The Clemson Athletic Department lists many of the similarities between the 1996-1997 team and this year's team. Coincidence? God I hope so, because, we lost to a Big Ten team that year- Minnesota and Bobby "Socks" Jackson. It turns out, they were cheaters, though.
Now, we face Michigan. They are just happy to be in the tournament.
The Clemson team gathered at OP's house to watch the selection. Surely, it was muted excitement, as the Tigers have let a few things slip in their recent performance.
Nonetheless, they have been granted a second lease on basketball life after the inexplicable loss to GT. Inexplicable because it might have been the worst game of the season and came at the worst time of the season for the Tigers.
Onward, Michigan and Clemson have faced several common opponents.
Duke, Maryland, Illinois
Duke, split, (56-71L) and (81-73W)- yes, they played them twice, in Nov. and Dec.
Maryland (70-75L)
Illinois, split, (74-64W), (51-66L), and (50-60L)
All three teams we beat, Duke (74-47W), Maryland (93-64W), Illinois, (76-74W).
This could mean everything, or nothing, probably the latter. Oliver Purnell had this to say about the Michigan matchup:
We have played a tough schedule down the stretch and know we will have to play well to beat Michigan. We have had many meetings and two good practices since the ACC Tournament loss to Georgia Tech. We know we need to make improvement.Michigan is a fine team with outstanding players. I saw them play against Duke earlier in the year on TV. It will be a tough assignment for us. We are familiar with their style because we played against Coach (John) Beilein's West Virginia team in the finals of the NIT two years ago.
Go Tigers!
