Friday, March 14th, 9:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Charlotte Bobcats Arena (20,200) -- Charlotte, North Carolina. Television: Local. Home Record: BC 11-8, Clemson 14-2. Away Record: BC 2-7, Clemson 6-5. Neutral Record: BC 1-1, Clemson 2-1. Conference Record: BC 4-12, Clemson 10-6. Series Record: Clemson leads, 5-3.

GAME NOTES: The third-seeded Clemson Tigers are set to do battle with the 11th-seeded Boston College Eagles in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 ACC Tournament. Last night, Boston College knocked off Maryland by a 71-68 final in the opening round of this event. The Eagles halted a six-game skid with that triumph, as they tied NC State for last place in the league during the regular season with a 4-12 ACC record. As for Clemson, it has never won this tournament and owns a horrendous 14-54 all-time record at the event. The Tigers are 22-8 overall this season, including 10-6 against ACC competition, but they have been a bit inconsistent away from home. Clemson rolled to a 78-56 victory over Boston College on February 2nd, and the Tigers own a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.

The top player on the BC roster is Tyrese Rice, who is a First Team All-ACC performer. In the victory over Maryland last night, Rice scored only two points in the first half. Fortunately, he tallied 17 points over the final 20 minutes, coming up big when his team needed him the most. Rakim Sanders added 13 points for the Eagles, who were able to achieve strong balance at the offensive end. Boston College actually trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half, making the victory all the more impressive. An obvious key to the win for the Eagles was that they were able to force 21 turnovers. Rice averaged 21.3 ppg during the regular season to go with 142 assists, and Sanders is netting 11.3 ppg. Both figure to draw plenty of attention from the Tigers today.

Clemson has been able to establish strong offensive balance this season, as five players are scoring in double figures. Leading the pack is K.C. Rivers, as he is generating 14.5 ppg on the strength of his 40.7 percent shooting from three-point range. He has also recorded 53 steals to go with 6.5 rpg. Cliff Hammonds and Trevor Booker have both started all 30 games for the Tigers, and they are scoring 11.7 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively. Hammonds has also posted 121 assists and 58 steals, while Booker adds 7.5 rpg to the mix. James Mays isn't far behind with his 7.0 rpg, and he has blocked 52 shots and scored 10.7 ppg. Rounding out the group is sharp-shooter Terrence Oglesby, who is posting 10.6 ppg on 41.6 percent shooting from behind the arc. Of the 98 field goals Oglesby has registered this season, 77 have come from three-point range.

The Tigers will be pushed to the limit tonight, but expect them to come out on top. The balanced scoring attack of Clemson will prove to be the difference.

Predicted Outcome

Clemson 80, Boston College 71