Bubblicious Clemson Downs Maryland in OT on Double-Double by K.J. McDaniels

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 1, 2014

In a game that should go a long way in determining which ACC teams make it to the NCAA tournament, Clemson took down Maryland, 77-73, in overtime, improving its record to 9-7 in the conference while dropping the Terps to 7-9 and 15-14 overall.

At 18-10, including back-to-back wins over NC State and Georgia Tech in late February, gives the Tigers the upper hand in the race to the post-season.

Leading the way for Clemson was forward K.J. McDaniels, a junior from Birmingham, Alabama, who tallied 26 points and 14 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season.

If Clemson can win one or both of their final two home games - both at home, against Miami and Pitt - and steal a win or two in the ACC tourney, they may be up for bigger things as March progresses.

Miami Routs Florida State; Clemson Improves as Milton Jennings Pumps In 28

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, January 27, 2013

With seven consecutive wins - six straight over conference opponents - the Miami Hurricanes are threatening to run away with the ACC regular season title, their 6-0 record leaving them 1 1/2 ahead of NC State, their closest pursuer.

The last two games were particularly convincing of just how good the 25th-ranked Hurricanes really are. After a 90-63 trouncing of Duke, Miami pummeled in-state rival, Florida State, 71-47, holding the Seminoles to just 31% from the field.

Miami's low ranking is sure to get a significant boost in the new poll out Monday.

Elsewhere in the ACC, Clemson is seeking to become relevant. The Tigers got a huge effort from senior Milton Jennings, the 6'9" forward scoring a career best 28 points while also wiping the glass clean with 14 rebounds as Clemson defeated Virginia Tech, 77-70.

Jennings was 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, but was 6-for-12 overall and canned 16 of 18 from the stripe to lead all scorers.

The win put the Tigers at 3-4 in the conference (11-8 overall) with hopes of putting together a little winning streak as their upcoming schedule shows successive games against Georgia Tech, Boston College and Virginia.

Adonis Filer a Perfect 7-for-7 in Clemson Rout of the Citadel

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

With New Year's Day focused on college football bowl games, the schedule of hopps actions was sparse, to say the least. You know it's a slow day when Presbyterian can more than double up an opponent, as the 2-11 Blue Hose (yes, that's actually the team name) blew out the Montreat (not a typo) Cavaliers, 77-35.

The Big East got in an early conference game, with Shabazz Napier scoring 29 points in a losing overtime effort at Marquette, 82-76. Both teams are 10-3, but the Golden Eagles get a leg up on the rest of the conference.

But, the player who enjoyed playing against a loose defense the most was Clemson's Adonis Filer, who was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in the Tigers' 92-51 romp over the Citadel.

Filer, a 6'2" freshman guard who is a regular off the bench, scored a game-high and career-high 21 points, which included four three-pointers. Ironically, the only shot he missed was a free throw, as he made three of four from the line. Filer also chipped in with a rebound, one assist and three steals.

The 8-4 Tigers open their ACC season on January 5th, hosting Florida State, then travel to play the #1 Duke Blue Devils on January 8, certainly a far cry from, say, Montreat.

Bracket Madness: Tuesday and Wednesday Play-in Games Preview

OK, so nobody has to actually pick these Tuesday and Wednesday play-in games. That's the good news. The bad news is that no matter what, the NCAA tournament committee will believe that college hoops fans actually like the idea of having an extra four teams added for no other reason than to make the field larger or more competitive, when all along the idea was just to fill empty space in some network's otherwise dull content.

These games offer nothing to the brocketologists out there except to make their lives a little more difficult. All of the bracket challenges, in either online form or though your work or office are set up to just include the winner of these games, no matter which team wins. The problem is that one or the other may win, and set up a completely different match-up in (what now is) the second round. It's just confusing and the NCAA should go back to the straight 64-team format that has worked so well for so long.

Actually, adding these extra teams and games somewhat backfired on the NCAA selection committee only because they chose the wrong teams! Colorado should be in the tournament, along with Harvard and probably Virginia Tech and St. Mary's.

Whatever the outcome of these games, they're unnecessary and will likely have almost no impact on the overall tournament, so, be that as it may, let's analyze what we've been given.

Tuesday, March 15:

Play-in Game 1: North Carolina-Asheville vs. Arkansas Little Rock (Southeast Region) 6:30 pm ET - this gets a really, really big WHO CARES? because the winner will be up against the tp seed in the region, the Pittsburgh Panthers and they will lose, badly. If it's any consolation, the NC-Asheville Bulldogs got the automatic bid by winning the Big South tournament over Coastal Carolina in the final. They are however one of the dreaded 13-loss teams in the tournament and show pretty substantial losses to North Carolina, Georgetown and Ohio State. The Buckeyes nearly doubled them over, winning 96-49 back in December. The Bulldogs beat Auburn the first game of the season. Big whoop! They are, however, on a six-game winning streak.

Their opponent, Arkansas-Little Rock snuck into the tournament by beating North Texas in the Sun Belt tourney final, 64-63. The Trojans won four straight in the tournament and shocked even themselves and their coaches. Making these guys even more improbable, is their 19-16 record, not even a game against a ranked opponent and they finished with the 8th best record in their conference, at 7-9.

ADVICE: Take the kids from Asheville. At least they lost fewer games. Pitt will murder either of these teams.

Play-in Game 2: Clemson vs. UAB (East Region) 9:00 pm ET - This one is even worse. The Blazers blazed their way through the most overrated conference in America, Conference USA, winning the regular season with a 12-4 record. They lost to East Carolina, 75-70 in OT in the first round of their conference tournament (eventually won by Memphis). The Blazers did finish the season with a 22-8 record, though the bulk of those wins were over weak C-USA competition.

Clemson (21-11, 9-7) had a pretty solid season and sports a fine back-court, led by point guard Demontez Stitt, who led the Tigers in scoring, assists and steals. Clemson should be able to dominate the Blazers inside as well and it's a wonder the line is only -4 1/2. Clemson has an idea about winning tournament games and could easily advance in the next round, against a leaderless West Virginia squad. We'll have to wait and see.

ADVICE: Take the Tigers here and over WVA in the next round if you are playing some wide open brackets.

Wednesday, March 16:

Play-in Game #3: UTSA vs. Alabama State (East Region) 6:30 pm ET - Seriously, Alabama State was 17-17. There should be a rule that you can't get in if your team is .500 or worse, but the Hornets won the SWAC Tournament, so they get to play another game. The UTSA Roadrunners (let's hope there are no Wile E. Coyotes in the field) won the Southland tournament and here they are, complete with 19-13 record.

ADVICE: Hope the game is cancelled and Ohio State is given a bye, because neither of these teams stands a change against the Buckeyes.

Play-in Game 4: VCU vs. USC (Southwest Region) 9:00 pm ET - This game is at least interesting in that either team can win and have a chance against Georgetown, the #6 seed in the East, because Georgetown faded in the stretch and while they will have the services of point guard Chris Wright, but he has been out of action since mid-February and the Hoyas lost five of their last six, beating only South Florida.

VCU finished 4th in the Colonial Athletic and lost in the tourney final to Old Dominion. They sport some senior leadership and and compiled a 23-11 record over mostly nobody. They did beat UCLA and Wofford, though, and merit some respect. USC finished 4th in the PAC-10 with a 10-8 record and managed to beat both Texas and Tennessee and lost by just two points at Kansas. The Trojans have been up and down, but they're far more athletic than VCU and should win this one going away. Oddsmakers have them as a 4 1/2 point favorite, but they probably did that to encourage more people to take VCU.

ADVICE: USC played spirited ball down the stretch, winning six of their last seven and lost to Arizona in the conference tourney. They are surely well-rested and should also give Georgetown fits n the next round.

Check back tomorrow and every day for frequent updates on the Road to Houston and the Final Four.

Booker Pushes Clemson Past Pirates

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Looking to make its annual appearance in the Top 25, the Clemson Tigers won for the 9th time in 11 starts, plundering the Pirates of East Carolina, 80-63, as senior forward Trevor Booker played another of his usual all-around solid games, scoring 13 points to go with 12 boards, 9 assists and 3 blocked shots. Booker has scored in double figures in all but one of Clemson's outings in 2009 and leads the Tigers in minutes, points and rebounds.

Teammate Tanner Smith, a sophomore, made his presence felt with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Clemson went 23-9 last season and looks to make noise in the contentious ACC.

Notable: Mississippi's Chris Warren poured in a career-high 32 points as the Rebels outgunned the UTEP Miners, 91-81, improving their record to 9-1. Warren nailed 5 of 10 3-pointers and 13 of 15 form the free throw line.

Sunday's Best: Villanova, Illinois, Xavier, Clemson

Villanova 89 Syracuse 86

The Syracuse Orangemen were looking to avenge an earlier 102-85 loss at Villanova and reclaim their right to an NCAA bid, but, at the same time, the Wildcats were seeking to win for the 8th time in their last 9 games. The Villanove win left the Syracuse post-season plans largely in limbo.

The Wildcats led most of the first half and into the second, when Syracuse went on a 14-2 run to grab a one-point lead, but Villanova went on an 11-0 run midway through the second half to regain the edge, 68-59.

The Orange were feeling comfortable on their home floor, however, getting back ot within 3 points with under 6 minutes to play, but the Wildcats quickly rebuilt a 9-point lead. Undeterred, the Orange cut the lead to 2 points with 15.8 seconds left but misfired on four straight three-point tries after Reggie Redding made one of two free throws.

Syracuse hasn't beaten a ranked opponent since downing then-#12 Notre Dame on January 17, though they had previously beaten Florida, Kansas and Memphis. The loss leaves syracuse at 7-7 in the Big East and 19-8 overall, but they still need to prove themselves either in their season finale at Marquette on March 7 or in the Big East tournament.

Illinois 70 Ohio St. 68

The Buckeyes are another team insecure in their tournament future as they sought to upend the visiting Fighting Illini, but Illinois proved they were better than an earlier 49-67 home loss to Ohio State, as sophomore forward Mike Davis led the scoring with 20 points on 11-14 shooting while taking down 8 rebounds.

Illinois improved to 22-6 overall and 10-5 in the conference, trailing 10-3 Michigan St. and 10-4 Purdue. Ohio State drops to 7-7 in the Big 10 and 17-8 overall. The Buckeyes have lost three straight.

Clemson 81 Georgia Tech 73

Trevor Booker scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and K.C. Rivers added 19 as the Clemson Tigers improved to 22-4 and 8-4 in the ACC. They are tied with Florida State at 8-4, behind 10-3 North Carolina in the ACC standings. The Tigers will be joined by either Duke or Wake Forest (both 7-4) pending the outcome of the Duke-Wake Forest game tonight at Durham.

Xavier 71 George Washington 53

The Musketeers easily dispatched with another Atlantic-10 opponent, retaking the conference lead at 10-3 after the Dayton Flyers (9-3) were upended Saturday by St. Louis. Xavier had five players in double figures to end a stretch in which they lost three of four.

Their work still not finished, Xavier heads to St. Joseph's on Feb. 26, has a rematch with Dayton on March 5 and closes out at Richmond on March 7.

Clemson Stunned in OT at Virginia, 85-81

The Clemson Tigers ran into a buzz-saw in Virginia as the Cavaliers took the game into overtime and eventually prevailed, 85-81, as the Tigers missed crucial shots in the extra session.

The Tigers and Cavaliers traded leads throughout the game, which finished at a 74-all tie at the end of regulation. Virginia's Sylven Landesberg was awesome throughout the game, but especially in overtime, hitting a key layup which gave the Cavaliers an insurmountable lead late in the period.

Landesberg led the scoring parade with 23 points. Mike Scott chipped in with a double-double: 18 points and 10 rebounds. Virginia shot 53% for the game; Clemson was limited to 42% on 28 of 66 shooting.

The #12 Tigers lost for just the 4th time this season, all in the ACC. The previous losses were to conference powerhouses North Carolina, Wake Forest and Florida State. They are now 20-4 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

8-13 Virginia won just their second conference game against 8 losses.