Clemson hoops preview: Tigers take on North Carolina A&T at home

After opening the season with a win on Friday night, the Clemson Tigers (1-0) basketball team is in action once again today as they host North Carolina A&T Aggies (1-0).

When: Sunday, Nov 12 2:00 PM
Where: Littlejohn
Stream: ACCNetwork Extra

Clemson, who beat Western Carolina by 28 on Friday, had four separate players score in double figures in the game, including Elijah Thomas who came off the bench to start. After the game, senior Donte Grantham said it was “just a flash” of the team’s ability.

Awaiting the Tigers tonight in Littlejohn is an Aggies team that Kenpom rates as even worse than Western Carolina. North Carolina A&T won just three games all of last season and lost three of their starters from that team. As a result, Clemson is a 28-point favorite according to the stats site and given a 99-percent chance to win.

For the Tigers to come away on top, they’ll need to contain 6-foot-8 forward Femi Olujobi, a junior transfer student from Oakland playing his first season for the Aggies. In their season-opening win, Olujobi scored 28 points on just 19 shots from the floor.

Olujobi showed a proficiency in drawing fouls, taking 12 free throws in that game, so the Tigers’ bigs will need to avoid fouling as they’re a bit thin upfront without the suspended David Skara.

The Aggies offense also ran through two-sport athlete guard Denzel Keyes; also a receiver on their football team, he had 17 points in the season opener.

One thing to watch will be who gets the nod as starters in today’s game; on Friday the Tigers went with three guards as Grantham played power forward and Michigan transfer Mark Donnal got the not at center. With Skara still suspended for eight more games, it’ll be interesting to see if Brownell stays consistent or experiments some with the lineup, especially in these first few games.