Panthers @ Tigers |NCAAB

By Don Phillips

CLEMSON TIGERS (12-7, 5-2 ACC) vs. PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (16-3, 5-2 ACC)
Date: Wednesday, January 27
Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum (10,325)
Radio: CTSN (Tony Castricone-pbp; Tim Bourret-color)
TV: RSN (Wes Durham-pbp; Mike Gminski-color)

Clemson returns to action for the first time since January 19 on Wednesday when it welcomes No. 23 Pittsburgh to Littlejohn Coliseum.

The two teams have met just four times, including three as ACC foes. The first meeting took place in 1958 in the Carousel Classic in Charlotte, N.C., a 60-50 Pittsburgh win. The Panthers took the first two meetings as ACC rivals, both in 2013-14. After a blowout at Pitt, the Tigers dropped an overtime heart-breaker, 83-78.

Clemson won three straight games decided by five points or less in ACC play from January 5-13. The Tigers beat Syracuse in overtime, 74-73, before downing Louisville 66-62 and Duke 68-63 in consecutive games.

It was the first time any Tiger defeated three teams in a row by five or less since 1983-84, when Bill Foster led Clemson to wins over Marquette, Furman and South Carolina.

It was the first time beating three straight ACC teams by five or less since 1975-76. That season, Clemson beat Duke, Wake Forest and Maryland in consecutive games, all by margins of five points or less.

Clemson had never shot 100 percent on free throws in a game, given a minimum of 15 attempts. That is, until Clemson went 15-15 from the stripe in a win over No. 8 Miami on January 16. The performance established a single-game record.

Tonight’s game will be Clemson’s fifth straight versus a team ranked in the top 25 of at least one poll. Pitt is No. 23 in this week’s coaches’ poll.

It is the first time the Tigers have faced five straight top-25 foes since Feb. 8-24, 1993, when Cliff Ellis’ group took on Duke (3), Virginia (24), North Carolina (3), Florida State (9) and Wake Forest (12) in consecutive games.

Clemson is 3-1 through the first four games of this stretch.

The Panthers carry a No. 23 coaches’ poll ranking into tonight’s game at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson and Pitt are in a four-way tie for third place in the ACC standings at 5-2 on the season. Pitt has been led by junior forward Michael Young, who leads the team in both points (16.8) and rebounds (6.7) per game. The Panthers are among the top shooting teams in the ACC, hitting a clip of 37 percent from three and 77 percent at the free throw line. Last time out, Pitt won at Florida State by a score of 74-72.

Pitt has received strong play off the bench this season with veterans Chris Jones and Sheldon Jeter leading the way. The tandem has combined for 13 of Pitt’s 18 double-figure scoring games off the bench with the Panther reserves averaging an ACC-best 28.5 points per game.

Damon Wilson scored a season-high 20 points against Central Arkansas, to match the eighth- most points scored by a freshman off the bench in program history. Cameron Johnson came off the bench for a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Boston College. He knocked down four three-point field goals in the win.

America’s Bookie has the Tigers a 2 1/2-point home favorite with Clemson -145 and Pitt+125 on the moneyline.

Selection: Clemson                  Over