Monday 01/03/2000
Jan. 3, 2000
Clemson at North Carolina January 6, 2000 8 p.m. (JP-Raycom TV) Dean E. Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
Last Meeting Clemson 78, North Carolina 63 At Clemson Clemson held North Carolina to just one three-point field goal over the last three minutes and road 25-point scoring by Terrell McIntyre in defeating 9th ranked North Carolina on Feb. 4, 78-63. It was Clemson’s largest margin of victory over North Carolina since Jan.2, 1980 when the Tigers defeated a 6th ranked North Carolina team, 93-76.
McIntyre scored 25 points, including four three-point goals. One of the threes was a “catch and shoot” 22 footer with the shot clock near zero. That play was cited as the CNN Play of the Day.
McIntyre also had six assists and three steals in leading the Tigers to the victory. Tony Christie added a season high 15 points and became Clemson’s career leader in three-point goals by a forward. Harold Jamison was a third double figure scorer for Clemson with 11 points and he added seven rebounds and three steals. Tom Wideman had 10 rebounds, seven points and four assists.
Clemson won the rebounding battle, 39-28, including 18-7 on the offensive boards. North Carolina came into the game ranked number-one in the nation in rebound margin. The Tigers also had a +5 in terms of turnover margin, forcing 17 defensively and committing just 12 offensively.
The Tigers scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by Tom Wideman and never trailed. North Carolina tied the count at two, and that was the only tie of the game. It was the first time in history that Clemson had never even trailed in a game against the Tar Heels. Clemson had a 10-point lead in the first half at 31-21 and led 39-31 at intermission. Andrius Jurkunas hit a three-point goal with four seconds left to send Clemson into the locker room with momentum.
North Carolina cut the lead to four in the second half at 45-41, but the Tigers went on a 10-0 run to take a 55-41 advantage. It reached 15 with 12:38 left on a three-point goal by McIntyre. North Carolina got to within seven points on a three-point goal with 2:25 left by Ronald Curry, but that was North Carolina’s only points in the last three minutes. Clemson went on an 8-0 to close the game.
Ranked Road Win for Tigers
Clemson has 10 wins over ranked ACC teams in its history. North Carolina is ranked in the top 15 in both polls this week. North Carolina was ranked ninth in both polls heading into last year’s game in Chapel Hill, a 69-53 Tar Heel win at the Smith Center.
Clemson has three wins over ranked teams on the road in the last five years with the last coming two seasons ago at Maryland. Clemson also defeated 25th ranked Virginia at Charlottsville on December 7,1996, so the Tigers had two ranked road wins that season.
Clemson never beat a ranked ACC team on the road until the 1975-76 season, Bill Foster’s first year at Clemson. He actually defeated two top five ACC teams on the road in his first two ACC road games, winning at fifth-ranked Wake Forest and second-ranked Maryland. Foster has five of Clemson’s 10 wins over ranked ACC teams on the road in school history.
Clemson Wins over Ranked ACC Teams on the Road
Date Opponent Score Mar AP-UPI/USA 1-17-76 at Wake Forest 86-81 +5 5-51-21-76 at Maryland 82-77 +5 2-32-8-77 at Wake Forest 70-66 +4 4-62-15-78 at Virginia 63-55 +8 17-162-29-84 at Duke 77-76 +1 15-181-8-85 at Georgia Tech 90-81 +9 8-72-4-93 at Georgia Tech 83-80 +3 22-221-4-95 at Duke 75-70 +5 11-912-7-96 at Virginia 62-52 +10 25-NR1-15-97 at Maryland 67-63 +4 11-12
Clemson on Record Pace in Rebound Margin If the season ended today, this would be the highest rebound margin by a Clemson team in school history. The Tigers are +8.8 in overall games so far this year. Clemson has been outrebounded just once all year, a sign of the hustle and drive of Larry Shyatt’s team. Wisconsin-GB is the only team this year to hold a rebounding edge against the Tigers and that was by a 35-31 margin.
Clemson has won the battle of theboards in 11 of its 12 games this year and has had a double figure advantage in seven of the 12 games. Clemson has a positive rebound margin in its last seven games last year, so the Tigers have outrebounded the opposition in 18 of their last 19 games. Larry Shyatt’s has been Clemson’s head coach for 47 games and the Tigers have been beaten on the glass just seven times.
The Clemson record for rebound margin in a season is +7.2 rebounds per game set by last year’s team. That team broke the record of +5.8 set by the 1975-76 Clemson team that was led by Tree Rollins. Three other Clemson teams have been at +4.9 rebounds per game for a season. The Clemson team of 1989-90 led by Dale Davis and Elden Campbell had a +4.5 rebound margin per game.
Clemson’s Top Rebound Margin Teams
Rk Year Mar Top Rebounder1. 1999-00 +8.8 Adam Allenspach2. 1998-99 +7.4 Harold Jamison, Tom Wideman3. 1975-76 +5.8 Tree Rollins4. 1985-86 +4.9 Horace Grant 1984-85 +4.9 Horace Grant 1974-75 +4.9 Tree Rollins7. 1989-90 +4.5 Dale Davis 1996-97 +4.5 Harold Jamison9. 1980-81 +4.3 Larry Nance 1986-87 +4.3 Horace Grant
Last Meeting at Chapel Hill North Carolina 69, Clemson 53 Clemson went scoreless the last four minutes of each half and the Tar Heels went on to a 69-53 victory over Clemson on January 2, 1999 in the Smith Center. It was North Carolina’s 45th straight victory over Clemson in Chapel Hill.
The Tigers did have a chance to win this contest, leading at the half for just the third time ever in Chapel Hill. Clemson also had a four-point lead with 9:12 left and trailedby just seven with two minutes left. But, Clemson sputtered offensively in the last part of each half, leading to the defeat.
Clemson made 7-10 to open the game and held a 28-18 lead at the 5:48 mark of the first half. At that point, Clemson had just three turnovers and held the Tar Heels to 7-17 shooting. But, the Tigers had six turnovers and shot 0-7 from the field in the last 5:48 of the half. North Carolina went on a 9-0 run and trailed by just one at intermission.
Clemson continued with a one-three with a chaser defense on North Carolina guard Ed Cota. The Tigers and Tar Heels fought on even terms. A dunk by Adam Allenspach at the 9:12 mark gave Clemson a 46-42 lead. But, Clemson again faultered on offense and the Tar Heels went on a 13-0 spurt to take a 55-46 lead with 6:25 left. Clemson trailed by 60-53 with 4:10 left, then the Tar Heels ended the game with another 9-0 run.
Clemson was led by Harold Jamison with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The senior forward was 8-12 from the field. Tom Wideman had a fine game in the post with eight points and seven rebounds. Adam Allenspach was solid off the bench with six points on 3-4 shooting.
But, Clemson’s perimter players struggled. Terrell McIntyre, fighting the effects of a strained left (shooting) shoulder, made just 4-16 shots from the field, 1-8 on three point attempts. Johnny Miller and Vincent Whitt were a combined 0-7 from the field. Clemson shot 40.4 percent overall, but made just 3-19 on three-point shots. Clemson had 15 turnovers to just seven for the Tar Heels. Ademola Okulaja led North Carolina with 19 points and seven rebounds. Cota had 12 points and eight assists.
Clemson in Chapel Hill
Streak Not Longest in NCAA History North Carolina’s 45-game winning streak over Clemson in Chapel Hill is not the longest in NCAA history. It is not even the longest active streak. Brown has lost 49 straight games at Princeton dating to 1929. The third longest active home court winning streak is UCLA over Washington State. Washington State has lost 43 straight at UCLA. Mississippi had a 41-game losing streak at Kentucky between 1929 and 1996.
Winning in the Triangle Over the years Clemson’s basketball team has viewed traveling to the North Carolina Triangle like sailors view boating through the Bermuda Triangle. Clemson had won just nine regular season games in 135 contests at North Carolina, N.C. State and Duke heading into the 1994-95 season. Since that year Clemson has a 4-11 record at Duke, N.C. State and North Carolina combined, so the mark is now 13-134 at those three sites combined.
The 1994-95 season was the first time in Clemson history that the Tigers had won their first two games in the Triangle and it was just the second time Clemson had won at least two games in the Triangle in the same year. Clemson also won at Duke and N.C. State in 1976-77, Tree Rollins’ senior season. Clemson has never won at North Carolina and obviously has never swept all three games in the North Carolina Triangle.
Clemson’s overall record in the North Carolina Triangle, including conference tournments (ACC or Southern) is now is 22-154. Cliff Ellis won in the Triangle just twice in 30 games, both at N.C. State (1986-87 and 1993-94, his last appearance in the triangle). Bill Foster has five of the 13 regular season Clemson wins in the Triangle. Rick Barnes had four triangle wins in his four years as head coach.
Clemson has a lifetime record of 9-41 at N.C. State, 4-48 at Duke and 0-45 at North Carolina in regular season play. Thus, Clemson is 13-134 in regular season games at the three schools.
The list below does not count ACC or Southern Conference Tournament games played in Raleigh. Clemson has won nine games in conference tournaments in Raleigh, including its most successful Southern Conference and ACC Tournaments in history. Clemson won the Southern Conference Tournament in Raleigh in 1939, its only conference tournament championship in history. In 1962 the Tigers advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament at the Reynolds Coliseum with victories over N.C. State and Duke. It is Clemson’s only appearance in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
Clemson’s Regular Season Wins in the North Carolina Triangle
(At UNC, N.C. State or Duke) Years Opponent Score 1939-40 N.C. State 48-38 1963-64 N.C. State 66-52 1975-76 Duke 90-89 1976-77 Duke 80-73 N.C. State 68-66 1980-81 N.C. State 82-76 1983-84 Duke 77-76 1986-87 N.C. State 78-75 1993-94 N.C. State 82-63 1994-95 Duke 75-70 N.C. State 60-55 1995-96 NC State 80-76 1997-98 NC State 77-72
Clemson Wins over Ranked Tar Heel Teams Last year, Clemson defeated a ninth ranked North Carolina team in Littlejohn Coliseum, 78-63. That was Clemson’s largest margin of victory over the Tar Heels since the 1979-80 season. It was Clemson’s first regular season win over North Carolina since the 1993-94 season.
Clemson has 67 career wins over AP Top 20 teams and 10 of them are against North Carolina teams. Clemson also has 10 wins over ranked Duke teams over the years for its high total in that category.
Of course, North Carolina has been ranked coming into a game with Clemson more than any other team. Twice Clemson has beaten a second-ranked North Carolina team, both games were played at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson downed a second ranked North Carolina team 66-61 in 1978-79 and defeated a second-ranked Tar Heel team in 1993-94, 77-69.
Here is a list of the 10 times Clemson has beaten a top 20 North Carolina team:
Year Score Site UNC Rank 1966-67 92-88 Charlotte, NC 4th 1974-75 80-72 Clemson 10th 1976-77 93-73 Clemson 4th 1978-79 66-61 Clemson 2nd 1979-80 93-76 Clemson 4th 1984-85 52-50 Clemson 11th 1988-89 85-82 Clemson 8th 1993-94 77-69 Clemson 2nd 1995-96 75-73 Greensboro 20th 1998-99 78-63 Clemson 9th
Solomon Three-point Goal Streak at 16 Clemson guard Will Solomon has made at least one three-point goal in each game this year and has a streak of 16 straight with at least one three-point goal over two years. This is the fifth longest streak of its kind in Clemson history. His streak started with the last four games of 1998-99, all NIT games, and has continued through the first 12 games this year.
Terrell McIntyre holds the recordwith 26 games in a row set over the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Chris Whitney, now with the Washington Wizzards, had a 25-game streak, the last 25 games of his career.
In fact, Whitney and McIntyre have the top four streak in Clemson history. So, Solomon is just the third different Tiger in history to have a streak of at least 16 in a row. Solomon is 39-109 in terms of three-point shooting so far this year, a 36 percent mark. His 39 three point goals ranked fifth best in the nation through games of January 2. He now has 65 three-point goals for his career, 36 last year and 39 this season.
Solomon had a career high six three point goals in a win over charleston Southern and made five in a win over Winthrop. In fact, he has had at least three three-point goals in each of his last seven games and has had multiple three-point goals in 11 of the first 12 games this season.
Clemson Consecutive Game Streak with a Three-Point Goal Player Date Start Date End Gms Terrell McIntyre 2/11/98 1-12-99 26 Chris Whitney 11/21/92 1-12-99 25 Terrell McIntyre 2/3/96 12/1/96 17 Chris Whitney 1/29/92 12/17/92 17 Terrell McIntyre 12/20/96 2/15/97 16 Will Solomon 3/16/99 Present 16 Michael Tait 1/2/87 2/11/87 15 Jeff Brown 1/22/94 3/10/94 15 Andre Bovain 2/27/94 12/29/94 15
Solomon Leads ACC in Scoring, Minutes, 3-Pt Goals Will Solomon leads the ACC in three categories. His 21.8 scoring average is best in the league and eighth in the nation, while his 3.3 three-point goals per game also is first in the league. In fact, his 39 made three-point goals stands in a tie for fifth best in the nation. Solomon also leads the ACC in playing time, averaging 36.4 minutes per game.
Solomon is attempting to become just the fourth Tiger in history to lead the ACC in scoring. Butch Zatezalo paced the league twice, with a 23.0 average in 1967-68 and with a 25.8 average in 1968-69. He did not lead the league as a senior. Horace Grant led the league as a senior in 1986-87 with a 21.0 scoring mark, while Terrell McIntyre led the conference last year with a 17.9 figure.
Solomon’s 21.8 scoring average is the highest by a Clemson player since Zatezalo averaged 25.8 in 1968-69. The Clemson record for a season is a 28.3 figure by Bill Yarborough in 1954-55. Yarborough did not lead the league that year because of Virginia’s Buzz Willinson’s 32.1 average, a figure that is still the ACC record.
Allenspach Coming on Strong Adam Allenspach leads the Tigers in rebounding , double-doubles and free throw shooting so far this year. The 7-1 junior has averaged 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. His rebound figure is seventh best in the league. He has shot 53.4 percent fro mthe field, but does not average the needed 5 made field goals per game. He would be sixth in the league in field goal percentage had he made enough field goals to qualify.
Allenspach has three double-doubles this year, with the most recent coming against Winthrop on December 18. He had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Clemson victory. He is coming off a 19-point, seven rebound performance in a win over Furman. That was a career high in scoring for Allenspach.
Allenspach has scored in double figures in five straight games and has averaged 15.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during this time. He has made 28 of his last 45 from the field (.622) and has connected on 22 of his last 31 shots from the foul line during the five game stretch. He has made over 50 percent of his field goals in five straight games and in nine of the 12 games this year.
Nagys Getting to the Foul Line One of the freshmen who has made an impact this year is Tomas Nagys. The native of Lithuania had six points in 10 minutes against Furman, including 4-6 from the foul line and three rebounds. He also had an assist and drew a charge. He leads the Tigers in charges taken this year with seven. He has a knack for getting to the foul line, as his six free throws in 10 minutes against Furman will show.
Nagys has attempted at least one free throw in 11 of the 12 games this year, including a high of 7-8 shooting in just 10 minutes in the season opener. For the season, Nagys has attempted 40 free throws in just 121 minutes, or one every three minutes of play. That is by far the best on the team.
Jurkunas Providng All-Around Play A 35 percent field goal percentage, including 30 percent from three-point land is not exactly what Andrius Jurkunas had in mind for his final season at Clemson. But, Larry Shyatt’s would be the first to tell you he is more than pleased with his leadership and all-around play.
Jurkunas suffered a broken thumb on his shooting (right) hand while attempting to draw a charge against Central Florida in the season’s third game. He missed the rest of that game and the next four games. Clemson was 1-3 in those games.
Since returning to the lineup, a period of five games, he has played with a soft cast over the thumb. The cast obviously affects his shooting and he is 8 for 23 during this time. But, he has made five three-point goals, quite an accomplishment if you look at the cast.
It has forced Jurkunas to contribute on other ways…and he has. In the win over South Carolina he had played almost the entire second half and scored just two points, but had seven rebounds and four assists. He contributed six assists and eight points in the win over Winthrop, then had a career high seven assists and a career high 11 rebounds in a loss to George Washington. In the win over Furman he had four points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in 19 minutes.
Jurkunas is Clemson’s most experienced player. He has played in 97 games, 60 as a starter and has played 2077 career minutes, nearly 1000 more than any other Tiger. He has 115 career three-point goals, more than any other forward in Clemson history, and has 625 points, also high among active Tigers. His 355 rebounds are also best among active Tigers.
Clemson 74, Furman 70 Clemson played its best 15 minutes of the year in the first half, then made some clutch free throws down the stretch and defeated Furman 74-70 at the BiLo Center in Greenville, SC on December 29th. Adam Allenspach added 19 points and a team high seven rebounds. Kyle Julius led Furman with 21 points, 19 in the second half.
The Tigers jumped out to a 34-14 lead with 5:30 left in the half. Solomon and Allenspach both scored 11 points for the Tigers, who made 11 of their first 17 shots from the field. Clemson had just three turnovers during that time, and pushed the ball to score against Furman’s fullcourt defense. But, the Paladins, behind 18-22 first half free throw shooting, cut the lead to 39-30 at intermission.
Clemson held the lead at double figures for the first seven minutes of the second half, but Furman went on a shooting binge. Julius made three straight three-point goals and cut the lead to 53-50 with 11:22 left. Furman finally tied the game at 61 with four minutes left on another three-point goal by Julius.
But the Paladins never could get over the hump. Clemson outscored Furman 13-9 over the last four minutes. Solomon and Allenspach combined for 10 of those 13 points. Solomon made 4-5 free throws inside the last four minutes and Allenspach made 2-3. Allenspach also made a pair of field goals, leading Clemson to its 24th straight win over the Paladins.
Clemson shot a solid 45.5 percent in each half and obviously 45.5 percent for the game. The Tigers won the rebound battle 41-36 and committed just 13 turnovers. Clemson turned the ball over in the backcourt just once the entire night. Tomas Nagys also was a contributore with six points, three rebounds and an assist. He also drew a charge. Clemson held Furman to 32.7 percent shooting for the game.
Tigers Taking Charge One area Clemson has shown improvement in this year from a defensive standpoint is taking charges. The Tigers have already drawn 25 charges in 12 games, after taking 46 charges in 35 contests last year. Clemson has taken a charge in all but one game (Central Florida) this year, with a high of four against East Tennessee State in the opener. Clemson has taken three in four other games.
Leading the way is freshman Adam Allenspach has taken three. Eight different Tigers have taken a charge this year.
10 of 12 Clemson Games Up For Grabs with Five Minutes left While Clemson has a 6-6 record so far this year, Clemson has been in all but two contests with five minutes left. Clemson has been out of just two games with five minutes left, a 53-35 loss to Oregon State in the SoCon Holiday Hoops on November 28, and the George Washington game on December 22. George Washington hit 15 three-point goals in defeating Clemson 90-71 in Littlejohn Coliseum.
In Clemson’s 17-point loss to Wisconsin-GB, the Tigers were tied with the Phenix at 40-40 with 5:42 left. In a 10-point loss to Penn State, Clemson trailed by just four with two minutes left.
Clemson has shown an ability to win close games this year, something that was not the case last season. The Tigers have won four games by six points or less, including each of the last three Clemson victories (over a four-game period). Clemson defeated South Carolina 61-58, then defeated Winthrop 64-59. In Clemson’s most recent game, the Tigers held off Furman 74-70. Clemson is 4-2 in games decided by six points or less this year.
Clemson Injury Update Clemson continues to have players miss practice due to injury. On Monday of this week, four scholarship players missed practice due to injury. Tomas Nagys, all missed the two hour practice due to injury. Only Braddick is definitely out for the North Carolina game.
Braddick had surgery to repair a foot problem on December 19th. He has missed the last two games. On January 3rd he had surgery on the same foot to correct a tendon problem. He will be out two more weeks.
Javtokas has a sprained ankle that limited his time against Furman, while Ray Henderson has a cartilage problem in his chest. He played just six minutes against Furman. He is questionable for the North Carolina game. Nagys has missed three straight days of practice due to an achilles tendon problem, but he should be ready for the Tar Heels.
Clemson has not had its full roster of scholarship players available for one practice all year. In addition to the above injury problems, Chuck Gilmore has missed three games with a concussion, Andrius Jurkunas missed four games with a broken thumb and Edward Scott missed three games with a broken foot.
Tigers begin ACC Slate Clemson opens its ACC schedule at North Carolina on Thursday, January 6. Clemson has never won in Chapel Hill, 0-45, whether it be the season opener, midseason or final game. Clemson has won four of its last five ACC openers, however. These are the only four Clemson ACC opener wins since 1987. Clemson won all four of Rick Barnes ACC openers between 1994-95 and 1997-98. The Tigers had lost seven ACC openers in a row prior to his arrival. Two of the four wins were on the road, 75-70 at Duke in the first ACC game
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