The Best of the Rest: Jan. 7 – Jan. 10
The Southeast’s Mid-Major Report

Game of the Mid-Week
UNC-Charlotte (8-5, 0-0 A-10) at Clemson (12-2, 0-1 ACC) – 7:30 p.m. – Wednesday, Jan. 9 – Littlejohn Coliseum – Clemson, S.C.
    
Sunday night Clemson sought redemption for last year’s 20-point loss to North Carolina. At the time they were 17-1 and had the respect of teams around the country. The Tar Heels walked into Littlejohn Arena that night and embarrassed the Tigers. Following the game Clemson was never the same team, losing 7 of the next 11 games and bowing out in the first round of the ACC tournament. On Sunday, it was a different story. Clemson lost to the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels in overtime on a last second 3-point shot, but Clemson’s performance sent a message: this year’s team is the real thing.

Equally impressive this season has been UNC-Charlotte, a team who has defeated an ACC opponent (Wake Forest), two solid mid-major teams (Southern Illinois, Davidson) and leads the Atlantic-10 with an 8-5 record entering this match-up.
Coming off a close loss to Maryland Saturday, Wednesday night’s game is the perfect opportunity for UNC-Charlotte to capture a signature upset. It’s their last non-conference game – they’ve already played three other ACC teams – and Clemson is particularly vulnerable following the emotional letdown of Sunday’s loss to UNC. With only two days to recover and move on from what-could-have-been, Clemson may lack the motivation to defeat a dangerous 49ers team. Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell agrees.

“We have a very disappointed locker room. Our guys realize we let one get away against a good team,” admitted Purnell after the game. “We have an unbelievable trap game against UNC-Charlotte. The most important thing is to get back up after you get knocked down.”

Veteran head coach Bobby Lutz, who has led UNC-Charlotte to five NCAA tournament appearances, knows a win against Clemson, barring any significant let down in conference play, virtually guarantees his team a spot in the NCAA Tournament this year. To have any chance in this game, Lutz must find a way to break Oliver Purnell’s infamous full court press and get the ball to his leading scorer Leemire Goldwire, who’s averaging nearly 20 points per game.

Prediction:
The first 10 games of UNC-Charlotte’s season have been decided by seven points or less with the 49ers winning six of them and losing four. Clemson’s only other loss this season preceded a seven-day break that included Christmas and a game against Samford (6-7). We think the hangover from Sunday night’s loss will be too much for Clemson, and a motivated UNC-Charlotte team will upset the Tigers in a close game.

On the Rise
Georgia State (4-9, 1-2 CAA) at VCU (9-4, 2-1 CAA) – 7 p.m. – Thursday, Jan. 10 – Alltel Pavilion – Richmond, Va.

Head coach Rod Barnes’s four best players sit on the bench every game ineligible (transfers) to play until next year, and still Georgia State finds a way to beat one of the best teams in the CAA, George Mason. VCU was the top team last year and surprised everyone (expect maybe us) when they upset Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This year they’ve lost close games to Hampton and CAA-rival James Madison, but head coach Anthony Grant has his team ready for another CAA Tournament run. It begins with this game against Georgia State.

Noteworthy Numbers
-VMI’s Reggie Williams is the second leading active scorer in college basketball at 2,162 career points. Williams needs 21 points to break the Big South career scoring record. New Orleans’ Bo McCalebb is the first with 2,221 points. He’s 56 points away from the Sun Belt Conference career scoring mark set by Charlie Bradley (1981-1985, South Florida).

-Georgia Southern has an RPI ranking of 79. Davidson’s RPI is 143. When the two Southern Conference foes met Jan 3., Davidson defeated Georgia Southern by nearly 30 points. Go figure.

Upcoming in Thursday’s Edition
-Game of the Weekend Preview: next Saturday’s match-up between Big South-rivals Winthrop and High Point.

-Recap of last Saturday’s barnburner between Sun Belt-rivals Western Kentucky and South Alabama.