No. 13 Virginia 69, Clemson 62
Since I did not get to a preview for the Cavaliers' game against the Tigers, I will re-watch the game and give some observations and analysis as it goes along.
Right away, Devon Hall, getting his second start of the year, took advantage by making the first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer. It was a great sign of things to come, as he finished with 11 points and made two 3s. Virginia has been searching for another scoring complement to the "Big 3" -- Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, and London Perrantes -- all year. If those three have normal-type games for themselves, and UVa can get just one other player in double figures, then I would say Virginia stands a good chance to win almost every game. The "3" spot, or small forward spot, if you will, is a position that has struggled to find consistency this year. Sometimes, Darius Thompson has stepped up. Other times, it has been Marial Shayok. And now, it is Hall. His contribution was even bigger against Clemson because Perrantes struggled, scoring only six points and making just 2 of 7 free throws. Hopefully, Hall's outburst means consistency is around the corner.
Jaron Blossomgame. Is there a better name for someone who is figuratively acting out his last name on the court? He has a hard name to forget, but I don't think I have remembered the junior's play that often in recent years. Looking up his stats, he did average 13.1 points last season, and this year he is at 16.4. But his shooting percentage has gone from 48.6 to 51.2, his free throw shooting from 70.8 to 76.2, and his 3-point shooting has taken a huge jump, from 28.8 to 42.9. He was mostly unguardable against UVa, going for 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4 of 6 from beyond the arc). Early in the game, he hit a 3. A couple possessions later, Gill decided not to guard him at the 3-point line. I was like what are you doing Gill? I know Gill already had a foul, but at least get your hand up. He had already made one 3, and is over 40 percent on the year. So yes, you have to respect that part of his game. He's a also a good rebounder at 6.9 per game, playing much taller than his height of 6-foot-7.
Isaiah Wilkins is another low scorer who broke out a bit against the Tigers with 10 points. He made 4 of 7 shots and seemed to shoot with confidence from 15-18 feet. If he can make that shot more consistently, that would be another big boost to UVa's offense.
Mike Tobey had a nice game with six points and six rebounds, but had a terrible turnover with about eight minutes to go in the first half. He tried to pass to Perrantes, and just threw it right to Jordan Roper, who cruised in for an easy two points and a Clemson lead. Tobey did something similar early in the second half. He panicked a little, then tried to get it to Perrantes and it was tipped away. I will give him credit. A couple possessions after the first-half turnover, he did tip an entry pass away from the guy he was guarding, giving Virginia an extra possession. Careless turnovers seem to be on the uptick lately. Virginia is going to have to eliminate those silly mistakes if it wants to go on a March run.
Thompson had just two points, but also contributed two rebounds and two assists. He had a really nice board late in the first half where he tipped the ball out further then beat two Clemson players to it. Solid
hustle play.
With just under five minutes left in the first half, Virginia failed to stop Donte Grantham, who raced almost coast to coast with nary a UVa defender in front of him. Brogdon began the break for Clemson with a terrible pass in the post that Grantham picked off. I think he was going too fast and just lost control of the ball, so UVa got lucky. Thompson, at the very end, might have stuck his hand in to disrupt him going to the basket. It's tough to tell. Either way, it has to drive Tony Bennett crazy to not have one defender attempt to stop the ballhandler all the way down the court.
Gill had a tough time staying with Blossomgame on the defensive end, and had a subpar -- by his standards -- offensive game. He was only 4 of 9 from the field. He is missing too many layups. Early in the second half, he made a terrific move to create space right at the rim, then missed an easy shot. Seems like he could've went up and slammed it instead. It was a big point of the game, too, because UVa was up three and could've got up five. Instead, Clemson went down and made a shot, Gill picked up a foul and went out of the game with three fouls, and the score was tied after a made free throw.
This Cavs team had a chance to go on a "Cavalanche"-type run more reminiscent of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams. They almost pulled it off, getting up by a score of 52-39 at one point. But a mistake here, a mistake there made it not as strong as it could've been, and Clemson slowly got back into it.
With just under five minutes to play and UVA up 55-49, it's worth noting Wilkins' defense on Blossomgame in the low post -- terrific. He had his hands straight up, even behind him a little, so he would not get a foul. Then, at the last second, as Blossomgame was going up, and Wilkins used his left hand to get a piece of the ball.
After Clemson cut it all the way down to 55-53, Virginia stopped the Tigers' momentum a bit with a putback by Gill off a Brogdon miss. Then, Clemson missed a long 3, Brogdon corralled the long rebound, and he passed ahead to an alert and streaking Gill for the dunk. Great play by two fifth-year seniors to put UVa back up six.
With the score 62-59 and a minute remaining, good no call by the refs as Roper dribbled into traffic -- Gill -- and lost the ball. Two free throws by Brogdon on the other end put UVa up five with under a minute left.
Finally, after yet another 3 by Clemson to cut it to three with under 30 seconds left, nice recognition by Perrantes -- and an even better heave -- to get the ball down the court to a wide open Wilkins, who flushed it through for two.
I haven't mentioned Brogdon's game, and that's because it was constant, not necessarily punctuated by moments. He was solid once again, leading the team with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. He also had four assists and three rebounds and made all four of his free throws.
In the end, a nice win for the 'Hoos, who have been struggling a bit but still have been great at home, against a streaking team coming in full of confidence off upsets of Duke, Louisville, and Miami. It wasn't easy, and there were some things Virginia could have cleaned up, but it was good enough to win and a mini Cavalanche even made an appearance and threatened to put the Tigers away for good midway through the second half. If the Cavs can build on that, and continue to get contributions from guys not named Brogdon, Gill, or Perrantes, they can start to win on the road.
Since I did not get to a preview for the Cavaliers' game against the Tigers, I will re-watch the game and give some observations and analysis as it goes along.
Right away, Devon Hall, getting his second start of the year, took advantage by making the first field goal of the game, a 3-pointer. It was a great sign of things to come, as he finished with 11 points and made two 3s. Virginia has been searching for another scoring complement to the "Big 3" -- Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, and London Perrantes -- all year. If those three have normal-type games for themselves, and UVa can get just one other player in double figures, then I would say Virginia stands a good chance to win almost every game. The "3" spot, or small forward spot, if you will, is a position that has struggled to find consistency this year. Sometimes, Darius Thompson has stepped up. Other times, it has been Marial Shayok. And now, it is Hall. His contribution was even bigger against Clemson because Perrantes struggled, scoring only six points and making just 2 of 7 free throws. Hopefully, Hall's outburst means consistency is around the corner.
Jaron Blossomgame. Is there a better name for someone who is figuratively acting out his last name on the court? He has a hard name to forget, but I don't think I have remembered the junior's play that often in recent years. Looking up his stats, he did average 13.1 points last season, and this year he is at 16.4. But his shooting percentage has gone from 48.6 to 51.2, his free throw shooting from 70.8 to 76.2, and his 3-point shooting has taken a huge jump, from 28.8 to 42.9. He was mostly unguardable against UVa, going for 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4 of 6 from beyond the arc). Early in the game, he hit a 3. A couple possessions later, Gill decided not to guard him at the 3-point line. I was like what are you doing Gill? I know Gill already had a foul, but at least get your hand up. He had already made one 3, and is over 40 percent on the year. So yes, you have to respect that part of his game. He's a also a good rebounder at 6.9 per game, playing much taller than his height of 6-foot-7.
Isaiah Wilkins is another low scorer who broke out a bit against the Tigers with 10 points. He made 4 of 7 shots and seemed to shoot with confidence from 15-18 feet. If he can make that shot more consistently, that would be another big boost to UVa's offense.
Mike Tobey had a nice game with six points and six rebounds, but had a terrible turnover with about eight minutes to go in the first half. He tried to pass to Perrantes, and just threw it right to Jordan Roper, who cruised in for an easy two points and a Clemson lead. Tobey did something similar early in the second half. He panicked a little, then tried to get it to Perrantes and it was tipped away. I will give him credit. A couple possessions after the first-half turnover, he did tip an entry pass away from the guy he was guarding, giving Virginia an extra possession. Careless turnovers seem to be on the uptick lately. Virginia is going to have to eliminate those silly mistakes if it wants to go on a March run.
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| Isaiah Wilkins' powerful flush finally put the nail in the coffin for the Tigers. Wilkins had 10 points. |
hustle play.
With just under five minutes left in the first half, Virginia failed to stop Donte Grantham, who raced almost coast to coast with nary a UVa defender in front of him. Brogdon began the break for Clemson with a terrible pass in the post that Grantham picked off. I think he was going too fast and just lost control of the ball, so UVa got lucky. Thompson, at the very end, might have stuck his hand in to disrupt him going to the basket. It's tough to tell. Either way, it has to drive Tony Bennett crazy to not have one defender attempt to stop the ballhandler all the way down the court.
Gill had a tough time staying with Blossomgame on the defensive end, and had a subpar -- by his standards -- offensive game. He was only 4 of 9 from the field. He is missing too many layups. Early in the second half, he made a terrific move to create space right at the rim, then missed an easy shot. Seems like he could've went up and slammed it instead. It was a big point of the game, too, because UVa was up three and could've got up five. Instead, Clemson went down and made a shot, Gill picked up a foul and went out of the game with three fouls, and the score was tied after a made free throw.
This Cavs team had a chance to go on a "Cavalanche"-type run more reminiscent of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams. They almost pulled it off, getting up by a score of 52-39 at one point. But a mistake here, a mistake there made it not as strong as it could've been, and Clemson slowly got back into it.
With just under five minutes to play and UVA up 55-49, it's worth noting Wilkins' defense on Blossomgame in the low post -- terrific. He had his hands straight up, even behind him a little, so he would not get a foul. Then, at the last second, as Blossomgame was going up, and Wilkins used his left hand to get a piece of the ball.
After Clemson cut it all the way down to 55-53, Virginia stopped the Tigers' momentum a bit with a putback by Gill off a Brogdon miss. Then, Clemson missed a long 3, Brogdon corralled the long rebound, and he passed ahead to an alert and streaking Gill for the dunk. Great play by two fifth-year seniors to put UVa back up six.
With the score 62-59 and a minute remaining, good no call by the refs as Roper dribbled into traffic -- Gill -- and lost the ball. Two free throws by Brogdon on the other end put UVa up five with under a minute left.
Finally, after yet another 3 by Clemson to cut it to three with under 30 seconds left, nice recognition by Perrantes -- and an even better heave -- to get the ball down the court to a wide open Wilkins, who flushed it through for two.
I haven't mentioned Brogdon's game, and that's because it was constant, not necessarily punctuated by moments. He was solid once again, leading the team with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. He also had four assists and three rebounds and made all four of his free throws.
In the end, a nice win for the 'Hoos, who have been struggling a bit but still have been great at home, against a streaking team coming in full of confidence off upsets of Duke, Louisville, and Miami. It wasn't easy, and there were some things Virginia could have cleaned up, but it was good enough to win and a mini Cavalanche even made an appearance and threatened to put the Tigers away for good midway through the second half. If the Cavs can build on that, and continue to get contributions from guys not named Brogdon, Gill, or Perrantes, they can start to win on the road.
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