No. 19 Virginia at Clemson, Noon ACC Network (NBC29 in Cville area)
Today, Virginia seeks a winning ACC record for the first time since going 1-0 after beating Louisville when it takes on Clemson. After two straight losses to Florida State and Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers beat Wake Forest on Sunday in a game the Demon Deacons led at halftime, 29-28. The second half, though, was reminiscent of the "Cavalanches" from a couple years ago, with UVa outscoring Wake, 51-33. London Perrantes scored a season-high 24 points and made 4 of his 5 3-pointers. Virginia made 9 of 16 from beyond the arc. Marial Shayok, getting his first start of the season, scored 17, and Devon Hall had 13. Isaiah Wilkins and Darius Thompson scored seven points each, with Thompson coming off the bench again -- it was Kyle Guy who started for him at Pitt -- and sparking the Cavs in the second half with back-to-back 3s.
Here's more on the Tigers, today's opponent:
Record: 11-5, 1-3 ACC
Leading scorers: Senior forward Jaron Blossomgame (18.1), senior guard Avry Holmes (10.9), sophomore guard Marcquise Reed (10.3)
Leading rebounders: Senior center Sidy Djitte (8.5), Blossomgame (6), junior forward Donte Grantham (5.5)
Assist leaders: Sophomore guard Shelton Mitchell (3.4), junior guard Gabe DeVoe (2.6), Grantham (2)
Notable: Grantham scores 9.8 ppg, DeVoe 9.3, and Mitchell 9.3. Clemson has eight players scoring at least 7.2 ppg. Reed and DeVoe each average 1.5 steals. Djitte and Blossomgame average one block.
Best win: at No. 22 South Carolina, 62-60
Worst win: 83-74 over High Point, which is 7-10
Other wins: Georgia, Davidson, Nebraska, Coppin State, Mercer, South Carolina State, Alabama, UNC Wilmington, Wake Forest
Best loss: vs. North Carolina, 89-86
Worst loss: 70-64 against Oklahoma on a neutral court. The Sooners are 6-9.
Other losses: Xavier, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech
What Clemson does well: Clemson ranks 34th in steals with 8.3 per game and 45th in blocks with 5 per
game. The Tigers rank 108th in scoring (76.8 ppg) and tied for 80th in scoring defense (67.3 ppg). They hold opponents to 41.8 percent shooting (115th), 33 percent on 3s (108th). They shoot a solid 73.5 percent from the line (66th).
What Clemson does poorly: The Tigers are 140th in field goal percentage (45.2), 197th on 3-pointers (34.6). They don't seem to move the ball that well, ranking tied for 189th in assists with 217. They rank 245th with a slightly negative rebounding margin (-.9).
The main motivation -- or distraction -- for the Tigers is going to be the football team. The gridiron Tigers, who beat Alabama on Monday, 35-31, for the national championship are getting their parade in town Saturday morning at 9 followed by a stadium celebration at 10:30. The hoops game is at noon. There will probably be plenty of rowdy, hyped up fans at the game, excited after the football team's event. Maybe just as likely, however, will be people that will be ready to get out of a crowd by noon or ready to get lunch and grab some beers at a local eatery and celebrate (and watch the game on TV in passing). Clemson has lost three games in a row, so its play hasn't been that inspiring lately. Two of the losses came by five points or fewer to ranked teams: North Carolina and Notre Dame, so no real reason to panic for Tigers fans. But then the team lost by 12 to Georgia Tech on Thursday, and the Yellow Jackets are expected to finish in the bottom of the conference. Maybe Tech has other things in mind, though, at 2-2. It's also beaten UNC.
Clemson will probably be desperate for a win in a season where Blossomgame is a senior and has aspirations of being ACC player of the year and taking the Tigers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season. His scoring is pretty much the same as last year, when he became a breakout star. But his 3-point shooting is way down right now, from 44.7 percent last season to 15.9 percent this year. But he is definitely able to go off at any moment, scoring 23 and 31 in two games against UVa last season, both single-digit wins for the Wahoos.
Analyzing the teams, I think Virginia has an edge if it plays like it did against Wake Forest in the second half. But thinking about Clemson's possible motivation and the fact that it needs a win in ACC play, and I feel like I should give the edge to the Tigers. That equals a tossup, and usually you give home teams the edge in tossups. With that said, Virginia has played well against Clemson before, and a win would not be shocking in the least and would be a great step for Virginia to take. UVa can be a tough team to get ready for, and with Clemson having just played Thursday on the road, the schedule favors the Cavaliers, who have been able to refine their game since Sunday while also looking ahead to the Tigers. For that reason, I'll take UVa, but the environment will definitely be set up for Clemson to do well, too.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins 1-5 points.
Today, Virginia seeks a winning ACC record for the first time since going 1-0 after beating Louisville when it takes on Clemson. After two straight losses to Florida State and Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers beat Wake Forest on Sunday in a game the Demon Deacons led at halftime, 29-28. The second half, though, was reminiscent of the "Cavalanches" from a couple years ago, with UVa outscoring Wake, 51-33. London Perrantes scored a season-high 24 points and made 4 of his 5 3-pointers. Virginia made 9 of 16 from beyond the arc. Marial Shayok, getting his first start of the season, scored 17, and Devon Hall had 13. Isaiah Wilkins and Darius Thompson scored seven points each, with Thompson coming off the bench again -- it was Kyle Guy who started for him at Pitt -- and sparking the Cavs in the second half with back-to-back 3s.
Here's more on the Tigers, today's opponent:
Record: 11-5, 1-3 ACC
Leading scorers: Senior forward Jaron Blossomgame (18.1), senior guard Avry Holmes (10.9), sophomore guard Marcquise Reed (10.3)
Leading rebounders: Senior center Sidy Djitte (8.5), Blossomgame (6), junior forward Donte Grantham (5.5)
Assist leaders: Sophomore guard Shelton Mitchell (3.4), junior guard Gabe DeVoe (2.6), Grantham (2)
Notable: Grantham scores 9.8 ppg, DeVoe 9.3, and Mitchell 9.3. Clemson has eight players scoring at least 7.2 ppg. Reed and DeVoe each average 1.5 steals. Djitte and Blossomgame average one block.
Best win: at No. 22 South Carolina, 62-60
Worst win: 83-74 over High Point, which is 7-10
Other wins: Georgia, Davidson, Nebraska, Coppin State, Mercer, South Carolina State, Alabama, UNC Wilmington, Wake Forest
Best loss: vs. North Carolina, 89-86
Worst loss: 70-64 against Oklahoma on a neutral court. The Sooners are 6-9.
Other losses: Xavier, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech
What Clemson does well: Clemson ranks 34th in steals with 8.3 per game and 45th in blocks with 5 per
What Clemson does poorly: The Tigers are 140th in field goal percentage (45.2), 197th on 3-pointers (34.6). They don't seem to move the ball that well, ranking tied for 189th in assists with 217. They rank 245th with a slightly negative rebounding margin (-.9).
The main motivation -- or distraction -- for the Tigers is going to be the football team. The gridiron Tigers, who beat Alabama on Monday, 35-31, for the national championship are getting their parade in town Saturday morning at 9 followed by a stadium celebration at 10:30. The hoops game is at noon. There will probably be plenty of rowdy, hyped up fans at the game, excited after the football team's event. Maybe just as likely, however, will be people that will be ready to get out of a crowd by noon or ready to get lunch and grab some beers at a local eatery and celebrate (and watch the game on TV in passing). Clemson has lost three games in a row, so its play hasn't been that inspiring lately. Two of the losses came by five points or fewer to ranked teams: North Carolina and Notre Dame, so no real reason to panic for Tigers fans. But then the team lost by 12 to Georgia Tech on Thursday, and the Yellow Jackets are expected to finish in the bottom of the conference. Maybe Tech has other things in mind, though, at 2-2. It's also beaten UNC.
Clemson will probably be desperate for a win in a season where Blossomgame is a senior and has aspirations of being ACC player of the year and taking the Tigers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2010-11 season. His scoring is pretty much the same as last year, when he became a breakout star. But his 3-point shooting is way down right now, from 44.7 percent last season to 15.9 percent this year. But he is definitely able to go off at any moment, scoring 23 and 31 in two games against UVa last season, both single-digit wins for the Wahoos.
Analyzing the teams, I think Virginia has an edge if it plays like it did against Wake Forest in the second half. But thinking about Clemson's possible motivation and the fact that it needs a win in ACC play, and I feel like I should give the edge to the Tigers. That equals a tossup, and usually you give home teams the edge in tossups. With that said, Virginia has played well against Clemson before, and a win would not be shocking in the least and would be a great step for Virginia to take. UVa can be a tough team to get ready for, and with Clemson having just played Thursday on the road, the schedule favors the Cavaliers, who have been able to refine their game since Sunday while also looking ahead to the Tigers. For that reason, I'll take UVa, but the environment will definitely be set up for Clemson to do well, too.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins 1-5 points.
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