Clemson Hosts Georgia to Open 2016-2017 Season

CLEMSON (0-0) vs. GEORGIA (0-0)

Tipoff: 7:06 p.m. ET Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000)

Radio: CTSN (Tony Castricone-pbp; Tim Bourret-color)

TV: RSN (Bob Rathbun-pbp; Dominique Wilkins-color)

• Clemson opens the newly renovated Littlejohn Coliseum on Friday against the Georgia Bulldogs; it is the first meeting between the two in Clemson since the 2006-07 season.

• The Tigers return their top three scorers from the previous season for the first time since 1996-97. Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson’s leading scorer, was a first-team All-ACC selection last season.

• Clemson announced its 2017 signing class Thursday: A.J. Oliver (G), Aamir Simms (F), Clyde Trapp Jr. (G) and Malik William (F).

CU Series W-L record: Georgia leads 57-24

Streak: Georgia won the most recent meeting (2015-16)

TIGER TRACKS

• Jaron Blossomgame earned numerous preseason accolades, including All-America projections from Athlon, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.

• Blossomgame was named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list on Thursday, an honor presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate player.

• Projected starting point guard Shelton Mitchell sustained a knee injury in practice on Monday, and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. In his place, junior Gabe DeVoe is expected to make his first career start.

• Donte Grantham needs three long-range makes Friday to reach 100 for his career; he has led the Tigers in three-pointers each of the past two seasons.

• Avry Holmes needs 82 points to reach 1,000 for his career. He scored 311 in his first season as a Tiger in 2015-16 after transferring from San Francisco.

• Marcquise Reed is eligible to play for the Tigers on Friday after sitting out 2015-16 as a transfer from Robert Morris, where he was Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year after scoring 15.1 points per game as a freshman.