Furman (1-5)
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| G | 15 | Marcus Dilligard | 6-4 | 190 | Fr. | LaBelle, Mo. | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| G | 24 | Bubba Smith | 6-4 | 190 | Jr. | Hendersonville, Tenn. | 13.2 | 2.8 |
| F | 22 | Andre Kerr | 6-6 | 220 | So. | Augusta, Ga. | 9.8 | 3.8 |
| F | 31 | Chuck Vincent | 6-7 | 235 | Sr. | Durham, N.C. | 15.8 | 9.3 |
| C | 11 | Patrick Garner | 6-9 | 235 | So. | Greenville, S.C. | 6.8 | 3.4 |
Clemson (4-2)
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| G | 5 | Terrell McIntyre | 5-9 | 175 | Jr. | Raeford, N.C. | 16.0 | 3.3 |
| G | 21 | Greg Buckner | 6-4 | 210 | Sr. | Hopkinsville, Ky. | 18.5 | 3.3 |
| F | 15 | Iker Iturbe | 6-7 | 240 | Jr. | Vitoria, Basque | 4.6 | 1.8 |
| F | 32 | Harold Jamison | 6-8 | 260 | Jr. | Vance, S.C. | 9.3 | 5.3 |
| C | 33 | Tom Wideman | 6-10 | 250 | Jr. | Marietta, Ga. | 6.2 | 4.3 |
Furman: Larry Davis (Asbury '78)
Clemson: Rick Barnes (Lenoir-Rhyne '77)
Saturday's Furman-Clemson game will mark the 143rd meeting in basketball between the two schools since the Paladins and Tigers first squared off during the 1911-12 season in Greenville. Clemson, which owns a 91-51 series record aginast Furman, defeated the Paladins 46-12 in the series inaugural contest, and the Tigers enter Saturday's game having claimed 21 straight decisions over the Paladins since the 1978-79 season. The Tigers' run of success over Furman includes 29 wins in the last 30 meetings dating back to the 1973-74 season. Furman last defeated Clemson, 87-69, in Clemson during the 1977-78 campaign.
Clemson is 52-22 versus Furman in Clemson. In Greenville, the Tigers have posted a 39-29 series advantage over the Paladins.
Saturday night's Furman-Clemson matchup will mark Furman head coach Larry Davis' first encounter with the Tigers. Rick Barnes, meanwhile, is 3-0 versus Furman in three seasons as head coach at Clemson.
PAC ERA ENDS, TIMMONS ERA TO BEGIN DEC. 30...If the latest Timmons Arena construction timetable holds true, Wednesday night's Furman-William & Mary game (80-57 loss) marked the Paladins' final game in the school's Herman W. Lay Physical Activities Center (PAC). Furman, which played its home games in the PAC since vacating the now razed Greenville Memorial Auditorium following the 1995-96 season, will play its next home game in the new, on-campus, 5,000-seat Timmons Arena on Dec. 30 against Northeastern Illinois. Furman's women's basketball team is scheduled to play the first game in Timmons on Dec. 20 against Georgia Southern. Furman's departure from the PAC was met with little sorrow, as the Paladins only managed an 8-9 record in 17 games within its confines. The Paladins will officially dedicate Timmons Arena prior to a Jan. 17 contest against Davidson.
HOME WOES CONTINUE...In dropping an 80-57 decision to William & Mary on Wednesday night, Furman lost its seventh straight home game dating back to the Feb. 15, 1997, when the Paladins dropped a 79-63 verdict to begin its current losing streak. The Paladins' current home skid includes losses in the final four home games of the 1996-97 season and defeats in the first three home contests of the current campaign. Overall, Furman is just 1-11 in its last 12 games.
INJURIES THIN FURMAN ROSTER...With one key performer already sidelined with an injury, Furman received more bad news last Saturday night when sophomore guard/forward Que Gaither fractured the navicular bone in his left hand in the overtime period of Furman's 75-73 loss to Stetson in DeLand, Fla. Gaither, who is expected miss 4-6 weeks of action, had been averaging 9.8 minutes and 4.0 points per game as a backup second guard and small forward. His injury leaves Furman with eight, possibly nine scholarship players available for the Clemson game. Gaither joins junior center Will Coles (stress fracture) on Furman's injured list, which has also included walk-on sophomore guard Michael Campbell (broken nose), although Campbell was available (but did not play) in the Paladins' 80-57 loss to William & Mary. Coles may see his first action of the year Saturday night against Clemson after missing the entire pre-season and the Paladins' first six games.
GARNER RETURNS...Furman sophomore center Patrick Garner (Greenville, S.C./Wade Hamption H.S.) will make his first appearance in Littlejohn Coliseum since transferring from Clemson to Furman following the 1995-96 season. Garner, who played sparingly for the Tigers as a freshman that year, sat out the 1996-97 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules before becoming eligible this year. He is currently averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.8 rpg and has started in the Paladins' last three games after missing the Vanderbilt and Winthrop contests with a broken thumb, which he sustained in the Paladins' season opening, 70-69 loss to Newberry.
SHOOTING HIGHS AND LOWS...After shooting only 41.7% from the field (66-of-158) in its first three games, Furman converted 50.4% of its field goal attempts (54-of-107) in its next two games (vs. Mercer and Stetson) before shooting only 37.8% (17-of-45) Wednesday night in an 80-57 loss to William & Mary. Through five games Furman is shooting 44.2% from the field and only 28.4% from three-point range.
THREE-POINT STREAK HALTED...Furman's failure to sink a three-pointer (0-for-10) in Wednesday's 80-57 loss to William & Mary snapped the Paladins' consecutive three-pointers made streak at 317 games dating back to the beginning of the 1986-87 season, when the current three-point shot was adopted by the NCAA (earlier 22' three-point shot not included in streak).
PROBLEMS AT THE POINT...While the reasons for Furman's slow start are plentiful, there is no getting past the problems the Paladins are experiencing at point guard. Through six games, Furman's two point guards, freshman Marcus Dilligard and junior Terry McGann, have scored only 25 points while shooting only 22.5% (7-of-31) from the field. In addition, Dilligard and McGann have garnered only 16 assists and six steals while totaling 19 turnovers. In contrast, senior forward Chuck Vincent has personally accounted for 14 assists and 12 steals through six games.
SMITH GOES FOR CAREER HIGH...Junior guard Bubba Smith scored a career high 27 points in the Paladins' 75-73 overtime loss to Stetson last Saturday night in DeLand. Fla. In connecting on 8-of-12 field goal attempts, including 5-of-6 three-pointers, and 6-of-7 free throws in 37 minutes of action, Smith topped his previous career high of 19 points set two years ago against Appalachian State. The 5-of-6 three-point shooting performance (.833%) was the third best single game mark by a Paladin. Smith enters the Clemson game as Furman's second leading scorer (13.2 ppg).
VINCENT LEADING THE WAY...Named Southern Conference Pre-Season Player-of-the-Year by league head coaches at the league's annual basketball tip-off in Greensboro, N.C., in late October, two-time all-league senior forward Chuck Vincent currently leads Furman in six statistical categories heading into the Clemson game: scoring (15.8 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), minutes played (35.0 mpg), field goal percentage (63.3%), blocks (4), and steals (12). He also now ranks second on the team in assists with 14 after leading the Paladins in that category through five games. Vincent, who tallied 25 points and claimed 14 rebounds in 34 minutes of work against Mercer in Macon in the Paladins' lone victory (76-65) thus far, registered 41 minutes of action and scored 14 points in Furman's 75-73 overtime loss to Stetson last Saturday. In Wednesday's loss to William & Mary, he led the Paladins with 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for only the third time in his career (87 games). He currently ranks 19th on the Paladins' all-time scoring chart (1,274 points) and ninth on the school's career rebounds ledger (774 rebounds). His 14-point, 7-rebound effort versus Stetson last Saturday moved him past Russ Hunt (1,248 points, 1970-73) on the scoring chart and past Bruce Evans (761 rebounds, 1988-92) on Furman's career rebounding ledger.
PALADINS SIGN TWO...Furman signed two players in the early recruiting period: Paul Foster (6-1, PG, Mt. Olive, N.C./Rose Wallace H.S.) and Anthony Thomas (6-3, 2G, College Park, Ga./Woodward Academy).
FURMAN IN PRE-SEASON POLLS...Furman was a consensus Southern Conference South Division third place pick in a pair of pre-season polls conducted by league head coaches and media. Chattanooga, which last year advanced to the NCAA Tournament's "Sweet 16", was the consensus pick to repeat as the SoCon's South Division champion, and The Citadel was selected second in both polls. Furman finished last (fifth) in the South Division last year with a 10-17 overall record and 4-10 league mark.
VINCENT, KERR NAMED TO PRE-SEASON ALL-SOCON TEAM...Furman senior forward/center Chuck Vincent and redshirt sophomore forward Andre Kerr were named to the Southern Conference's pre-season all-conference team. While Vincent's selection was no surprise, Kerr's pick comes after the 6-foot-6 Augusta, Ga., product missed virtually all of the 1996-97 season with a sore back. Two years ago Kerr was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In the last five games of the 1995-96 campaign, Kerr shot 63.2% from the field and averaged 20.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Included in that stretch was a season high 29-point performance against eventual league tournament champion Western Carolina.
PALADINS SPLIT EXHIBITION GAMES...Furman split a pair of pre-season exhibition games, dropping a 90-83 decision to the Upstate Converse All-Stars on Nov. 3 before coming back to claim a 78-64 decision over Drobe-Juta from Lithuania on Nov. 8. Chuck Vincent led the Paladins in scoring in both games, tallying 28 and 20 points, respectively. Andre Kerr, meanwhile, claimed a game high 15 rebounds against the UpState All-Stars. Against Drobe-Juta, the Paladins got solid production from freshman guards Marcus Dilligard (12 points) and P.J. Brown (15 points).
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