Reload: Today's game, S.C. State at Clemson

Dec 13, 2008, 7:38 AM

A couple of minor updates....if you saw it already, feel free to move on!

Bulldogs and Tigers: What a battle!

Who: S.C. State (5-3, if you want to include some early Non D-I games) vs. Clemson (9-0, or 10-0 if you include USC-Aiken, which would probably whip S.C. State).

Where: Littlejohn, today at 2 p.m. ... catch them before you head home for the holidays!

Any TV? Not for this titanic in-state clash.

It's tough playing Division 1 teams

After Liberty, I'm ready to see a good old-fashion blowout. Will the Bulldogs be an easy game? Well, let's see: S.C. State is currently 326 in RPI and about 300 in strength of schedule. But they sure showed Carver Bible College a thing or two! If you want to get technical, the Builldogs are 1-3 against Division 1 competition, losing by 20 to the College of Charleston. They are also the only victory Winston-Salem State has managed this year. S.C. State's lone Division 1 win came against Idaho, which somehow ended up in Orangeburg this week.

So, no ... S.C. State isn't Liberty. No 5-guard offense, nobody named Curry on the roster. SC State's more like Savannah State or Prebyterian, just not quite that good. The Bulldogs have been annoyingly persistent in the number of points they've scored against Division I foes ... all in the mid-60s. I'm counting on Clemson to snap that streak.

Jason and Jason ... the Wonder Twins?

Who leads the Bulldogs? A couple of Jasons. S.C. State's leading scorer is guard Jason Flagler (16 ppg, 6 reb) He's hit 20 points a couple of times, but his numbers have cooled off a bit against schools that don't have names that include "Bible College" or "Culinary Institute." His rebounding seems to be tailing a bit as well.

Next comes forward Jason Johnson (14 ppg, 8 reb, 2 blk) who's been more consistent than Flagler. He's a beefy 6-7, sort of a mini Trevor Booker who gets a lot of shots inside, plays a strong game on the offensive glass and shoots free throws like the devil was poking at him with a pitchfork. It's sort of like watching Vern Hamilton at the line.

No one else averages double figures for the Bulldogs. Guard Barndon Smalls (8 ppg, 3 reb) has led hit double figures in his past 2 games, as defenders began shutting down Flagler. Carrio Bennet, a guard from Piedmont, hits about 8 ppg and 4 ast. However, he's tailed off lately and didn't play against Idaho.

After that, there's a parade of folks averaging 5-6 points and 2-3 rebounds. All togehter, the bulldogs average about 65 points per game, while giving up 74 ... including a season-high 94 to the CoC. They pull down 43 rebounds a game, give up 17 turnovers and shoot a miserable 26 percent from 3-point land.

How do the Tigers counter? Just about any way they'd like. We should have an edge in just about every facet of the game.

Another 32 if he wants it

The man of the hour is guard KC Rivers (14 ppg, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 st) coming off his 32-point salvation of Clemson against Liberty. Trevor Booker (15 ppg, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk) still leads the Tigers in most categories, with Terrence Olgesby (12 pgg) Demontez Stitt (10 ppg, 2 reb, 4 ast) and Ray Sykes (10 ppg, 6 reb) joining them in double figures.

Andre Young (4 ppg, 3 ast) has been a pleasant addition at guard. Currently, his assist-to-turnover ratio is a Cliff Hammonds-like 4-1.

Everyone should get a chance to play against SC State. Over the past few games, Clemson has whittled down its turnovers, increased the number of assists and gotten some excellent second-half mileage out of the press. There's no reason to think any of that will change on Friday.

Bonus question: how many points will we score?

This should be a nice sendoff for the students and a great way to release any lingering tension after exams. This game (and the next one, against winless North Florida) really won't help us get tuned up for Miami, and won't really turn the pollsters' heads.

But sometimes you just want to play for fun. And this one should be fun.

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Reload: Today's game, S.C. State at Clemson

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