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Rex Brown

Clemson’s Trevor Booker (35) and Demontez Stitt trap Virginia’s Calvin Baker during the Tigers’ win on Tuesday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

CLEMSON — Clemson coach Oliver Purnell has his early Sunday afternoon already planned out. He will be in his Winston-Salem area hotel watching the Virginia Tech at Florida State game, which starts four hours before his 18th-ranked Tigers take to the floor against No. 10 Wake Forest.

Purnell and the Tigers (23-6, 9-6 ACC) will be watching with great anticipation because a Florida State loss coupled with a Clemson win will give the Tigers a first-round bye and the No. 4 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.

“I will be watching it on and off. I can tell you that,” Purnell said Friday.

Though he’d rather not be in this situation, Purnell does like that fact that a game of this importance is coming just five days before tournament play begins.

“It is certainly a game that will mimic the kind of competition and the kind of motivating kind of team we will see in the postseason,” he said. “It is a game that should prepare us well as long as we play well at Wake Forest.”

He also hopes a Florida State win doesn’t drain the competitive juices his team will have should they go into the Wake Forest game knowing they have no chance to earn a bye.

“It could,” the Clemson coach said. “Our guys are human and you would like to hope the experience of the club and at this point the experience of this whole season and the experience on this team that they would understand it is important for us to play well.”

But even if the Seminoles do win, there is still something to play for – momentum and possible NCAA seeding.

“It seems like every game has its own special significance and it seems like this game could be hugely significant if we have to be playing for a bye, but either way it is a big game in terms of getting some momentum heading into the ACC Tournament,” Purnell said.

The Tigers are still not a lock to be a No. 5 seed even if they can’t hurdle FSU this weekend. If Boston College beats Georgia Tech at home on Saturday and the Seminoles lose at home to Virginia Tech on Sunday and Clemson falls at Wake Forest, then Clemson will slip to the No. 6 seed and will be playing in the 9:30 p.m. game next Thursday in Atlanta.

In that three-way tie for fourth, Florida State would be the four seed and Boston College the fifth because of tiebreaker rules.

But all that aside, Purnell just wants his team to focus on Wake Forest (23-5, 10-5). The Demon Deacons beat Clemson 78-68 at Littlejohn Coliseum back on Jan. 17.

In that game, Wake feasted on the Tigers with easy baskets on the offensive glass and in transition.

“It is going to take a great effort for us to win,” Purnell said. “We can’t afford to fall way behind. I know we have done that and have had some success, but I don’t think we can do that at Wake Forest.”

Rivers will play. Purnell said senior K.C. Rivers will play Sunday and will be wearing a pad on his right elbow. Rivers hurt his elbow while grabbing a rebound in the first half of the Tigers’ win over Virginia last Tuesday.