Wahoo Preview: No. 13 Virginia vs. Clemson

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Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, 8:00 am

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By Scott Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 13 Virginia embarks on its final week of the regular season with a pair of home games, beginning with a showdown against a hungry Clemson team Tuesday night (7 p.m., ACC Network).

The Cavaliers (21-6, 13-5 ACC) have hit a rough patch featuring subpar shooting percentages from in close, at the foul line and from long range. UVA’s feared Pack-Line defense hasn’t been incredibly effective across the past few weeks, either.

That has all translated into two-straight defeats — a 63-48 loss at Boston College and a 71-63 loss at North Carolina — for Tony Bennett’s Wahoos last week.

That being said, Virginia can still lock up a top-four seed and a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament with a victory over Clemson tonight. The Hoos have defeated the Tigers in 12 of the last 13 meetings, and 8 of the last 9 at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Tigers (21-8, 13-5) are tied with UVA for third in the conference and are fighting for a spot in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field, and, like UNC, would boost their chances with a win over the Cavaliers, particularly on their home floor.

Virginia has only lost once at JPJ this season (13-1), though, and that was by 8 points to Houston — which just so happens to be the top-ranked team in the country — back in December.

The way Bennett’s squad has been struggling as of late is concerning to say the least, and the Cavaliers had better be locked in and focused from the opening tip until the final buzzer sounds Tuesday.

Clemson is fresh off an eye-opening, 25-point win at NC State over the weekend, as Boston College grad transfer Brevin Galloway, who averages 11.6 points on the season, exploded for a career-high 28 against the Wolfpack. The Tigers, who led by as many as 30 points, shot 60 percent (34 for 57) from the floor, 53 percent from downtown (10 for 19) and 82 percent from the free-throw line (18 for 22), and put up 54 points by halftime against the Pack. Clemson has scored 90 or more in three of their last four games.

Galloway, whose previous season high was 17 points, was 7 for 9 from the field, 4 for 5 from downtown, and a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line in the win, which vaulted the Tigers up several spots in the NCAA NET rankings.

Junior center PJ Hall (6-foot-10) also had a big day in Raleigh, going for 20 points and 5 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting, including a couple of 3-pointers.

It was teammate Hunter Tyson, however, who picked up ACC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. The 6-8 graduate forward averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins over State and Syracuse, and became Clemson’s all-time leader in games played with 135.

Tyson, who led all scorers with 29 points against the Orange, has registered 14 double-doubles this season, which ranks second in the conference behind only Armando Bacot’s 18.

Both Tyson (15.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, .493 FG percentage) and Hall (15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .538 FG percentage) rank in the top 20 in the ACC in all three of those categories — scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage.

Redshirt junior Chase Hunter runs the point, and has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, while also leading the team in assists with 4.5 a night.

Brad Brownell’s team jumped out to its best start ever in conference play at 7-0 and got to 10-1 before dropping three in a row and four of their next five. The Tigers had lost three-straight on the road prior to the blowout win against the Wolfpack.

“We’ve got to play tremendous basketball against a very good team in Virginia,” said Brownell. “It’s a big order, but we’re looking forward to playing.”

The Hoos, meanwhile, have been shaky since surviving in overtime against Duke on Feb. 11, with narrow wins over lowly Louisville and Notre Dame ahead of the losses to the Eagles and Tar Heels.

Across that four-game stretch, the Cavaliers are shooting just 38 percent from the field (88 for 231), 28 percent from 3-point land (21 for 75) and 62 percent from the charity stripe (32 of 52). UVA was outrebounded in three of the four games, but only turned the ball over 25 times total (6.3 per game).

Senior forward Jayden Gardner has done everything he can to carry the team, averaging 13.3 points (23 for 47 FG) and 8.0 rebounds in his last four games.

Bennett expects a “physical, tough” contest on both ends against the Tigers, and knows his team needs to be ready for a battle. As of Tuesday morning, the Cavaliers are favored to get back on track and win by 6 points against the Tigers, according to Caesars Sportsbook.