Video Report: Brownell Reviews Temple Win, Looks Ahead to Davidson

CHARLESTON, SC – The Clemson men’s basketball team defeated Temple in the opening round of the Charleston Classic on Thursday, 72-58. With the win, Clemson improved to 4-0 on the young season and advances to the second round to take on the Davidson Wildcats – a perennial power in the Southern Conference. The Tigers and Wildcats will tip off the nightcap at TD Arena, with an approximate 9:30 p.m. start in a game televised by ESPNU.

ClemsonTigers.com caught up with Head Coach Brad Brownell to gather his thoughts on the win, the play of junior leaders Rod Hall and K.J. McDaniels, the contribution of center Landry Nnoko, and what makes Davidson such a tough matchup after a short turnaround. Click the ‘Play’ button above to access the video.

Here are some news and notes concerning the Tigers following the 14-point win over the Owls:

TEAM

• Clemson defeated Temple by a score of 72-58 on Thursday to move to 4-0 on the season. It is the first time Clemson has started 4-0 since the 2009-10 season.
• Clemson moved to 4-0 all-time in the Charleston Classic. The Tigers won the 2008 event with wins over Hofstra, TCU and Temple.
• The Tigers evened the series at two wins apiece. Clemson’s two wins over the Owls have both come at TD Arena, first in 2008 and then on Thursday.
• With Thursday’s win, Clemson is now 5-0 all-time in TD Arena, the home venue for College of Charleston.
• This was Clemson’s second game overcoming a double digit deficit at TD Arena. In 2010-11, Brad Brownell‘s first team overcame an 11-0 deficit to start the game to defeat College of Charleston.
• Clemson overcame a double digit deficit for the first time since Jan. 29, 2013 when the Tigers rallied from 10 down to beat Georgia Tech at home.
• Clemson overcame a halftime deficit for the first time since the 2011-12 season, when the Tigers beat East Tennessee State after trailing by four on New Year’s Day.
• The Tigers defeated a team that advanced to the previous season’s NCAA Tournament, the first time that has occurred since last year’s team defeated Virginia at home on Jan. 12, 2013.
• Clemson blocked 11 shots in Thursday’s game. It marks the first time the Tigers have had double digit blocks in consecutive games since the 2007-08 season, when Oliver Purnell’s team had 11 against North Carolina and Charlotte, both at home.
• Temple entered the game shooting 43 percent from the field, but made only 19-of-63 shots for a 30.2 percent mark Thursday.
• Each of Clemson’s four opponents has shot below 40 percent so far this season – the first time under Brownell the Tigers have held four opponents in a row below that standard from the field.
• Clemson is 21-of-22 from the free throw line in the second half of the last two games.
• Tiger opponents are just 19-for-64 from three-point range this season, 19 percent.
• Clemson will face Davidson in the second round, the first meeting between the two schools since the Wildcats beat the Tigers 82-79 in the 1993-94 season.
• Clemson is 22-18 all-time in the series versus Davidson.

INDIVIDUAL

• K.J. McDaniels scored 20 or more for the third time in four games to open the 2013-14 season. He scored a team-high 20 Thursday against the Owls.
• McDaniels extended his streak of games with at least one blocked shot to 21, as he collected seven in Thursday’s contest.
• He is the first Tiger player since Jerai Grant in 2010-11 (vs. East Carolina, The Citadel) to collect seven or more blocks in consecutive games.
• McDaniels needs just five blocked shots to pass Raymond Sykes for 10^th place on Clemson’s all-time list. He needs just seven points to reach 500 for his career as well.
• Landry Nnoko recorded career highs in points (10), rebounds (15), blocks (3) and minutes (34) on Thursday.
• Nnoko’s double-double was the first of his career in 35 games.
• Nnoko’s 15 rebounds were the most by a Tiger since Devin Booker totaled the same amount at Duke on Jan. 8, 2013.
• Rod Hall scored double figures for the third time in four games. The junior from Augusta, GA posted 13 points and notched five assists against just one turnover in 37 minutes.
• Hall went 5-for-6 at the free throw line and is now 19-for-21 on the season, 90.5 percent.
• Hall has more double figure scoring efforts in four games (3) than he had in 31 contests last season.
• Jordan Roper made his first three on Thursday, pushing his streak to 13 games with at least one long-range shot dating to last season.
• Roper tallied five rebounds Thursday, the second straight career-high in that area for the 5-foot-11 guard.