Monday 02/28/2000
Feb. 28, 2000
Clemson vs. Duke Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday, March 1, 2000 (7:00 PM, ESPN)
CLEMSON, S.C. – This will be the final home game for fifth-year senior Andrius Jurkunas. Jurkunas is the only senior on the Clemson team this year. Clemson has lost just two of its last 13 “Senior Night” games and has a 24-4 record the last 28 years. Two of the four losses are to top 10 Duke teams.
Jurkunas is coming off his finest all-around game as a Tiger. He was Clemson’s MVP in the Tigers 66-63 win at NC State last Sunday. Jurkunas scored a career high 23 points and made a career high six three-point goals in the contest. He also made two free throws that put Clemson ahead by a point with 14.6 seconds left, then defended Anthony Grundy on State’s last possession.
Jurkunas now has 140 career three-point goals, third in Clemson history. He trails only Chris Whitney and Terrell McIntyre.
Will Solomon now has 557 points for the season, a record for a Clemson sophomore. He also has 82 three-point goals, third highest total for a season in Clemson history. He has scored in double figures in every game this year and is attempting to become the first Tiger to score in double figures in every game since Butch Zatezalo in 1969-70.
Clemson’s win at NC State was certainly a landmark victory. It was only the 14th Clemson victory in history in the North Carolina triangle (Duke, UNC or NC State) and it broke a 14-game ACC road losing streak. It was also the first time since 1964 that Clemson had overcome a halftime deficit at NC State to gain victory.
Clemson is currently tied for eighth in the ACC standings with Georgia Tech. Clemson can still finish anywhere from ninth to tied for fifth in the league standings. Clemson can have no higher than a #6 seed for the ACC Tournament.
Clemson Has 11 Wins over Ranked Duke Teams Clemson has defeated a top 20 Duke team 11 times in its history, more than any other school. Clemson has 10 ranked wins over Maryland and nine apiece over NC State and North Carolina. The list includes a win over 21st ranked NC State this year.
Clemson has upset a top 20 Duke team six times in the last 12 years, with the last victory coming in 1996-97 at Clemson, an 86-82 overtime win over a 10th ranked Duke team. That was the third year in a row that Clemson defeated a top 20 Duke team. Clemson also defeated a top 10 Duke team three years in a row between 1988-90. Dale Davis and Elden Campbell were common denominators on those teams. The 1990 victory clinched the ACC regular season championship for the Tigers.
Duke enters this game ranked in the top five in the nation. Clemson has 14 wins over top 5 ranked teams in its history with the last coming in 1996-97 against third-ranked Kentucky in a game played in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Clemson’s last win over a top five team at Clemson took place in 1993-94 when Clemson upset a second-ranked North Carolina team.
Clemson’s top victory in history was an 87-82 win over Duke on January 9, 1980. Duke was ranked number-one in the nation at the time and it remains Clemson’s only men’s basketball victory over the number-one ranked team.
With the win over NC State this year, Clemson has now defeated at least one top 25 teams 14 consecutive years.
Clemson Wins over Ranked Duke Teams
Here is a Chronological list of Clemson’s top five wins In History
Series Record: Duke leads 85-27at Clemson: Duke leads 29-20at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 16-15Last Meeting: Duke, 93-59 at Durham, 1-29-00 Television: ESPN (Mike Patrick, Dan Bonner)
Upcoming Clemson Schedule:
Clemson vs. NC State Review Andrius Jurkunas scored a career high 23 points, including 17 in the second half, leading Clemson to a 66-63 victory at NC State on Sunday, Feb. 27th. Clemson overcame a 10-point deficit with just six minutes to play to gain the victory, and snapped a 14-game ACC road losing streak in the process. Jurkunas had a career high six three-point goals in the game in just seven attempts.
In addition to his scoring, Jurkunas made two free throws with 14.6 seconds left to give Clemson a 64-63 lead, then he defended Anthony Grundy on the Pack’s last possession. Jurkunas deflected Grundy’s shot, Will Solomon picked up the loose ball and sped for a clinching layup and 66-63 victory.
Solomon had a fine all-around game with 13 points, eight rebounds andsix assists. He also defended Grundy for much of the game and the Pack’s top scorer made just 3-16 shots from the field, 0-6 on three-point attempts. Freshman guard Edward Scott had 10 points, six assists and four reboinds. Adam Allenspach had six points and eight rebounds.
Clemson had 14 turnovers in the game, but just four in the second half. The Tigers shot 50 percent in the second half to 35.7 by NC State. Clemson made 11-19 three-point goals in the contest and scored on 71.4 from the foul line. Clemson also won the rebounding by seven, 38-31.
Clemson trailed most of the game. After the Pack had a 32-26 lead at intermission, Clemson cut the margin to one at 32-31 with a 5-0 burst to start the game. The margin stayed between one and three points for the next 10 minutes. NC State then took a 59-49 lead with 7:09 left on a second straight three-point goal by Damien Wilkins.
Clemson then went on a 13-0 run, its second longest run of the season, to take a 62-59 lead on a rebound goal by Chucky Gilmore. NC State shot just 1-12 from the field down the stretch, but State took the lead at 63-62 with just 33 seconds left on a free throw by Kenny Inge. On Clemson’s next possession, Jurkunas was fouled, and made two free throws to give Clemson the lead.
With Solomon’s final score, Clemson went on a 17-4 run to end the game. Clemson ended its 17-point win at Clemson earlier this year with a 17-4 run.
Clemson Win at NC State Landmark Clemson’s trailed 31-26 at intermission. It marked the first time since 1964 that Clemson overcame a halftime deficit at NC State to win a game.
Just the third time in 13 years that Clemson had overcome a halftime defict on the road to win an ACC game.
Clemson broke a 14-game ACC road losing streak with the 66-63 victory.
Clemson overcame a 10-point deficit with six minutes left to gain victory. It was the first time Clemson overcame a double digit second half deficit to gain victory since March 6, 1998 when Clemson overcame a 10-point second half deficit to beat Wake Forest.
First time Clemson has overcome a double digit deficit with under 10 minutes left since March 3, 1996 when Clemson trailed Duke 41-30 with nine minutes left, then won 51-48.
Just the 14th Clemson victory in the North Carolina Triangle (at NC State, Duke or UNC) in 47 years of ACC basketball.
Won its first ACC road game decided by five points or less since the 1997-98 season, a five-point win at NC State.
Gave Clemson its first sweep of NC State since the 1994-95 season.
Clemson on “Senior Day” Clemson senior Andrius Jurkunas will be playing his final home game when the Tigers meet Duke on Wednesday evening at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson has been very successful on “Senior Night” since the 1971-72 season. In that time, the Tigers are 24-4 in the final home game for the regular season. That record included a couple of years when Clemson did not have a senior (1995-96).
But, Clemson is 13-4 over the last 27 years in “Senior Night” games against ACC teams. Clemson has won just 36 percent of its ACC games during that time span, so it does appear that “Senior Night” has an impact. The stretch includes last year’s 92-64 win over Georgia Tech on “Senior Night”. Senior Terrell McIntyre had 22 points and 10 assists, while senior Tony Christie had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Clemson’s only “Senior Night” losses since 1972 have come to an eighth-ranked North Carolina team (1997), a number-one ranked Duke team (1992 and 1986) and to an unranked Georgia Tech team (1993). Duke will enter Wednesday’s game ranked in the top five in the nation.
Overall, Clemson is 63-25 in the final regular season home game. Clemson has won its last two Senior Night games. In addition to the performance by McIntyre and Christie last year, Greg Buckner had 29 points on 12-18 field goal shooting two years ago, leading Clemson to a 76-62 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Busy Time for Jurkunas This is quite a time for Clemson senior forward Andrius Jurkunas. His Tiger career is concluding after five years with the program. He will receive his degree in May. A couple of weeks ago he learned his wife, Jill, was pregnant, an item he kept secret from Head Coach Larry Shyatt and his teammates until this past Sunday. She is due in October.
After his career high 23 points and career high six three-point goals led the Tigers to victory at NC State, he told Shyatt and his teammates the good news. Jurkunas was married last summer and in the wedding party were Shyatt and his wife Pam. Shyatt has a picture with Jurkunas, both in tuxedo, behind his desk in his office in the Jervey Athletic Center.
Jurkunas first came to Clemson in August of 1995 and was a member of the same recruiting class with Terrell McIntyre, Tom Wideman, Harold Jamison and Tony Christie. Entering his final home game on Wednesday, he ranks third in Clemson history in career three point goals with 140, trailing only Chris Whitney and Terrell McIntyre. He has 766 career points and 434 career rebounds. He is one of just three ACC players with over 100 career three-point goals and 75 career blockedshots. He scored 19 points in the second half of Clemson’s NCAA tournament game against Georgia in 1996, still a school record for points scored in a half of an NCAA Tournament game.
Jurkunas Key to Clemson ACC Wins As Andrius Jurkunas goes, so go the Clemson Tigers, at least that has been the case in ACC play this year. Jurkunas has averaged 17.8 points a game in Clemson’s ACC wins this year and just 6.8 in Clemson’s 10 league losses. With his 6-7 three-point performance at NC State on Feb. 27, he is now 17-26 on three-point shots in Clemson’s ACC wins this year, a .653 figure. He is also shooting 24-38 from the field overall in Clemson’s four ACC wins this year.
Jurkunas was outstanding in Clemson’s win over Florida State on Feb. 12. He had 16 points, including 5-7 on three-point goals. He also had six assists and no turnovers and held Ron Hale to 1-12 shooting from the field.
Jurkunas vs. the ACC
First Meeting Duke 93, Clemson 59 Duke exploded for a 58-16 lead at intermission and went on to a 34-point victory over Clemson on January 29th in Durham. The Blue Devils fullcourt pressure forced 19 Clemson turnovers in the first half and held the Tigers to 7-28 shooting. Duke hit 8-18 three-point shots in scoring the most points in a half against a Larry Shyatt coached team.
Clemson executed much better in the second half and outscored the Blue Devils 43-35 in the second 20 minutes. Andrius Jurkunas was one of the those players and the senior also added five rebounds. Chucky Gilmore added eight rebounds. Freshman Tomas Nagys had eight rebounds and eight points. Walk-on Walker Holt had eight points in just 14 minutes.
Duke was led by Chris Carrawell with 20 points, while Shane Battier added 17. Jason Williams ha 17 points, six assists and foir steals. Duke shot 52.4 percent from the field for the game, highest against Clemson all year. The Blue Devil defense had eight blocked shots and 14 steals.
Turnovers were the story. The Tigers committed 30, while Duke committed just 10. Points off turnovers just about equalled the scoring differential. Duke outscored Clemson 36-4 in terms of points off turnovers. Clemson won the rebound battle 42-30, the 10th time this year Clemson has had a double digit rebound margin.
Clemson was forced to play all but six minutes of the game without Adam Allenspach, who collapsed six minutes into the game with a bulging disk problem. He did not return to the contest.
Solomon Plays Well vs. Duke Last year Clemson guard Will Solomon played his best basketball against Duke, the best team in the nation for 99 percent of the season. Solomon had 19 points in 36 minutes against Duke on January 20, his first career start. Duke was ranked #2 in the nation entering the game. He hit 8-15 shots from the field and made a pair of three-point goals in the game at Littlejohn Coliseum. In the game at Clemson he was even more efficient on a per minute basis. Solomon scored 17 points in 23 minutes on 7-12 shooting against Duke, ranked #1 in the nation at the time. He made 3-5 three-point goals, had three rebounds and a season high tying four steals.
For the season, Solomon scored 36 points in 59 minutes against the Blue Devils, hit 5-13 threepoint goals, had seven rebounds and six steals. Solomon scored more points against Duke than any other ACC team last year.
Solomon added 19 points, all in the second half or the game at Duke earlier this year, giving him 55 points in three games against the Blue Devils so far in his young career.
Tigers Face Buckner For 122 consecutive games between 1994-98 Greg Buckner was in the Clemson starting lineup, the longest streak in Clemson history. Buckner finished his career fourth in school history in scoring with 1754 points. He tied the school record for double figure scoring games with 97 and also finished third in playing time, third in steals and second in field goal made.
This Wednesday, his brother, Andre, will be playing against the Tigers. Andre Buckner is a reserve guard for Duke and the freshman has played 57 minutes in 14 games so far this year. He has scored 10 points and has seven assists and just two turnovers as a point guard. He has made 2-3 three-point goals and has nine rebounds.
Older brother Greg is doing well with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. His playing time has dropped a bit lately with the addition of Dennis Rodman, but he has averaged three points and three rebounds a game in 16 contests for Dallas this year.
Clemson vs. Duke Series Duke has beaten Clemson seven consecutive games, four of the seven are by seven points or less. The Blue Devils swept Clemson in 1998-99 and for three games in 1997-98. The three losses were by a combined seven points two years ago. Clemson nearly overcame a 24-point deficit in the second half before falling at Duke in 1997-98, 81-80. Clemson had a pair of shots to win inside the last five seconds against the #2 ranked Blue Devils.
Duke has a 85-28 lead in the series, including a 49-4 margin in Durham. Coach K has a 18-2 record against Clemson in games at Duke, but just 11-8 in Littlejohn Coliseum. He is 31-10 overall against the Tigers.
Clemson vs. Duke
Tigers Commit Only Five Turnovers vs. Maryland Clemson committed just five turnovers in the loss to Maryland on Feb. 22. That tied for the second fewest turnovers in a game in Clemson history. The record is three against North Carolina in the 1995 ACC Tournament. Clemson has had two other games with just five turnovers.
Clemson has improved its turnover figures of late, especially at home. Over the last three home games, Clemson has had just 18 total turnovers, just six per game. Clemson had just 14 turnovers in its win over NC State, only four in the second half.
What is especially noteworthy is that Clemson had that low total against Maryland, a team that forces an average of 19 turnovers per game, best in the ACC. Clemson went into the game last in the ACC in turnover margin, committing 4.6 more than it causes this season. But, Clemson had a +5 turnover margin in the game as the Terps committed 10.
Clemson has improved its turnover total drastically of late and the return of point guard Edward Scott has a lot to do with that. Scott had just one turnover in 38 minutes at NC State and now has just 23 turnovers in 12 ACC games. He averages just one turnover for every 17.3 minutes this year in league play.
Fewest Turnovers in Game, Clemson History
10 other games at 6 turnovers N2 at Greensboro, NC
Assist/Turnover Ratio Among the Best vs. FSU Clemson had its best ball handling game of the year in the win over Florida State. Clemson had 24 assists and just seven turnovers in the 26-point victory. That was the high assist mark of the season for a single game by Clemson and the second lowest turnover total. Those two extremes led to a 3.43 assist/turnover ratio, the third best single game ACC mark in Clemson history.
The only two games better in league play both took place against NC State. In 1992-93 season, Clemson had 25 assists and just five turnovers for a 5.0 figure in an ACC Tournament victory over NC State. In 1983-84 in a game at Clemson, the Tigers had 23 assist and just six turnovers (3.83) in a win over the Pack.
Overall, Clemson’s 3.43 assist/turnover ratio against Florida State was the 10th best in school history, best since the 1997-98 season when Clemson had 29 assists and just eight turnovers in a win over Western Carolina. Clemson had a 15/5 ratio in the loss to Maryland.
Allenspach Chasing Free Throw Record Clemson starting center Adam Allenspach has made 73 of 98 free throws this year, including 17 of his last 19. That .745 free throw percentage would be the third best in Clemson history by a center if the season ended today. The .778 mark by Ed Brinkley in 1958-59 is the all-time Clemson standard for a Tiger center (minimum of 30 attempts). Allenspach’s mark is the best since Brinkley’s 77.8.
Allenspach has made 140-196 for his career .714, also one of the best figures in Clemson history for a center. Allenspach is shooting .765 in league play this year, contributing to Clemson’s near 70 percent figure as a team in league play.
Clemson’s Center Best Season Free Throw Marks
Allenspach Has Fifth Double-Doible Clemson center Adam Allenspach had consecutive double doubles in losses to Virginia and Maryland. This was the first time in his career that the 7-1 center has had consecutive double-doubles. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Maryland and scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds in Clemson’s loss to Virginia on Feb. 15. The performance against Maryland was Allenspach’s sixth double-double of the season, more than any other Tiger. It was his first double-double since he suffered a back injury at Duke on January 29.
He scored 24 points in Clemson’s loss to Appalachian State on January 19. That was his career high scoring effort and it was in fact the highest scoring game for a Clemson center since Sharone Wright scored 25 points at Wake Forest on Feb. 22, 1994. Allenspach connected on 7-11 field goals and 10-12 free throws.
His free throw shooting stats are also a career high. He made his last nine free throws of the Appalachian State game and is now shooting 74.5 percent from the line for the year. Allenspach had five straight double figure scoring games and was averaging 16 points a contest prior to the Duke game in Durham when he went down with a bulging disk in his back. He had his first double figure scoring game in the win over Florida State since he hurt his back at Duke. Allenspach scored 12 points in the win over the Seminoles and now has 47 points and 23 rebounds over his last three games.
Solomon Chasing Sophomore Scoring Marks Will Solomon set a Clemson record for points scored by a sophomore when he had 13 against NC State in Raleigh. He now has 557 for the season, breaking the mark of 552 by Butch Zatezalo in 1967-68.
Solomon is chasing an overall single season Clemson record. He has averaged 3.04 three-point goals per game this year, ahead of the Clemson record of 2.90 per game by Chris Whitney in 1992-93. Solomon has 557 points this season, already eighth best in Clemson history for a single season. He would have an outside chance at the Clemson single season points record if the Tigers could win a game or two in the ACC Tournament.
Solomon’s average of 20.6 would be seventh best in Clemson history if the season ended today. The record is 28.3 by Bill Yarborough in 1954-55. Butch Zatezalo (3 seasons), Vince Yockel and Horace Grant are the other Tigers to average at least 20 points a game over the course of a season.
Clemson Single Season Scoring Leaders
Clemson Single Season Points/Game Leaders
Clemson Single Season Three-Point Goals
Clemson Single Season 3Pt Goal/Game Leaders
Clemson With More Field Goals Despite a 10-17 record overall and 4-10 mark in ACC play, Clemson has scored more field goals than the opposition in overall games and has four field goals more in ACC games. Clemson has shot better than the opposition (40.4 to 40 ) overall.
In the 14 league games Clemson has 321 field goals to 317 for the opposition. The big difference comes at the foul line. Clemson’s ACC opponents have made 238 free throws in the 14 games, and Clemson has attempted just 234.
There is also a big difference in three-point goals for the season. Opponents have made 46 more three-point goals overall for the season than Clemson and that represents 138 more points. Clemson has been outscored by 106 points for the season.
Henderson Coming on Strong Ray Henderson has not played more than 18 minutes in any of the last six games, yet he has led Clemson in rebounding three of those contests. The freshman who has suffered from various injuries this year, has scored 35 points and had 35 rebounds over the last seven games.
Henderson had eight rebounds, his second highest total of the season, in the win over Florida State. He did that in just 18 minutes and added seven points.
On a per minute basis, Ray Henderson has been Clemson’s most productive rebounder this year. He has averaged a rebound every 3.25 minutes this year, best on the Clemson team. He had five rebounds in just six minutes against North Carolina on Feb. 6, then had six rebounds in 15 minutes at Wake Forest. The burly freshman has been hampered by injury all year and thus his stamina is not at a high rate.
The native of Charlotte, NC, had a productive 22 minutes of play at North Carolina in January and it was the first game in which he opened the eyes of the ACC media. Henderson had a season best and team high nine rebounds in those 22 minutes, including four off the offensive boards. He also made 3-5 shots from the field and did not have a turnover in 22 minutes. He also had an effect on the production of Brendan Haywood. The 7-1 North Carolina center had just 10 points and got just four field goal attempts in the game.
He did play 16 minutes in the win over Georgia Tech and scored six points in 3-4 shooting. He also played strong defense against Alvin Jones of Georgia Tech.
Free Throw Shooting Improved Clemson has shot at least 70 percent from the foul line in 10 of its last 14 games. That includes three consecutive games of 80 percent or better in a recent streak. Larry Shyatt Tigers are now shooting 67.6 percent from the line for the year, 70 percent in conference play. Clemson has not shot over 70 percent for the course of a season since 1986-87 when Clemson’s winningest team in history (25-6 with ACC Player of the Year Horace Grant) shot 71.6 percent. The all-time best is 73.4 by the 1981-82 team. Clemson has never led the ACC in free throw shooting.
Clemson’s current free throw percentage of .676 would be the third best by a Tiger squad in the last 13 years, or the length of time since Clemson had a 70 percent season. Clemson made 68 percent from the line in 1996-97 and 69.6 in 1994-95.
What Clemson has Done Well Rebounding–Tigers are +5.6 for the season, first in the ACC and third best in Clemson history. Tigers have been out-rebounded in just five games all year and have had a double digit rebound margin against 10 opponents.
Defense–Clemson has allowed opponents to make just 40 percent of their shots. Only three teams, Duke, Maryland and North Carolina, have shot over 48 percent against Clemson this year.
Free Throw Shooting–Clemson has made 67.6 percent of its free throws this year, up from 62.5 last year. Clemson has made 70 percent in ACC games. Clemson has made at least 70 percent of its free throws in 10 of the last 14 games.
Where Clemson has Struggled Three-Point Shooting–Clemson has made just 32.2 percent from beyond the arc. Opponents have made more three-point goals than Clemson in 14 of the last 18 games and 20 of 27 games this year.
Assist/turnover ratio–Clemson has had more turnovers than assists in 17 of 27 games. Clemson has committed 115 more turnovers than the opposition and has 72 more turnovers than assists.
Forcing Turnovers–Opponents have had more assists than turnovers in 15 of the last 17 games. A nine-game streak was snapped in the win over NC State. Clemson has just 128 steals compared to 200 by the opposition.
Free Throw Attempts–In ACC play the opposition has attempted 115 more free throws than Clemson in the 14 games.
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