Tigers Open ACC Home Season Against #3 Wake Forest

Jan. 6, 2005

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Clemson will play its second consecutive ACC game against a topsix team when the Tigers face Wake Forest. This is the first timesince….last year that the Tigers have had to open their ACCschedule with a pair of top 10 teams. Last year Clemson opened itsACC slat against #2 Duke and #5 Wake Forest. But, that is the onlyother time that has happened in the last 26 years. Clemson has lostfive of six to Wake Forest since Skip Prosser became the head coachof the Deacs. The only win was a thriller, a 118-115 doubleovertime triumph in Littlejohn Coliseum on Feb. 13, 2002. SharrodFord will play in his 100th career game at Clemson when the Tigersface Wake Forest on Saturday. He has started 68 of his first 99 andhas 873 poins and 603 rebounds. Sharrod Ford has made 54 of hislast 91 shots from the field (.591) and averaged 16.8 points pergame over his last eight games. Ford is coming off a 20- pointperformance at Duke. Ford has 15 career double-doubles, third amongactive ACC players Shelden Williams (24) and Sean May (19). ShawanRobinson has 99 three-point goals and obviously needs just one tobecome the 11th player in Clemson history to score 100 three-pointgoals in a career. Olu Babalola scored his career high of 22 pointsagainst the Demon Deacons at Littlejohn Coliseum last year. Hescored the 22 points in just 27 minutes. It is the only 20 pointgame of his Clemson career. Clemson ranks fifth in the nation insteals and 24th in blocked shots this week. Clemson is one of justsix schools nationally to rank in the top 25 in both categories.Vernon Hamilton has 35 steals and just 26 fouls so far this year.Only one Clemson player in the last 17 years has finished a seasonwith more steals than fouls. Freshman Cliff Hammonds is also onpace to do as the rookie has 25 steals and 22 fouls so far thisyear. Clemson will face a Wake Forest team that is ranked fourth inAP, third by USA Today, fifth by Sagarin and second by thecollegerpi.com. Clemson has not beaten a team rnaked in the topthree in either of the major polls since Feb. 18, 2001 when Clemsonupset number-one ranked North Carolina. Clemson has not defeated atop five Wake Forest team since the 1980-81 season when Larry Nanceled the Tigers to an 81-71 victory in Clemson. Oliver Purnell andSkip Prosser faced each other 13 time when Purnell was at Daytonand Prosser was at Xavier. Prosser had a 7-6 lead in those games,but the home team won 12 of the 13.