Up And Down
Atlanta,Ga – Alternating wins and losses in its last four games has Clemson searching for consistency. A matchup against the ACC’s worst team might seem like a way to find it.
The Tigers, however, have struggled to win at Georgia Tech over the last 15 seasons.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook Sportsbook.com have made the Clemson -7 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Georgia Tech. Current College Basketball Public Betting Information shows that 61% of more than 223 bets for this game have been placed on the Clemson -7.
Looking for its fourth road victory over the Yellow Jackets since 1993-94 and second sweep in 12 seasons, 13th-ranked Clemson travels Sunday to face a Georgia Tech team trying to avoid its worst losing streak in three years.
Although off to their best start since 1986-87, the Tigers (21-4, 7-4) have mixed double-digit wins with losses to Florida State and Virginia in their past four games.
While Clemson has won five of the last seven meetings with the Yellow Jackets – including a season sweep in 2005-06, the Tigers have lost 12 of their last 15 games in Atlanta. However, they come off their best offensive performance in conference play.
Clemson posted its most lopsided victory over Maryland in school history Tuesday night at home, blowing out the Terrapins 93-64 on 57.8 percent shooting. The Tigers had six players in double figures led by Terrence Oglesby’s 16 points.
"What we try to do every night is wear teams out. You need at least nine guys to do that. And they need to be effective guys," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "I thought all of our guys were effective tonight."
Since being held to a season-low 61 points in a Feb. 7 loss to Florida State, the Tigers have averaged 87.0 points in their last three games. Oglesby has averaged 18.0 in that time, and scored a team-leading 18 and hit five 3-pointers in a 73-59 home victory Jan. 25 over the Yellow Jackets.
Trevor Booker, who leads Clemson with 15.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, has averaged 16.8 points on 62.9 percent shooting and 10.0 rebounds in the last six games, and needs one block to become the fifth Clemson player to reach 200.
K.C. Rivers, seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list, needs 10 points to reach 1,600 for his career and one steal to become the third player in program history with 200.
After upsetting No. 6 Wake Forest at home Jan. 31, Georgia Tech (10-15, 1-11) has lost five straight, scoring 63.8 points per game in those defeats. The Yellow Jackets, who also dropped five in a row from Jan. 10-25 – capped by the Clemson defeat, haven’t lost six straight since an eight-game skid from Jan. 14-Feb. 9, 2006.
The Demon Deacons paid Georgia Tech back with a 87-69 victory Wednesday night in Winston-Salem. The Yellow Jackets trailed by 19 midway through the second half, but cut that deficit to five in the second half before Wake Forest pulled away for good.
"I was disappointed in the start because it was something we talked about, that they were going to come out with a burst of energy," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.
While the Yellow Jackets have the league’s worst offense – 66.8 points per game and 40.1 percent shooting, they have two of the top three rebounders in ACC play with Gani Lawal averaging a league-best 10.0 – ahead of Booker’s 9.5, and Alade Aminu grabbing 8.3 per game.
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Posted: 2/22/09 4:30AM ET
