NOTES: Clemson at South Carolina

Tuesday’s game will be the 159th meeting on the hardwood between Clemson and South Carolina. The Gamecocks own an 86-72 advantage in the series, but the Tigers have won four straight current Head Coach Oliver Purnell.

Overall: South Carolina leads 86-72
at Clemson: Clemson leads 44-30
at Littlejohn: Clemson leads 19-7
at South Carolina: South Carolina leads 53-25
at Neutral: Tied 3-3
First Meeting: South Carolina, 39-18, in 1912-13
Last Meeting: Clemson, 85-74, in 2007-08

* Clemson has won two straight in Columbia and five out of the last seven in the state capital against the Gamecocks.

* The Tigers moved up to #16 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll on Dec. 29 and #20 in the Associated Press rankings.

* Clemson has won its last eight road games against non-conference opponents, which is a school record streak. The Tigers won earlier this year at Charlotte and at Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

* The Tigers are 12-0 for the second time in the last three seasons. In 2006-07, Clemson was the nation’s last remaining unbeaten team at 17-0. This year, nine undefeated teams remain in Division I.

* Clemson won at Miami (FL) in its ACC opener last time out by a score of 91-72. The 19-point margin of victory was the sixth-largest in an ACC road game in school history.

* The Tigers rank in the top 25 in the NCAA in six important statistical categories: blocks per game (7.1 - 7th), scoring margin (+20.4 - 8th), field goal percentage (.501 - 11th), steals per game (9.9 - 16th), scoring offense (81.8 - 21st), and turnover margin (+4.3 - 25th).

. Clemson vs. South Carolina Series History
* South Carolina holds an 86-72 lead in the series with Clemson. South Carolina has a 53-25 lead in games played in Columbia. The two schools have split six neutral site games.

* Clemson has won each of the last four games after South Carolina had won four in a row. Clemson is trying to win five in a row for the first time since winning six in a row from 1994-95 to 1999-00.

* Clemson enters this game ranked 20th in the nation. Clemson is 6-0 all time as a ranked team against South Carolina.

* Clemson has won 30 of the 44 games played between the two schools since South Carolina left the ACC after the 1971-72 season. The two schools did not play from 1972-73 through 1976-77 (Tree Rollins never played against South Carolina). The series returned on a regular basis in 1977-78.

* South Carolina held a 28-15 advantage in the series when the two schools were in the ACC (1954-72). That includes five seasons in which the two schools played three times each. South Carolina won each of the last 11 meetings while the two schools were in the ACC.

* Clemson and South Carolina have met at least once a season since the 1977-78 season. The two schools did not play in the calendar year of 2002. The two teams met twice a year from 1977-78 through the 1989-90 season.

* The two teams played eight games decided by five points or less between 1990 and 2000. Clemson’s 2004-05 overtime victory ended a streak of four straight double digit wins by the Gamecocks.

* The most unusual date for the basketball rivalry game came in 1957-58 and 1958-59. Both of those seasons the game was played on New Year’s Eve as part of the Carrousel Classic in Charlotte. Clemson won both meetings, 85-65 in 1957-58 and 55-49 in 1958-59.

* Eddie Fogler is the TV color analyst for the Fox Sports South broadcast on Tuesday. He had a record of 123-117 as South Carolina’s head coach from 1993-2001.