Terps Play Host to Clemson Saturday
1/21/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
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Clemson (13-5, 2-2) at Maryland (11-7, 1-3)
Saturday, January 22, 2011 • 2:30 p.m. ET
Game #19 • Home Game #12 • College Park, Md. • Comcast Center
Television: ACC Network - Tim Brant (Play-by-Play), Cory Alexander (Analyst).
Locally, the game will be available on WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C., or WNUV-TV in Baltimore. The full affiliate list for the ACC Network broadcast is available here.
Radio: Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (Play-by-Play), Chris Knoche (Analyst) and Walt Williams (Sidelines) have the call. The game can also be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 213 and XM Satellite Radio Channel 191. Bob Haynie starts the action on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network with the pregame show 60 minutes prior to tip. Stay with the network after the game for a full hour in the Geico Postgame Show. Click here to listen live online through Terps TV.
The Terrapin Sports Radio Network (15 affiliates): WJZ-FM 105.7 - Baltimore (Flagship); WJZ-AM 1300 - Baltimore (Flagship); ESPN980-AM - Washington D.C.; WWXX-FM 94.3 - Buckland, Va.; WCEM-AM 1240 - Cambridge; WBEY-FM 97.9 - Crisfield; WGOP-AM 540 - Crisfield; WFMD-AM 930 - Frederick; WARK-AM 1490 - Hagerstown; WPTX-AM 1690 - Lexington Park; WVMD-FM 99.5 - Midland; WMSG-AM 1050 - Oakland; WQMR-FM 101.1 - Ocean City; WWXT-FM 92.7 - Prince Frederick, Md.; WTGM-AM 960 - Salisbury.
Storyline
Returning to the court less than 40 hours after Thursday night's home loss to Virginia Tech, Maryland gets a quick chance at redemption in a Saturday-afternoon matchup with Clemson. The Terps have suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since being beaten by Pittsburgh and Illinois at Madison Square Garden. The Terps are seeking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 3/2-13/2008 (Clemson, Virginia, Boston College).
Maryland is tied for eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 1-3 and can draw even with the Tigers with a Comcast Center win on Saturday, potentially climbing as high as sixth. The Terps are 9-2 at home this season, with both losses coming in league play. Eleven of the 12 teams in the league are within two losses, starting what could be a wild conference race this season.
The Terrapins and Tigers are meeting for the only time in the regular season on Saturday. Maryland snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with an 88-79 win at Comcast Center on 2/24/2010 in the most recent meeting between the teams.
Sophomore center Jordan Williams tied a school record for consecutive double-doubles with his 12th on Thursday against Virginia Tech. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds against the Hokies, matching the dozen double-doubles by Len Elmore at the end of the 1974 season. Williams also hit the 500-rebound plateau for his career, becoming the 39th Terrapin in history to reach that mark. He is only the third Terp and 20th ACC player ever to hit that mark as a sophomore. Joe Smith (1994, 95) finished his sophomore season with 638 career boards, while Buck Williams (1979, 80) ended his sophomore season with 565.
Senior guard Cliff Tucker had 13 points against the Hokies on Thursday night, scoring 11 straight points for Maryland in a stretch in the second half. Tucker now has at least one 3-pointer in nine straight games and leads the team with 26 treys. He is second on the team in scoring with an 11.4 points-per-game average.
Senior guard Adrian Bowie was the other Terrapin in double figures, scoring all 10 of his points in the first half. Bowie has hit double figures in three straight games and in six of his last seven outings.
Scouting The Tigers
Clemson is 13-5 this season with a 2-2 mark in the ACC and had won eight straight, including wins over Miami and Georgia Tech, before falling to North Carolina, 75-65, on Tuesday...
Senior guard Demontez Stitt leads Clemson in scoring at 13.3 ppg and is one of three Tigers averaging double figures... Senior forward Jerai Grant is second on the team with 12.3 ppg and junior guard Andre Young is averaging 10.7...
Stitt is shooting .422 from beyond the arc while Young is connecting on .408... Grant leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game and is third in the ACC in blocks with 44.
Junior guard Tanner Smith, who was averaging 8.6 ppg and had started the last 50 games for Clemson, suffered a knee injury against UNC and will miss Saturday's game... Junior forward Bryan Narcisse is expected to step into the starting lineup... Sophomore forward Devin Booker (8.4 ppg) rounds out the starting lineup...
The Tigers shot just .352 in the loss at North Carolina, but prior to that had connected on .692 in their win over Georgia Tech... In ACC games Clemson leads the league in 3-point FG percentage (.430) and is third in field goals (.463).
Doing It With Defense
Maryland has become one of the top teams in the ACC defensively:
Through games of Thursday night, Maryland is 9th in the country in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents a .379 mark from the floor... The .536 percentage Thursday night by Virginia Tech was the first time the Terps had allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent since the Michigan State game in last year's NCAA Tournament.
Over the last seven games, Maryland's opponents are hitting .374 from the floor (153x409) and .299 from 3-point range (35x117).
Maryland ranks 13th in blocked shots per game (5.7).
