Countdown to tip off: No. 17 Tigers travel to NC State
By: will-vandervort January 11, 2018

The 17th-ranked Clemson Tigers will try to keep their 10-game winning streak alive when they travel to Raleigh tonight to face NC State at PNC Arena.

Clemson is coming off a win over Louisville last Saturday. The Tigers beat NC State on Dec. 30 at Littlejohn Coliseum to open up ACC play.

The Wolfpack comes into tonight’s ACC Showdown following an 11-point win over then No. 2 Duke.

GAMEDAY SETUP

CLEMSON (14-1, 3-0 ACC) vs. NC STATE (11-5, 1-2 ACC)

Date: Thursday, Jan. 11

Tipoff: 9:05 p.m. ET

Arena: PNC Arena (19,722)

Radio: CTN (Don Munson-pbp; Tim Bourret-color)

TV: ESPN (Mike Couzens -pbp; Corey Alexander-color)

  • Clemson is 3-0 in ACC play for the first time since 2006-07 and for just the sixth time in program history.
  • The Tigers have started 14-1 or better on just four previous occasions in program history. Of those four, three have resulted in NCAA appearances. The other was an NIT appearance.
  • Leading scorer Marcquise Reed is one of just 15 players in the country to average at least 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
  • Clemson has won three-straight games in the series with NC State dating back to last season.

SERIES HISTORY
CU Series W-L record: Clemson is 53-101 all-time against NC State.
Streak: The Tigers have won three in a row in the series.

TIGER TRACKS

  • The Tigers moved up in the AP Top 25 poll this week (No. 19). Clemson is also ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 17 – its highest national ranking since Jan. 18, 2010 (17th in AP).
  • Clemson’s RPI checks in at 6th nationally.
  • Coach Brownell (138 victories at Clemson) is tied with Oliver Purnell for the third most wins at Clemson.
  • Clemson is tied for first in the nation in winning percentage at 93.3 (14-1). The Tigers’ 10-game winning streak is the fourth longest active streak in the country.
  • Clemson has put together at least a 10-game win streak on 11 occasions in program history. Eight have started at the beginning of a season. All eight of those seasons ended with a postseason berth (4 NCAA, 4 NIT).
  • The Tigers’ next five opponents are a combined 64-15, however, Clemson’s last six wins are against teams that are a combined 68-23 when not playing the Tigers.

NC STATE SCOUTING REPORT

  • The Wolfpack enter tonight’s matchup on a high-note after toppling the highly-ranked Duke Blue Devils 96-85 on Jan. 6.
  • NC State is led by five double-digit scorers and Allerik Freeman leads the way with 15.3 points per contest.
  • Both Torin Dorn and Omer Yurtseven have combined to score 25.1 points per game and haul in 17.2 rebounds per contest.
  • The Wolfpack score quite a bit this season and average 83.4 points per game, while allowing nearly 73.0 points on average.
  • Opponents shoot nearly 44.0 percent from the field against NC State, but a dismal 32.3 percent from three.
  • With the Wolfpack’s defensive intensity in the full court, NC State has forced 257 turnovers (16.1 per game).

—Staff Reports