Clemson set for NIT Quarterfinals
CLEMSON, S.C. (CU SID) – With a trip to New York City and the famous Madison Square Garden for the National Invitation Tournament semifinals on the line, Clemson and Belmont square off Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Littlejohn Coliseum. It is the first meeting between the two schools. GAME SETUP CLEMSON (22-12) vs. BELMONT (26-9, 14-2 OVC) Tipoff: Tuesday, March 25 (7 p.m.) Tickets: 1-800-CLEMSON or ClemsonTigers.com (http://bit.ly/1hV4IpM) Radio: CTSN (Pete Yanity-pbp; Tim Bourret-color) TV: ESPN (Rich Hollenberg-pbp; Jimmy Dykes-color) “¢ Clemson faces Belmont for the first time Tuesday with the right to advance to New York City for the NIT semifinals on the line. “¢ Clemson beat Illinois in the second round, 50-49. Rod Hall made the go-ahead layup with 9.3 seconds left. It was the first time since 2009 that Clemson won a game in regulation after trailing heading into the final 10 seconds. “¢ Sunday‘s game was the most attended NIT game this season. SERIES HISTORY CU Series W-L record: First meeting QUICK HITS “¢ Clemson enters Tuesday‘s game ranked atop the NCAA stats in defending the three with a .279 figure. Belmont has made 311 three-pointers, fifth-most in the country. The Bruins shoot it at a .393 rate, 17th-best in the NCAA. “¢ The Tigers can set a school record Tuesday by winning their sixth game in the month of March. Clemson matched the school record of five, held by the 2006-07 team that advanced to the NIT championship game, with Sunday‘s win over Illinois. “¢ Sunday‘s win over Illinois was Clemson‘s first this season when trailing with one minute left in regulation. “¢ This is the fourth time Clemson plays with only one day of preparation between non-tournament games. The Tigers are 2-1 in games following one day of rest, most recently beating Miami 58-54. “¢ The Tigers have blocked nine shots in each of their first two NIT games and are leading the ACC in the category at 6.1 per game. “¢ K.J. McDaniels became the 21st underclassman and 37th player overall in school history to reach 1,000 career points in Clemson‘s most recent game.
