Virginia 65, Clemson 61
The Cavaliers defeated the Tigers on Tuesday night with two different halves of basketball. Virginia was down 30-26 at halftime and Clemson shot 48 percent from the field. In the second half, UVa exploded with 39 points, one of its best efforts in a half all season, and held the Tigers to 34.5 percent from the field, and it probably could have been even better. Virginia had allowed just eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half but Clemson hit some -- let's just call 'em what a lot of them were -- desperation 3s to make it interesting in the end. Virginia led by as many as 11 points in the second half before Clemson cut it to 61-58 late. Four clutch free throws by Mike Scott helped seal the deal for the Hoos.
Scott was unreal throughout the game. He finished with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds, and also had a steal and three blocks. He was incredible in the first half at making 20-foot jumpers and he was able to get his low post game going with spin moves and baby hook shots. Clemson tried to put a 7-foot-2 center, Catalin Baciu, on him, but he was too slow for Scott. That was when Scott was able to attack the rim the most. Terrific game for Scott, like usual.
Joe Harris came up huge for Virginia in this game by hitting 5 of 6 3-point shots. Sammy Zeglinski was off again and just hit one 3. It was important for Harris to get something going from deep for the Hoos and he did just that. During the middle of the second half, when Virginia was concluding its 19-3 run to open the half and go up 11 points, Harris couldn't miss. Hopefully he does this more often. I think he should be taking more shots, personally. I think he has better ability to get hot than does Zeglinski. Zeglinski has the rare talent of being able to knock down 3s under dire circumstances, such as a buzzer-beater, or from a few feet beyond the arc with someone guarding him. Harris, though, has a better rhythm and more confidence in his shot now. Feed him the ball.
Akil Mitchell had another pretty nice game for the Hoos with eight points and seven rebounds. He was solid on the line again, making 4 of 6. The sophomore had made 2 of 4 but then made both late in the game during a crucial stretch when Clemson was trying to make its comeback so that was great to see Mitchell come up in the clutch.
Jontel Evans, like Zeglinski, had a poor scoring game. He was out of control on some of his drives to the basket and was called for three offensive fouls. I'd like to point out, however, that Evans and Zeglinski did make contributions to the offense, besides the five points Zeglinski scored and the four Evans scored. Evans finished with six assists while Zeglinski had four dimes so it is nice to see that even though they had a poor scoring game, they provided for the offense in a different way.
One of the best differences between this game and the N.C. State game was the rebounding. UVa got blasted on the boards against the Wolfpack but came out and dominated Clemson on the glass, winning that battle 34-19.
The Cavaliers will need that focus on rebounding even more for their next game Saturday at Florida State. The Seminoles are playing very well right now and are a long, athletic, and great rebounding squad. Picking up a win in Tallahassee should be a really difficult challenge. For now, though, UVa should revel in the fact that they are 18-3, and 5-2 in the ACC. They just got done a stretch playing three games in six days (BC, State, and Clemson) and went 3-0, a nice bounce back from the Virginia Tech loss on Jan. 22. Time to rest up a little and prepare for FSU.
The Cavaliers defeated the Tigers on Tuesday night with two different halves of basketball. Virginia was down 30-26 at halftime and Clemson shot 48 percent from the field. In the second half, UVa exploded with 39 points, one of its best efforts in a half all season, and held the Tigers to 34.5 percent from the field, and it probably could have been even better. Virginia had allowed just eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half but Clemson hit some -- let's just call 'em what a lot of them were -- desperation 3s to make it interesting in the end. Virginia led by as many as 11 points in the second half before Clemson cut it to 61-58 late. Four clutch free throws by Mike Scott helped seal the deal for the Hoos.
Scott was unreal throughout the game. He finished with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds, and also had a steal and three blocks. He was incredible in the first half at making 20-foot jumpers and he was able to get his low post game going with spin moves and baby hook shots. Clemson tried to put a 7-foot-2 center, Catalin Baciu, on him, but he was too slow for Scott. That was when Scott was able to attack the rim the most. Terrific game for Scott, like usual.
Joe Harris came up huge for Virginia in this game by hitting 5 of 6 3-point shots. Sammy Zeglinski was off again and just hit one 3. It was important for Harris to get something going from deep for the Hoos and he did just that. During the middle of the second half, when Virginia was concluding its 19-3 run to open the half and go up 11 points, Harris couldn't miss. Hopefully he does this more often. I think he should be taking more shots, personally. I think he has better ability to get hot than does Zeglinski. Zeglinski has the rare talent of being able to knock down 3s under dire circumstances, such as a buzzer-beater, or from a few feet beyond the arc with someone guarding him. Harris, though, has a better rhythm and more confidence in his shot now. Feed him the ball.
Akil Mitchell had another pretty nice game for the Hoos with eight points and seven rebounds. He was solid on the line again, making 4 of 6. The sophomore had made 2 of 4 but then made both late in the game during a crucial stretch when Clemson was trying to make its comeback so that was great to see Mitchell come up in the clutch.
Jontel Evans, like Zeglinski, had a poor scoring game. He was out of control on some of his drives to the basket and was called for three offensive fouls. I'd like to point out, however, that Evans and Zeglinski did make contributions to the offense, besides the five points Zeglinski scored and the four Evans scored. Evans finished with six assists while Zeglinski had four dimes so it is nice to see that even though they had a poor scoring game, they provided for the offense in a different way.
One of the best differences between this game and the N.C. State game was the rebounding. UVa got blasted on the boards against the Wolfpack but came out and dominated Clemson on the glass, winning that battle 34-19.
The Cavaliers will need that focus on rebounding even more for their next game Saturday at Florida State. The Seminoles are playing very well right now and are a long, athletic, and great rebounding squad. Picking up a win in Tallahassee should be a really difficult challenge. For now, though, UVa should revel in the fact that they are 18-3, and 5-2 in the ACC. They just got done a stretch playing three games in six days (BC, State, and Clemson) and went 3-0, a nice bounce back from the Virginia Tech loss on Jan. 22. Time to rest up a little and prepare for FSU.
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