Tiger Men’s Basketball Team to Play Host to Florida State Saturday Night

Jan. 11, 2008

The Clemson men’s basketball team will play host to Florida State on Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. The 7:00 p.m. contest between the Tigers and Seminoles is designated a Solid Orange event. The game will be broadcast live exclusively on the internet via ACC Select.

Watch Clemson vs. Florida State Live on ACC Select!

Complete Game Notes

Clemson has won six consecutive games against Florida State in Littlejohn Coliseum, including four under current head coach Oliver Purnell. Florida State’s last win at Clemson took place in 2001, a 75-63 Seminoles win.

Clemson won both regular season games against Florida State last year, but lost in the opening round of the ACC Tournament to the Seminoles, 67-66.

Last year when the two teams met in Tallahassee, the Tigers were ranked 18th in the nation according to AP. This year in the first meeting between the two teams Clemson is ranked 18th in the nation by AP.

Saturday night’s game will be the first of 15 consecutive ACC games for the Tigers.

Clemson senior Cliff Hammonds is a native of Cairo, GA, which is a city close to Tallahassee, FL, the home of the Seminoles. Hammonds has averaged 11.3 points and 3.0 assists in seven career games against Florida State. he scored the game winner with 2.6 seconds left in Clemson’s 68-66 win at FSU last year. Hammonds has made at least one three-point goal in 42 straight games. He is now second in Clemson history in career three-point goals with 215.

K.C. Rivers saw his streak of 19 consecutive double figure scoring games end when he had just six points in the loss to Charlotte. Prior to that he had made 29 of his last 47 shots from the field and averaged 18.5 points per game over his last four contests.

Clemson shot 40.4 percent on three-point shots over the first 13 games this year, but has made just 10-44 .227) three-point attempts over the last two games, both Clemson losses.

Clemson is one of five schools ranked in the top 25 in both football and basketball this week. The others are Kansas, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. Clemson has been ranked in the top 25 of the college basketball polls eight straight weeks.

Clemson has had exactly 11 blocks and 11 steals in each of the last two games, but has lost both contests. Clemson is ranked in the top 20 in the nation in blocked shots and steals.

Clemson’s bench had outscored the opponent’s best seveven consecutive games prior to the Charlotte game. But the 49ers bench won that stat Wednesday night by a 22-6 margin.

Oliver Purnell era, and the most by a Clemson frontcourt player since Dale Davis had 32 vs. Western Carolina in 1991. Booker has now made 26 of his last 41 shots from the field, .634.

Clemson senior James Mays is playing with a broken left hand. He wears a large bandage that protects a brace and the last three fingers on his left hand are taped together.