This Week in Clemson Athletics

UPCOMING EVENTS (home events BOLD) 

Monday, Dec. 1 7 p.m. – Men’s Basketball vs. Rutgers (ACC/BigTen Challenge) – ESPNUWednesday, Dec. 3 12 p.m. – Women’s Basketball at Middle Tennessee State (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

Saturday, Dec. 66 p.m. – Women’s Basketball vs. Tennessee Tech – TigerCast

Sunday, Dec. 75 p.m. – Men’s Basketball vs. Arkansas – ESPNU

SPORT UPDATES

Men’s Basketball (@ClemsonMBB)Record: 4-2 The Tigers returned from the Paradise Jam with a 2-1 record in the event and hosted High Point on Friday. For the second straight game, Clemson won by a three-point margin, defeating the Panthers 62-59. Jaron Blossomgame and Landry Nnoko both produced double-doubles for the Tigers, who improved to 4-2 on the season. Clemson hosts Rutgers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday at 7 p.m. The Tigers welcome a top-25 Arkansas team to town for a 5 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Women’s Basketball (@ClemsonWBB)Record: 3-4 The women’s basketball team spent the week in St. Thomas at the Paradise Jam, going 0-3 with losses to Ohio State (86-77), FGCU (86-61) and Wichita State (63-48). Nikki Dixon earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 17.0 ppg and taking four charges in the three games. The Tigers play at Middle Tennessee at 12 p.m. on Wednesday before hosting Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame-member Jim Davis’s Tennessee Tech squad at 6 p.m. on Saturday in Littlejohn Coliseum.  

Football (@ClemsonFB)Record: 9-3, 6-2 ACC Clemson defeated South Carolina 35-17 in the final regular season game on November 29th. The Tigers moved to #19 in both polls after the victory and now have a 9-3 record entering the bowl season.It was the 41st victory for the 2014 seniors, who also set school class records for wins at home in a four-year period (26) and wins over ACC teams in a four-year period (27).Three freshmen led Clemson offensively as Deshaun Watson threw for 269 yards, Wayne Gallman rushed for 191 and Artavis Scott had 185 receiving. It was the first time Clemson had a 250-yard passer, a 180-yard rusher and 180-yard receiver in the same game.The defense was led by Vic Beasley, who had two sacks and three tackles for loss. He now has 32 career sacks and 49.5 tackles for loss, more than any other active FBS player. Earlier in the week Beasley was named a finalist for the Bednarik Award. He was earlier named a finalist for the Lombardi Award. 

Men’s Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer)Record: 12-7-3, 5-2-1 ACCRanking: #7 seed in NCAA Tournament The seventh-ranked Clemson men’s soccer team’s NCAA Tournament run ended in the Round of 16 on Sunday night at Historic Riggs Field with a 2-1 loss to 16th-ranked North Carolina. Junior Kyle Fisher scored the Tigers’ lone goal on a penalty kick. Clemson’s tournament run also included a 2-1 win over Coastal Carolina in the second round, which was the program’s 47th overall win in NCAA Tournament play, the first since 2006 and the first under Head Coach Mike Noonan. The run also capped off a season in which the Tigers won the program’s 14th ACC Tournament title, the first since 2001 and the first under Noonan. The ACC Championship run was won in dramatic fashion, as Clemson, the fourth-seed, advanced past Wake Forest and top-seeded Notre Dame in penalty kicks before defeating Louisville in double overtime to claim the conference title. Noonan credits the 2014 senior class of Ara Amirkhanian, Bobby Belair, Amadou Dia, Chris Glodack, Phanuel Kavita and Manolo Sanchez for their role in re-establishing the rich tradition of Clemson soccer.

Volleyball (@ClemsonVB)Record: 18-14 (6-12 ACC) The Clemson volleyball team concluded the 2014 season on the road last week, falling to #8 Florida State and Georgia Tech to finish 18-14 overall and 6-12 in conference play. Freshman setter Kate Federico tallied 60 assists on the weekend, bringing her season total to 1,171, and finishing the year in second place all-time in terms of assists in a single season by a Clemson freshman. Karis Watson concluded her senior campaign with 10 kills and four blocks against the Yellow Jackets. The four blocks improved her season total to 174, along with a 1.46 blocks per set average, sixth and 11th in the nation, respectively. Watson’s blocking numbers put the Rock Hill, S.C. native in seventh place in program history in single season blocks and blocks per set average.