Final
Balanced Clemson to clash with Villanova
Mar 21, 2008 - 11:19 AM No. 12 Villanova (20-12) at No. 5 Clemson (24-9) 9:50 pm EDTTAMPA, Florida (Ticker) - The most memorable moments in Clemson's season have been a pair of bitter losses.
The fifth-seeded Tigers can start to erase those memories when they open NCAA Tournament play with a first-round matchup against Villanova on Friday in the Midwest Regional.
Despite a last-second overtime loss and double-overtime defeat to North Carolina in the regular season, Clemson (24-9) did not unravel like it did last season, when it failed to make the NCAAs despite a 17-0 start.
The Tigers snapped a 22-game losing streak to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals before falling a third time to UNC, 86-81, in the league championship game.
Five players average in double figures for Clemson, led by guard K.C. Rivers at 14.7 points per game. He is joined in a potent backcourt by Cliff Hammonds and Terrence Oglesby.
The forward tandem of James Mays and Trevor Booker augment the trio of guards with a strong inside game. Mays is the focal point of the team's vaunted press.
Villanova (20-12) showed its youth, playing .500 ball after a 10-1 start. The Wildcats were wildly inconsistent, losing five straight games at one point yet they beat Connecticut and were a controversial call away from taking Georgetown into overtime.
Guard Scottie Reynolds leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, but he struggled late in the season, scoring 14 points or fewer in seven of his last nine games, including four times in single digits.
- MIDWEST REGIONAL
AT TAMPA FL
NCAA BB MIDWEST REGIONAL
FINAL 1ST 2ND TOTAL
--- --- -----
VILLANOVA 27 48 75
CLEMSON (22) 39 30 69 FINAL
Mar 22 12:26 AM - 123
rootsRUWTbot Added 19 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Villanova(12) 64, Clemson(5) 62 2nd - 2:54Mar 22 12:09 AM - 104
rootsRUWTbot Added 18 roots (Close Finish, Upset)
Villanova(12) 64, Clemson(5) 60 2nd - 2:58Mar 22 12:08 AM - MIDWEST REGIONAL
AT TAMPA FL
NCAA BB (12) VILLANOVA 27
(5) CLEMSON 39 HALFTIME
Mar 21 10:46 PM
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