Sunday, November 16th, 4:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Carolina First Center (5,000) -- Charleston, South Carolina. Television: CSS. Home Record: Temple 0-0, Clemson 0-0. Away Record: Temple 1-0, Clemson 0-0. Neutral Record: Temple 1-0, Clemson 2-0. Conference Record: Temple 0-0, Clemson 0-0. Series Record: Temple leads, 2-0.

GAME NOTES: The championship game of the inaugural Charleston Classic is set to take place at the Carolina First Center today, as the Temple Owls tussle with the Clemson Tigers. The Owls are off to a fast start and that isn't a big surprise considering their experience and talent level. Temple earned its spot in today's championship game by defeating East Tennessee State (79-65) in the opening round and slipping past the College of Charleston (70-65) in the semifinals on Saturday. With the wins, the Owls are 2-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season. As for Clemson, it was expected to be in this position with its talent and success over the past few seasons. The Tigers had little trouble defeating Hofstra (98-69) in their first round game before outlasting TCU (70-58) in the semifinals on Saturday. Clemson and Temple have met twice previously on the hardwood, with the Owls capturing each meeting.

Dionte Christmas scored 26 points for the second straight game and grabbed seven boards, as they Owls defeated the CofC on Saturday. The All-American candidate, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds in an opening win over ETSU, went 7-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 9-of-9 at the foul line on Saturday. Ramone Moore added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Brooks also tallied 11 points. Both player reached double figures in the opener as well, with Brooks scoring 15 points and Moore 11. Lavoy Allen also recorded his second straight double-double, posting 10 points and 12 rebounds. Temple hit on 17-of-18 free-throw attempts on Saturday and it also dominated the boards, 47-27.

Clemson shot 46.9 percent from the field and made 7-of-16 three-pointers en route to a 12-point win over TCU last night. The Tigers were also successful at the foul line, where they converted on 17-of-23 attempts. Clemson struggled with hits free-throw shooting (25-of-39) in an opening win over Hofstra, but it did hit on 50.8 percent from the field in that game. After scoring 10 points in the opener, K.C. Rivers stepped up and led the Tigers with 18 points against TCU. Terrence Oglesby added 14 points and that was one-point shy of his production in the opener. Trevor Booker was limited to just eight points last night, but he did block seven shots while grabbing 12 caroms. It was a sound all-around effort for Booker, who had a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards in the opener.

These were clearly the top two teams in this tournament, so its no surprise to see them in the finals. Clemson has a few more options than Temple does and that should help it slip past the Owls for the win today.

Predicted Outcome

Clemson 76, Temple 70