Thursday February 11, 2010

One Down. Three to Go

One Down. Three to Go
In yesterday’s blog I wrote how I did not see how the Tigers could make their third straight NCAA tournament unless they won last night and unless they ended up with at least an 8-8 record. Clemson came into last night’s game with Florida State with a 4-5 record, so I thought the Tigers needed to win four of the last seven ACC games to get into the ACC tournament.

You can mark off one of the four after the Tigers handled the Seminoles 77-67. Now the Tigers need to pick off Miami at home Saturday. Get than one and they have a week off before facing Virginia at home. Then it gets tougher with three of the last four regular season games on the road.

The game is more beautiful when your team shoots well. It looks polished. It is more pleasing to the eye. After all, the object of the game is to outscore the opponent by making more shots. However, there is more than one way to win a game and the Tigers did some of those well last night. After the game Coach Purnell made a point to commend his team for their effort. He talked about the intensity of his players. He also pointed out how well the Tigers rebounded the basketball all night. Clemson out rebounded the much bigger Seminoles 38-34.

Defensive intensity has been there most of the year but the Tigers seemed to play with a sense of urgency last night. After the game FSU coach Leonard Hamilton complimented the Tigers on that sense of urgency.

Clemson held Solomon Alibi under his season averages with only 14 points, five rebounds, three field goals and no blocks. The kept Alibi off of the offensive boards by putting a body on him all night. The All-ACC candidate had only one offensive rebound. On the offensive end, Clemson challenged Alibi. They went straight at him at times, including Devin Booker on several occasions. The Tigers were successful in getting the center in foul trouble and eventually fouled out the Seminoles leading scorer.

I thought the Clemson post players also did an outstanding job on FSU’s second leading scorer Chris Singleton, who is a match up problem for a bunch of teams in the league. Singleton was held to six points and five rebounds. He had only two field goals in his 36 minutes. Like Alibi, Singleton could not play as aggressively because he was in foul trouble most of the night.

Meanwhile Clemson’s star Trevor Booker did not have his best effort with 13 points and four boards but the Tigers supporting cast was much better. Three Tigers had career scoring highs. Andre Young and David Potter scored 19 points each and Devin Booker added 14 points.

Young came off the bench to hit three three-pointers and add three steals on the defensive end of the floor. The sophomore also had five assists and his 8-9 from the free throw line was a big part in Clemson holding on down the stretch and winning by double digits.

Potter broke out of a recent shooting slump with a terrific night from behind the three-point line. The senior was 4-5 from three point land and 3-4 from the free throw line. Potter also chipped in with a game-high seven rebounds.

Devin Booker continues to evolve into a bigger threat on the offensive end. The freshman was 4-5 from the field and 6-7 from the line. He took the fight to Alibi, Singleton and Ryan Reid.

Demontez Stitt started the game and was not as effective as he was pre-injury but he did go 4-4 from the line and added five rebounds.

Clemson shot 44% from the field but 40% from three point land. It was nice to see the Tigers go 29 of 38 from the free throw line including 24 of 30 in the second half.

The Tigers held FSU to just 37% from the field and 27% from behind the three-point line.

Clemson forced only 15 turnovers in the game but was successful in their transition defense and did not allow a single fast break point the entire game.

Part of the reason Clemson enjoyed a great win was the fast start as the Tigers raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first four and a half minutes of the contest. It was a big reason why the Seminoles did not have a lead at any point in the game.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of out of last night’s win was the big nights from unexpected contributors. Jerai Grant was playing very well coming into the contest but got in early foul trouble and was not much of a threat. Trevor Booker did not his usual big night also. But Young and Potter got off of the deck and had their best games of their seasons. Devin even outscored Trevor. The Tigers out rebounded the Seminoles. The unexpected contributions made the difference.

Maybe 8-8 won’t get the Tigers into the tournament but anything less would almost assure them of an NIT appearance instead of a third straight NCAA tournament bid. If the Tigers play as hard as they did last night and get contributions from all parties then this goal is obtainable.

One down. Three to go. Hope to see ya Saturday at noon in Littlejohn for another crucial step.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty.