North Carolina A&T @ Clemson preview
Littlejohn Coliseum
Clemson looks to continue its early-season dominance over smaller schools from the Carolinas when it hosts North Carolina A&T on Sunday. The Tigers rolled to an 85-57 win over Western Carolina in Friday’s season opener.
Clemson never was challenged Friday, using a 22-2 run to double up the Catamounts 44-22 at halftime and cruising from there. The Tigers shouldn’t face much more of a threat from the Aggies, who won only three games last season. North Carolina A&T routed NCAA Division III Greensboro College 104-80 on Friday, but the competition level makes a steep climb on Sunday. Clemson is 34-1 all-time against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schools.
TV: 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA A&T (1-0): The Aggies should see significant improvement from a disastrous 2016-17 season, as they have nine newcomers on the roster. That total includes three NCAA Division I transfers who sat out last season – including Oakland transfer Femi Olujobi, who racked up 34 points and 10 rebounds in his debut with the team. The Aggies also welcomed back two-sport standout Denzel Keyes, a star wide receiver who recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds in the opener after taking off last season to focus on football.
ABOUT CLEMSON (1-0): The Tigers shot 50 percent in the opener, a positive sign for a team that figured to have some offensive struggles entering the season. Clemson had four double-digit scorers in the opener – and none of them was point guard Shelton Mitchell, who scored in double figures in Clemson’s final 11 games last season. Mitchell settled into a distributing role on Friday, dishing out six assists to go with six points, while Donte Grantham led the way with 14 points in just 18 minutes.
TIP-INS
1. Eleven players scored at least four points for Clemson in its opener, as its bench accounted for 38.
2. Clemson scored 20 points off 20 turnovers on Friday and held the Catamounts to 39.3 percent shooting.
3. The Aggies haven’t won a road game since Feb. 27, 2016 at Florida A&M.
PREDICTION: Clemson 89, North Carolina A&T 67