Clemson vs South Carolina
By: Adam Criswell
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Sports
While the Tiger nation is still basking in the glory of Clemson football's continued dominance over its in-state rival last Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium, Oliver Purnell's Tiger Basketball team has an opportunity to hand South Carolina their second Clemson loss in one week as the Gamecocks travel to Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday.
The Tigers enter this matchup with a record of 6-0, ranked No. 18 in both the AP and the Coaches Poll. Clemson's latest wins include an overwhelming victory over a Gardner-Webb team who had recently upset No. 22 Kentucky, and a narrow defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers Tuesday night in the Big-10/ACC challenge.
These wins wrap up the third consecutive year that the Tigers have gone undefeated in the month of November and cap a streak of 19 straight November games without a loss.
Coach Dave Odom's Gamecocks have been headed in the opposite direction, losing three of their last four games and dropping to a 3-3 overall record.
Falling victim to a tough slate of competition in the Old Spice Classic Tournament in Orlando, South Carolina dropped two nail-biters to No. 24 N.C. State and the 2006 NCAA tournament Cinderalla story, George Mason. With Guilford College, SC State, the Citadel and a 2-3 Penn State team as their only victories, South Carolina enters this Saturday in desperate need of a quality win.
The Tigers have been led by outstanding guard play from K.C. Rivers and Cliff Hammonds, averaging 15.5 and 12 points per game respectively. The freshman trio of Terrence Oglesby, Demontez Stitt and Jerai Grant has also been impressive so far this season, contributing a combined average of 19 points and six rebounds per game. Trevor Booker has continued his outstanding play in the paint from his freshman year, leading the team in rebounds per game (9.3) and total blocks (19).
Oliver Purnell's fast-paced full court press defense has also been very fruitful for the Tigers as they are averaging a plus-six turnover margin and have accumulated 79 steals in six games.
The Tigers enter this matchup with a record of 6-0, ranked No. 18 in both the AP and the Coaches Poll. Clemson's latest wins include an overwhelming victory over a Gardner-Webb team who had recently upset No. 22 Kentucky, and a narrow defeat of the Purdue Boilermakers Tuesday night in the Big-10/ACC challenge.
These wins wrap up the third consecutive year that the Tigers have gone undefeated in the month of November and cap a streak of 19 straight November games without a loss.
Coach Dave Odom's Gamecocks have been headed in the opposite direction, losing three of their last four games and dropping to a 3-3 overall record.
Falling victim to a tough slate of competition in the Old Spice Classic Tournament in Orlando, South Carolina dropped two nail-biters to No. 24 N.C. State and the 2006 NCAA tournament Cinderalla story, George Mason. With Guilford College, SC State, the Citadel and a 2-3 Penn State team as their only victories, South Carolina enters this Saturday in desperate need of a quality win.
The Tigers have been led by outstanding guard play from K.C. Rivers and Cliff Hammonds, averaging 15.5 and 12 points per game respectively. The freshman trio of Terrence Oglesby, Demontez Stitt and Jerai Grant has also been impressive so far this season, contributing a combined average of 19 points and six rebounds per game. Trevor Booker has continued his outstanding play in the paint from his freshman year, leading the team in rebounds per game (9.3) and total blocks (19).
Oliver Purnell's fast-paced full court press defense has also been very fruitful for the Tigers as they are averaging a plus-six turnover margin and have accumulated 79 steals in six games.
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