Clemson opens season against Virginia Tech

Tonight, Clemson and Virginia Tech tipoff from Littlejohn Coliseum at 7:01 p.m. Roy Philpott and Paul Biancardi will broadcast the game on ESPNU, while Don Munson and Tim Bourret will have the radio call for the Clemson Tigers Network.

Here’s are some notes as we head towards tipoff:

• Clemson opens up the regular season with ACC foe Virginia Tech to debut the league’s 20-game schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
• Clemson received a major boost in its lineup last week with the NCAA granting Khavon Moore’s transfer request waiver, allowing Moore to become immediately eligible for the 2019-20 season. Moore is a transfer from Texas Tech and played just two minutes last season.
• The Tigers are coming off a summer in which they represented the United States in the 2019 World University Games - claiming a Gold Medal, the USA’s first since 2015 and just its second since 2005.
• Clemson earned three wins in pool play against Finland (69-65), Ukraine (58-57) and China (99-70) before topping Germany (76-74) in the quarters, Israel (75-73) in the semis and a blowout of Ukraine in the Gold Medal game (85-63).
• The United States were led by Aamir Simms and John Newman III en route to a perfect 6-0 record in the tournament.
• Simms averaged 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest over six games, while Newman scored 13.3 points per game and also grabbed 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Simms’ biggest game of the tournament came against Israel in the semifinal game. Simms scored 27 points (11-for-23 FG, 10-15 2FG) and grabbed 16 rebounds (seven on the offensive glass).
• The Tigers earned a victory in their last meeting with the Hokies, a 59-51 win over a then-ranked No. 11 Virginia Tech team inside Littlejohn Coliseum on Feb. 9, 2019.
• Clemson returns just 27.3 percent of its scoring from last season, but made key additions to its roster from the transfer portal: Tevin Mack (Alabama), Khavon Moore (Texas Tech), Nick Honor (Fordham), Curran Scott (Tulsa).

Series History:

• Clemson will look for its 17th victory in the all-time series against Virginia Tech in the season opener tonight.
• The Tigers are 16-19 all-time against the Hokies, including a win in their lone meeting last year. A 59-51 win in Littlejohn Coliseum on Feb. 9, 2019.
• This marks the earliest that Clemson will have ever played a regular-season game and the earliest date against an ACC opponent in history.
• Head coach Brad Brownell is 2-0 in his career against newly-appointed Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young.
• Brownell has twice defeated Young in two contests when Young was the head man at nearby Wofford College.

New 3-point line:

• The 3-point line will be extended by approximately 1 foot, 8 inches to the same distance used by FIBA for international competition (22 feet, 1.75 inches).
• The previous 3-point line was moved back prior to the 2008-09 season (20 feet, 9 inches).
• For 21 years, the 3-point line stood at 19 feet, nine inches from 1986-87 to 2007-08.
• The 3-point line was first introduced to college basketball during the 1982-83 season and stood at 17 feet, nine inches. The Tigers played with that distance in 15 ACC games and a game against Presbyterian.
• Also that season, the Tigers played three contests in the Alaska Shootout with an experimental distance of what would become the new 3-point line distance in 1986-87 (19 feet, 9 inches).