No. 12 Villanova (20-12) at No. 5 Clemson (24-9)

By Jimmy Sirody
Don Best senior writer

Clemson has waited 10 years for a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers won't be satisfied just making the field. They want to do some damage. In fact coach Oliver Purnell thinks his team is capable of going all the way.

The Tigers get their first chance to prove that Purnell knows what he's talking about Friday night when they face Villanova in the opening round of the Midwest Regional at St. Pete's Times Forum in Tampa

Clemson and the Wildcats have a lot in common. Villanova excels at forcing mistakes - its guard-oriented attack is fantastic at pressuring the ball and forcing steals. No team in the Atlantic Coast Conference has made the press as big a part of its game as has Clemson. Instead of letting teams walk the ball up the court and set up an offense, the Tigers challenge every detail of the game; you can't even throw the ball into a teammate without being pressured.

Clemson is 24-9, including a victory over Duke in the ACC tournament semis and three narrow losses to No. 1 North Carolina, two in overtime.

Many think the Wildcats would have been on the outside looking in had they not beaten Syracuse in the opening round of the Big East tournament. Villanova's resume isn't exactly loaded with marquee victories. However, despite having no seniors on the team, all but one of its losses was to teams with at least 20 victories.

Guard Scottie Reynolds leads the Wildcats in scoring at 15.6 points per game, but he struggled late in the season, scoring 14 points or fewer in seven of the last nine games, including four single-digit efforts.

Clemson is one of the tournament's most balanced teams with six strong scoring options and a rotation that goes 10 deep. The Tigers excel at shooting the three, largely by K.C. Rivers, Cliff Hammonds and Terrence Ogelsby

James Mays and Rivers could present some matchup problems for the smaller and younger Wildcats.

Villanova's one huge weakness is committing fouls, but that will be neutralized by a Clemson team that was the worst foul shooting team in the ACC and one of the nation's worst. Conversely, the Wildcats hit an impressive 72 percent of their charity tosses.

The Tigers were a solid investment when favored this season, getting the money in 15 of 23.

Villanova slipped 'under' in 19 of 29 trips to the post and in 10 of 13 when the 'total' was between 140 and 149 1/2. Clemson has eclipsed the number in seven straight encounters against Big East opponents.

Most offshore books opened the Tigers as a 6-point favorite with the 'total' set at 142.

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