Clemson takes on Liberty

I should say something clever about their name and how the Tigers are going to extinguish the Flames cliche; or, I should say something about the honesty of televangelists and contextualize the game in some Biblical manner.

But, the only thing you need to know about today's game against Liberty is the name Curry.

No, not Stephen Curry, who dropped 44 against NC State to defeat the Wolfpack in Charlotte yesterday, but his younger brother, Liberty freshman Seth Curry, who scored 26 in a Liberty win over Virginia.

Liberty is not your average bring-em-in, pay-em, then win opponent.

1. They consistently play five guards on the floor.
2. Of their 13 man roster, 10 are guards, with 1 Center and 2 forwards.
3. They run, three of their guards average double-digits, two in the 20s.
4. Didn't colleges learn their lesson when they let Stephen Curry drift to Davidson?
5. They played yesterday. They defeated Gardner Webb, 68-59. Seth Curry had just 15, but second leading Flame scorer Anthony Smith had 27.
6. They don't just take 3-pointers; though they will shoot from anywhere, they also shoot short jumpers, hitting 45.7% of their shots.

In the end, the Tigers should be able to wear them down with the press and separate themselves with strong interior play and rebounding prowess. If the Tigers don't establish the inside game and ride Booker to help create the outside openings, it might get ugly. Their guards have no problem running and gunning. Expect the game to be close for a while, but the Tigers will pull away.

And for the record, we are not dead last in FT% so far this year. That distinction goes to Georgia Tech. Hooray for statistics.

Time: 3:00pm; Sunday, December 12, 2008.
Listen: WCCP
Follow: Live Stats via SCACCHoops
Watch: via CSTV

Go Tigers.