victory earlierthis year. North Carolina is the only other ACC team with a winningrecord in Littlejohn. Duke’s 18-game winning streak has been by anaverage margin of 16.6 points per game. That includes an averagemargin of 21.2 points per game over the last 12 games. The Tigerskept the margin under the average the last time Clemson traveled toDuke. Duke defeated Clemson by just 10 points, 65-55 last season.Clemson lost three times to Duke in 1997-98, but the three gameswere decided by seven total points. That included an 81-80 loss atCameron Indoor Stadium when Clemson overcame a 24-point deficit inthe second half and had two shots to win the game inside the lastfive seconds. Clemson has played two triple overtime games in itshistory and one of those contests was against Duke. During the1981-82 season Duke downed Clemson at Durham by a 73-72 score intriple overtime. Clemson guard Vincent Hamilton played all 55minutes for the Tigers. Clemson has a 4-52 lifetime record inDurham against the Blue Devils. Clemson lost its first 28 gamesthere before gaining victory in 1975-76, Bill Foster’s first yearas head coach at Clemson. Clemson is 20-34 against Duke in gamesplayed in the city of Clemson, and 16-20 in games played inLittlejohn Coliseum. Clemson has lost seven straight at home to theBlue Devils. Clemson has defeated Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski ninetimes, including seven games in Littlejohn Coliseum. Duke wasranked in the top 20 in the nation six of those occasions. Thatincludes consecutive wins at Littlejohn in 1988, 1989 and 1990 whenDale Davis led the Tigers to victory over three top 10 Duke teams.Davis had 23 points and 17 rebounds in the 1988 victory over a #9Duke team. Clemson had a 12-13 record and was coming off a 36-pointloss at North Carolina entering the game. Clemson was the only ACCteam to defeat Krzyzewski in 1994-95. A back ailment forced him tothe sidelines for the rest of the season after Clemson’s 75-70victory in early January of that season. The first meeting betweenDuke and Clemson took place in Durham during the 1925-26 season.Duke came away with a 46-12 victory. Clemson’s first win in theseries took place in 1938-39, by a 38-36 score at Clemson. BanksMcFadden, Clemson’s first ever basketball All-American, led Clemsonto that victory in overtime. The two teams split a pair of 87-82overtime decisions in 1979-80. Clemson won the game at Clemson whenDuke was #1 in the nation entering the game. It is still one ofjust two times in history Clemson has beaten #1 ranked team. Laterthat year, on the night Duke retired Mike Gminski’s jersey, Dukereturned the favor with an 87-82 victory in Cameron over Clemson.Gminski had 29 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocked shots in thatgame to lead the Blue Devils. That is the closest an opposingplayer has come to scoring 20 points and grabbing 20 rebounds inthe same game against Clemson since 1972. Gminski will serve ascolor commentator for Sunday’s game on Fox Sports Net.

Earlier this year Duke 73, Clemson 54Jan. 3, 2004 at Littlejohn Coliseum Second-ranked Duke used an 11-0 run early in the first half and went on to a 73-54 victory over Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum on January 3. It was the ACC opener for both schools and the first league game for Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell. It was the 16th straight victory for Duke by double digits over the Tigers.

Daniel Ewing scored 19 points off the bench and J.J. Redick added 17 points to lead the Blue Devils, who shot 47.7 percent from the field for the game, but just 32 percent on three-point attempts. That is still the second best field goal percentage against Clemson this year, topped only by a 48.3 percentage mark by North Carolina.

Clemson was led in scoring by Sharrod Ford with 12 points on 5-7 shooting. The sophomore added four rebounds and two blocked shots. Lamar Rice scored 11 points off the bench on 5-8 shooting, while Chey Christie had his third straight double figure scoring game with 10 points. Olu Babalola made just 2-7 shots, but did hit 5-6 free throws and added nine points.

Duke entered the game allowing opponents to shoot 38.5 percent from the field and that is exactly what Clemson shot for the game. Duke entered the game shooting 47.5 percent offensively and the Blue Devils shot 47.7 percent. Duke’s scoring margin entering the game was 21 points and the Blue Devils won by 19. Thus, it was a typical Duke performance.

It was an 8-6 game in favor of Duke with 14 minutes left in the first half. Then, Duke went on a 11-0 run to take a 19-6 lead at the 11-minute mark on two free throws by Daniel Ewing. That was the most important spurt of the game. Clemson cut the lead to 22-15 with 7:39 left in the first half on a follow up shot by Christie. Duke then stretched the margin to 42-29 at intermission.

Duke scored the first four points of the second half to put the margin to 17 points at 48-31 with 16 minutes left. The lead varied between 13 and 23 points the remainder of the game. Every time it appeared the Tigers might make a run, Ewing or Redick converted a three-point play. Duke made 4-10 three-point shots as a team in the second half.

Last Year at Duke Duke Downs Clemson, 65-55Feb. 9, 2003 at Durham, NC Duke forced Clemson into 26 turnovers and pulled down 20 offensive rebounds in defeating Clemson 65-55 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 9, 2003. The 10-point margin was the closest Clemson has come to victory in the facility since the 1997-98 season when Clemson lost, 81-80. Overall, it was the 50th loss for Clemson in Cameron Indoor Stadium against just four victories.

Clemson placed three players in double figures, while Duke had just one. It was also an unusual loss for Clemson in that the Tigers out-shot Duke in terms of field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage, yet lost.

Chey Christie led the Tigers for the second straight game with 17 points on 4-8 shooting. He was a perfect 6-6 from the foul line, the best perfect game from the line by a Clemson player in 2002-03. Edward Scott added 11 points and five assists, while Chris Hobbs had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Duke was led by Dahntay Jones with 15 points. Senior center Casey Sanders had a career high 14 rebounds and added eight points. Freshmen J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams added nine points apiece for Duke, who was ranked ninth in the nation in both polls entering the game.

The contest was a defensive struggle throughout. Clemson held Duke to but 65 points, fewest by the Blue Devils until they scored 65 in their season ending NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas, and just the third time in the last three years that Duke had scored in the 60s. Clemson also held Duke to .339 field goal shooting, the best field goal percentage defense against the Blue Devils in three years.

Clemson scored just three points over the first six and half minutes of the game and trailed 13-3 at the 13:43 mark. The Tigers had nine turnovers in the first seven minutes. The lead reached 21-9 at the 7:51 mark on a three-point goal by Lee Melchionni. But Clemson battled back to cut the margin to 25-21 on a free throw by Sharrod Ford with 3:27 left. It was 34-25 in favor of Duke at intermission.

Clemson then cut the margin to one point at 35-34 with 17:04 left on a jumper by Edward Scott. But, another draught ensued. Clemson did not score until the 10:36 mark, a score that ended a 13-0 Duke run. The lead remained in double digits the rest of the game.

Clemson Downs Tar Heels Shawan Robinson scored a career high 24 points to lead five Tigers in double figures as Clemson defeated North Carolina 81-72 on January 31, 2004 at Littlejohn Coliseum. It marked the second straight game Clemson had defeated the Tar Heels, both in Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers shot a school record 84.6 percent from three-point range (11-13), and 55.6 percent overall. Clemson shot at least 55 percent in each half, the first time the Tigers have done that this year. The 84.6 percent three-point marksmanship was also the highest three-point performance ever against the Tar Heels.

Supporting Robinson, who made a career best 5-6 on three-point shots, were Sharrod Ford with 13, Chey Christie with 11 and Vernon Hamilton with 10. North Carolina was led by ACC scoring leader Rashad McCants, who had 26 on 9-15 shooting. Melvin Scott added 12 points and Jawad Williams had 10.

North Carolina was ranked 12th in the nation entering the game. It was Clemson’s first win over a ranked team since defeating a 19th ranked Wake Forest team 118-115 on Feb. 13, 2002. It was the highest ranked opponent Clemson had beaten since defeating a fifth ranked (USA Today) Virginia team on January 8, 2002.

In addition to shooting, Clemson out-rebounded the Tar Heels 34-27. Chris Hobbs, a native of Chapel Hill, led the way with eight points. Hobbs became the first Clemson player to play in three wins over North Carolina in his career since Bobby Conrad (1977-80). North Carolina had a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint, a 28-12 advantage in points off turnovers, yet Clemson won by nine points, the worst loss for the Tar Heels in regulation this year.

North Carolina held a 17-14 lead six minutes into the game after a steal and layup by McCants. But, Clemson came back and went on a14-0 run to take a 28-17 lead with 5:58 left in the half. Clemson held North Carolina scoreless for 8:21 until David Noel scored on a layup with 5:51 left. Clemson held a 43-34 lead at intermission thanks to 16-29 shooting, including 4-5 on three-point shots. Despite going 8:21 without a point in the first half, North Carolina still managed to make 14-26 in the first 20 minutes.

North Carolina cut he margin to five points at 47-42 with 17:20 left on a steal and score by Raymond Felton. It was still a five point game with 12:25 left when Clemson made three consecutive three-point goals over a three-minute period. Vernon Hamilton three-pointer with 11:58 left started the run. The freshman had made just one of his last 15 three-point attempts prior to that conversion. Robinson then hit two more to give Clemson a 66-52 lead with 9:06 left.

North Carolina cut the lead to eight at 70-62 with 4:06 left n a three-pointer by Felton, but the Tigers ran the lad back to 13 at 75-62 with 1:38 left on five free throws by three different players. North Carolina never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Landmark Accomplishments for Clemson in Win over UNC

Clemson made11-13 three-point goals in the victory. The .846percentage was the best in Clemson history, non-conference or ACCcompetition. Clemson’s previous best three-point percentage in anACC game was .688 on 11-16 shooting at Virginia on Valentine’s Dayof 1987. Its previous best in any game was .800 (8-10) againstWinthrop in 2002-03 and against Delaware State in 1986-87. It wasthe largest victory against North Carolina in a regulation gamethis year. Clemson has now beaten North Carolina in consecutiveyears for the first time since the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.This is the first time Clemson has beaten North Carolina inconsecutive games since the same time period. Clemson won the lastmeeting in 1978-79 and the first meeting in 1979-80. This is justthe third time in Clemson history that the Tigers have beaten NorthCarolina twice in a row. Clemson won the last meeting last year byan 80-77 score at Clemson. The January 31 victory now gives Clemsonfour wins in the last six years against the Tar Heels. It is thefirst time since the 1975-80 era that Clemson has beaten NorthCarolina four times in a six-year period. Chris Hobbs, a native ofChapel Hill, NC, became the first Clemson player to experiencethree wins over North Carolina in his career since Bobby Conradplayed in three wins over the Tar Heels from 1976-77 through1979-80. Hobbs led the Tigers in rebounding with eight. Clemson’s55.6 percentage overall (25-45), was the best by Clemson in an ACCgame since the 2001-02 season when the Tigers hit .558 vs. WakeForest in the 118-115 double overtime victory at LittlejohnColiseum. Clemson has shot over 50 percent from the field justthree times in its last 25 games against an ACC team. Two of thethree games have been against North Carolina in LittlejohnColiseum. Clemson made .549 percentage against the Tar Heels lastyear, and made .554 in a win over Virginia last season.

Tigers Hit 85 Percent on Three-Point Shots Clemson made an incredible 11-13 three-point goals in its victory over North Carolina on January 31 in Littlejohn Coliseum. The outside shooting barrage was led by sophomore guard Chey Christie was 3-4 and Vernon Hamilton 1-1. Clemson had been shooting just .234 against ACC teams from long range heading into that game.

A check of the NCAA record books and the NCAA website shows that Clemson’s .846 three-point shooting percentage was tied for the sixth best for a single game in NCAA history (minimum of 10 three-point goals made). The three-point goal rule has been in effect on a national basis since 1986-87. The performance was also the second best in ACC history. Ironically, the ACC record was set against Clemson when Duke made 10-11 against the Tigers in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 1, 1988.

Prior to Clemson’s performance on January 31, the best single game performance this year was a 13-18 performance for a .727 figure. Rhode Island had that against Vermont on December 30, 2003 and New Mexico shot the same 13-18 against San Francisco State on November 22, 2003.

Clemson’s previous best for a single game, given a minimum of 10 atttempts was a 8-10 performance on two occasions. Clemson was 8-10 from long range against Delaware State in a game played in Little Rock, AR during the 1986-87 season, and against Winthrop last year in a game in the Civic Center of Anderson. Clemson’s best against an ACC team was a .688 figure against Virginia in 1986-87.