• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!
Clemson Preview

Line: Clemson 2.5

The Buckeyes have their first hostile road game of the season tonight as they face the Clemson Tigers in the ACC/Big 10 challenge at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson is 2-1 on the season starting with victories over Hampton 98-54, and UNC-Asheville 78-59. The Tigers dropped a hard fought game on the road to Boston College 79-70. Boston College forwards Craig Smith and Jared Dudley scored 23 and 17 points respectively to lead the way for the Eagles as they overcame 22 turnovers. Smith and Dudley got most of their points in the low post with physical play.

Clemson is coached by former Dayton head man Oliver Purnell is in his second year of a rebuilding project. His first season produced impressive victories over NCAA Tournament teams Boston College, North Carolina and NC State. The Tigers were picked to finish 9th in the ACC behind newcomers Virginia Tech and Miami. Brought in a top 25 recruiting class with 5 talented freshman.

Tony Stockman will being playing his first game back at Clemson since transferring in 2002. Tony told the Dispatch, "I don't know if there will be any hard feelings or if it even matters to them (that he left). I'm sure they'll mess with me a little bit, but I'm ready for that. I've been playing college basketball for a while now. You get heckled anywhere you go." Tony also went on to say that he feels he has matured as a player since leaving Clemson.

Stockman's former teamate Olu Babalola, one of three current Tigers who were teammates of Stockman, told the Greenville News, "No disrespect to Tony, but he had kind of a 'this is about me first' attitude for himself."

Clemson is looking to run, press, and force turnovers with a three guard line up. In their first two games Clemson set a school record with 42 steals and managed to have 16 against Boston College. Purnell will often use two point guards on the floor at a time and he has used three PG's at times this season. Clemson has gone nine deep thus far in the season with four freshman playing significant minutes. Not a good free throw shooting team and haven't gotten to the line much this year.

"We're looking to get out on the wings and steal balls," Purnell said. "We're looking to steal the ball up at the top, and that obviously creates more offense off your defense."

Starters:

G-Vernon Hamilton 6-0 192. Sophomore who is averaging 9 PPG, 2.3 Reb, and 4 AST, team leading 15 steals. Led Clemson in assists and steals last season and was the starter at the point much of the season. Was honorable mention ACC All-Freshman Team last season.

G-Cliff Hammonds 6-3 175. Freshman who is averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.7 Reb, and 3 Ast. A true freshman combo guard who came in mainly to play the point. Has a good three point shot but is only shooting .167% on the season from downtown.

G-Shawan Robinson 6-2 183. Junior who is averaging 18.7 PPG, 3.7 Reb, and 4.3 Ast. Shawan is Clemson's main weapon on the wing and has hit an incredible 13 of 19 from 3 point range in the first 3 games. Clemson's top three-point shooter on a percentage basis each of the last two years. Second on the team in scoring last season with 10.8 PPG. Was held to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting by B.C.

F-Akin Akingbala 6-9 220. Junior who is averaging 8.3 PPG, 5.7 Reb, and 2 Blks. Shooting .667% from the field this season. Outstanding athletic ability and is a great rebounder.

F/C-Sharrod Ford 6-9 223. Senior who is averaging 11.7 PPG, 6.7 Reb, and 1.3 Blks. Preseason All-ACC candidate who is a three year letterman. Honorable Mention All-ACC least season and All-ACC defensive team. Has shot around 50% for entire career and gets most of his points in the paint. Poor free throw shooter.

Bench:

F-James Mays 6-9 215. Freshman who is averaging 8.0 PPG and 3.7 Reb. Power forward who still needs to put on weight but is quick and has a decent hook. Top 100 player by Rivals.

F-Cheyenne Moore 6-6 190. Freshman who is averaging 6.3 PPG, 2.3 Rebs, and 2.7 Ast. Small Forward who is a perimeter player with a good jumper and has good athletic ability.

F-Sam Perry 6-5 190. Freshman who is averaging 6 PPG and 4 Reb. Combo forward who can defend and has a high basketball IQ. Very athletic and can play on the wing or in the paint. Highest ranked player of the freshman class by the Insiders.

F-Olu Babaloa 6-6 242. First game back after missing two games with a suspension for arguing with the coaches. Also has an ankle injury. Had been a two year starter coming into this season. Can play on the wing or in the post. Is the teams best free throw shooter and one it's best defenders.



Clemson's stats

TEAM FG% FT% 3-PT% PPG Offense .518 .523 .354 82.0
 
Upvote 0
three current Tigers who were teammates of Stockman, told the Greenville News, "No disrespect to Tony, but he had kind of a 'this is about me first' attitude for himself."
Is it just me, or is this somewhat contradictory? Kinda like - "No offense, but your an asshole. No offense though."
 
Upvote 0
Nice Game Preview

Ohio State (5-1) at Clemson (2-1)


The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Wednesday, December 1st, 7:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Littlejohn Coliseum (10,980) -- Clemson, South Carolina. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Ohio State 4-0, Clemson 2-0. Away Record: Ohio State 0-0, Clemson 0-1. Neutral Record: Ohio State 1-1, Clemson 0-0. Conference Record: Ohio State 0-0, Clemson 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Taking aim at their sixth victory of the 2004-05 campaign already, the Ohio State Buckeyes march into Littlejohn Coliseum in South Carolina tonight to take part in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge as they confront the Clemson Tigers. Although they have one of the highest win totals in the nation heading into this week, the Buckeyes are not nearly close to breaking into the national rankings because of the competition against which those victories have come. During the Guardian Classic, Ohio State swept past Towson, Robert Morris and Houston before being held down by the Creighton Bluejays in overtime, 65-63, last Wednesday. More recently the Buckeyes got back into the win column with a dominating 84-67 decision over Chattanooga at St. John Arena in Columbus. As for the Tigers, they beat Hampton and UNC-Asheville out of the gate, but then suffered a 79-70 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Friday. Oddly enough for these two programs, this is the first-ever meeting between them on the hardwood. While the teams may not be familiar with each other, OSU's Tony Stockman certainly knows his way around the campus in Columbia since he played for Clemson for two seasons before transferring to Ohio State.

Stockman was one of four players, all of them being starters, to score in double figures for the Buckeyes in their win over Chattanooga last week as he tallied 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out a team-high four assists. J.J. Sullinger sank 4-of-5 attempts beyond the arc to tally 21 points, Ivan Harris added 5-of-7 behind the three-point line to finish with 17 points as well. Terence Dials kept his game on the inside as he posted 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The team made more than half it's field goals (17-of-31) from the perimeter to put the game out of reach. Stockman, shooting 53.0 percent form the field over six games, leads the team in scoring with 14.7 ppg, while Sullinger and Dials check in with 13.8 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Although he is shooting only 1-of-8 from long range and is averaging just 5.2 ppg, Brandon Fuss-Cheatham is critical to the success of the program as he has 27 assists against just five turnovers already.

Sharrod Ford posted a double-double with team-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds, but his efforts fell short as the Tigers lost to Boston College on the road. Shawan Robinson and Cliff Hammonds each tallied 12 points, shooting a combined 6-of-11 from beyond the arc as the only players on the squad to make a long-distance attempt. Not only did Clemson turn the ball over 18 times on the night, it also shot just 2-of-4 at the free-throw line, compared to 18- of-27 for the Eagles. Robinson, an amazing 68.4 percent shooter from behind the three-point line already (13-of-19), not only leads the team in scoring with 18.7 ppg but also has a team-high 13 assists after three games. Vernon Hamilton (9.0 ppg) places second with 12 dishes and has a team-high 15 steals, the team registering 58 thefts and 82 forced turnovers after only three outings. Although the Tigers are shooting just 54.8 percent at the free-throw line, they are still outscoring opponents by 18 points per game.

Certainly Stockman has a lot of incentive to make this a successful trip for the Buckeyes, but he can't do it all himself. Luckily Ohio State has shown the ability to compete in both a fast-paced setting and a slow half-court affair, which means the squad is ready for anything that the Tigers throw at them.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio State 67, Clemson 61

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cbask/scores/live/pv16661.htm
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top