Monday March 01, 2010

Another Thing of Beauty; Sweep; ACC Title

Another Thing of Beauty
Earlier this year when Clemson beat Maryland in Littlejohn I called it the prettiest ugly win of the year. You can move that one over one spot on the mantle. Sunday’s 53-50 win in Tallahassee was as ugly as it gets until you consider the ramifications.

Sunday’s bloodbath was beautiful in so many ways. It was a road ACC win. It was the 20th win of the season. It was a win over a top 40 RPI team. It put the Tigers at 8-6 in the league. It may have secured an NCAA bid. It put the Tigers in a tie for third place in the league. It made Trevor Booker and David Potter the winningest players in Clemson basketball history.

Clemson now has 20 wins for the fourth consecutive season. Before Oliver Purnell arrived in Clemson the basketball program had seven 20-win seasons. Purnell has added four 20-win seasons in a row now and has once again broken the Clemson record for consecutive 20-win campaigns.

From an RPI standpoint Sunday’s game was huge. Clemson came into Sunday’s game ranked 38th in terms of RPI. The Seminoles were 35th going into the game. The win put the Tigers 27th in the RPI.

Clemson is now 8-6 in the league which is tied for third heading into the last week of the season. The Tigers have a chance to gain a first round bye in the ACC tournament. Duke and Maryland are the top two teams in the ACC but Clemson is tied with Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Florida State with an 8-6 mark. The final week of the regular season will decide who gets the third and fourth seed and a first round bye in the ACC tournament.

From the NCAA bid standpoint, Clemson has a chance to lock up a bid with a win over Georgia Tech at home Tuesday but I maintain Clemson was in with an 8-8 record. Few could deny the Tigers a bid if they win Tuesday and get to 9-6 in the league. Clemson’s strength of schedule and RPI is good enough to get in the tournament with an 8-8 record in my opinion. A current RPI of 27 and strength of schedule of 32 are strong numbers for this team. However, Sunday’s win gives Clemson two chances to get a ninth league win and lock up a bid for sure. It also means Clemson beat Florida State twice so the Tigers should have a leg up on the Seminoles if the selection committee comes down to Clemson and FSU.

Booker and Potter had to enjoy the win Sunday. They broke K.C. Rivers’ record for most wins in a Clemson career. Last season Rivers set the Clemson mark with 91 wins in his Clemson career but both Booker and Potter broke that mark with their 92nd win in a Clemson uniform Sunday.

We won’t remember 33% from the field or 22% from three. We won’t remember six points in the first 16 minutes. We won’t remember 18 turnovers. Instead we will remember 53-50. 8-6. 20 wins. 92 wins. Beautiful!

Baseball Earns Sweep
Clemson beat Wright State 4-3, 8-6,12-6 to run its record to 6-0. Jeff Schaus went 6-for-10 with a double, homer, and six RBIs, while Kyle Parker and Brad Miller both went 5-for-11 in the series.

The Tigers were tested this weekend. Wright State was an NCAA team last year and brought in an experienced club that gave Clemson a couple of scares. Clemson’s defense looked like it was still February at times this weekend. But I was impressed that the Tigers seemed to answer Wright State’s runs with a run or two of their own.

For the second straight week, Clemson’s pitching was pretty solid but also left some question marks. The Sunday starter remains a question mark and some of the bullpen spots are still up for grabs. Like most teams this time of year, this staff is still trying to find out who they can trust coming out of the bullpen.

We will find out a lot about this baseball team this coming weekend when the Tigers have a three game set with South Carolina. It is an early series but one college baseball publications thinks this series may be a key factor in deciding who will host during the NCAA regionals and super regionals. As ridiculous as that sounds, it might just be the case in building an NCAA resume.

ACC Women’s Indoor Track Champions
Clemson captured the school's second-ever ACC indoor championship for women's track & field on Saturday in a blow out. The Tigers totaled 145.5 points and their closest competition over the course of the three-day meet was Florida State with 93. It was the school's first ACC championship of any kind in track & field since the men's team won the 2004 outdoor crown, and the first for the women's team since 1992.

The Clemson women won five individual events, then capped the incredible weekend by winning the school's first indoor 4x400m relay since 2004 in ACC record fashion. Clemson's total of six championships on the women's side were also the most in program history at one conference indoor meet.

The women's 4x400m relay team of Brittany Pringley, Brianna Rollins, Sonnu Austin and Jasmine Edgerson broke the ACC record. Rollins also won the 200m. April Sinklet won the high jump and long jump. Kim Ruck won the 5000m. Liane Weber won the Pentathlon. Other Lady Tigers who were named All-ACC include Patrica Mamona (triple jump), Stormy Kendrick (60m), Brianna Rollins (400m), Brittany Waller (Weight throw).

Clemson’s men finished sixth in the men’s ACC Indoor Championships.

I have been adamant about championships at the school and want to congratulate the Lady Tigers on an incredible weekend.

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, 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, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee.