Tigers and Gamecocks battle in an unbeaten showdown

Brad Brownell and star center PJ Hall host the Gamecocks at 8 pm Wednesday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Dec 06 13:36:03 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – The Clemson/South Carolina rivalry is back in the forefront when the Gamecocks visit the Tigers tonight in a battle of unbeaten teams.

Clemson is 7-0 for the first time since 2008 and ranked 24th in the country, while head coach Lamont Paris and his Gamecocks are 7-0 for the first time since 2016. According to legendary Clemson Sports Information Tim Bourret, this is the first time in the history of the rivalry, which began in 1912, that both teams come into the game undefeated this deep into a season.

The Tigers and Gamecocks tip off at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.

Clemson head coach Brad Brownell hopes the fans have turned their attention away from football – where the Tigers scored a 16-7 victory over the Gamecocks two weeks ago – and are paying attention to the court.

“Football season has taken a little bit of a breather and, hopefully, folks have tuned into both teams because we both have some quality wins,” Brownell said earlier this week. “They have been playing well. They won a tournament out in Arizona. We won our tournament in Asheville. So, if you have been following the teams, you have seen good basketball and both teams playing well.

“I am optimistic that we will have a great crowd and that there will be a lot of folks watching on TV, as well, supporting both teams.”

The rivalry game is getting a little more attention because of its distance from the football game – the schools moved the game further back in the schedule than it has been. In recent seasons, the game has been played closer to the football game, and at times, has had to deal with Clemson playing in the ACC Championship Game.

“Because football is still not in full go when it is in the first week of the season, everybody has one and a half eyes on football and half an eye on basketball,” Brownell said. “Now, at least, you can take your eyes off football a little bit and watch this game. It is going to be a great game. Both groups of players are playing unbelievably well, and they are fun teams to watch. So, I think just kind of getting (this game) a little later in the season helps with that, and it also lets both teams settle their teams.”

However, the Tigers are dealing with a few injuries. Forward Jack Clark didn’t play against Pitt and sounds doubtful for the rivalry game.

We’re still kind of trying to figure it all out. I would say he’s doubtful for this game. I’m going to get with Brad (Crowe) right before practice and just see what it looks like,” Brownell said. “It’s been challenging for him. Just hasn’t been able to kind of get all the way there. He’s had some steps back if you will, so we’ve just got to kind of deal with it day-to-day.”

Shooting guard Alex Hemenway is dealing with a lower leg injury and has missed the last two games. He’s likely to miss more time as he recovers.

“Jack and Alex, that’s been really challenging. I anticipated those guys being probably two of our top six guys. It’s just, they both haven’t been able to do as much,” Brownell said.