Akron @ Clemson preview

Akron at Clemson

Guard play is vital come NCAA Tournament time and Clemson coach Brad Brownell knows he has two of the best in Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell. The redshirt seniors bailed out the 23rd-ranked Tigers against Sam Houston State and now look to carry Clemson to a fourth straight win to start the season when it plays undefeated Akron in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday.

Reed scored 26 points - two shy of his career high - and Mitchell added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and the two combined to score 11 points during a decisive 16-3 run midway through the second half as the Tigers pulled away for a 74-59 victory over the Bearkats on Wednesday. “I better enjoy this, because I don’t think I’m going to have it next year,” Brownell said. “Those guys once again played well down the stretch.” Akron has started the season with three wins despite returning only five scholarship players from a team that won just 14 games last season. The Zips pounded Chicago State 87-46 on Friday following victories over Cedarville and Youngstown State.

TV: 11 a.m. ET, None

ABOUT AKRON (3-0): Channel Banks led the way with a career-high 17 points Friday and Daniel Utomi and Jimond Ivey followed with 14 and 12, respectively. Utomi, a 6-6 junior who averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points on 47 percent shooting and adds 5.7 rebounds. Ivey, the lone scholarship senior and four-year starter, is averaging 14 points on 56 percent shooting, and a team-high 7.3 rebounds.

ABOUT CLEMSON (3-0): Reed (17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals), who rebounded from a six-point performance on 1-of-7 shooting against North Carolina Central, shot 9-of-18 and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 38 minutes against the Bearkats. Mitchell, who started his career at Vanderbilt and was selected to the ACC All-Tournament team last March, is averaging 13.3 points on 46.4 percent shooting and 3.7 assists per game. Aamir Simms (14 points per game, 7-of-8 on 3-pointers) had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks against Sam Houston as he reached double-figure scoring for the third time this season.

TIP-INS

1. The teams will play either Georgia or Illinois State on Tuesday.

2. The Zips have won their first three games by an average of 33.3 points.

3. Akron also has a pair of transfers contributing in Tyler Cheese (15.1 points per game at Florida Southwestern College) and Loren Christian Jackson (5.8 at Long Beach State). Jackson is averaging 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and team highs of 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals, while Cheese contributes 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.