Virginia Men's Basketball To Host Clemson Sunday Afternoon
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Feb. 8, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
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The Game
Virginia, ranked 10th in the AP poll and eighth in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 14-6 overall and 4-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. The Cavaliers have lost their last four games and are coming off an 85-68 loss to N.C. State (Feb. 6) at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, N.C. Clemson, has lost its last seven games and stands at 11-12 overall and 2-8 in the ACC. The Tigers are coming off a 74-50 loss to Georgia Tech (Feb. 6) in Clemson, S.C.
The Series vs. Clemson
Virginia leads the all-time series with Clemson 58-44. UVa had its four-game winning streak against the Tigers snapped with a 68-52 loss (Jan. 8) in the first meeting this season in Clemson, S.C. Virginia has won six of the last eight games against the Tigers.
The Cavaliers swept the 2000-2001 season series versus Clemson, winning 104-76 (Jan. 27) at Littlejohn Coliseum and 84-65 (Feb. 28) at University Hall. Virginia also swept the 1999-2000 season series from Clemson. The Cavaliers swept the season series five times in the last nine seasons. The last time Clemson swept the season series was in the 1996-97 season.
Virginia has won the last four contests against Clemson at University Hall and the Cavaliers are 34-14 all-time at home against the Tigers, including 28-8 at U-Hall. The last UVa loss to the Tigers at University Hall was a 62-52 setback on Dec. 7, 1996.
Overall the Cavaliers have won 17 of the last 24 games in the series dating back to the 1989-90 season.
Earlier This Season vs. Clemson
Virginia suffered its second-consecutive ACC loss, dropping a 68-52 decision to Clemson (Jan. 8) in Clemson, S.C. The Cavaliers, who trailed most of the game, pulled within one point with 15:23 to play, but were outscored 33-18 the rest of the game.
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., was the only Cavalier to score in double figures with 19 points. His length-of-the-court driving layup with 15:23 to play brought the Cavaliers within a single point, 35-34, but the Tigers went on a 9-2 run over the next four minutes to break the game open.
Clemson shot 53.3 percent (16-30) in the second half in outscoring the Cavaliers 41-27. For the game, UVa shot 36.1 percent (22-61) from the field and made only two of 25 (8.0 percent) three-point attempts. The Tigers shot 40.6 percent (26-64) and made eight of 19 threes (42.1 percent).
Senior guard/forward Adam Hall pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds, while freshman guard Keith Jenifer set career highs with nine points and three steals.
Jamar McKnight scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Clemson. Edward Scott added 17 points and six assists.
Only One Three
Virginia entered the N.C. State game averaging 5.4 three-point field goals per game, but managed to make just one three against the Wolfpack. Freshman guard Jermaine Harper made UVa’s lone three in the game with 3:20 remaining to play.
The last time the Cavaliers made only one three-pointer was against UMBC (Dec. 23) last season.
Losing Despite Shooting Well
The Cavaliers shot 55.2 percent (32-58) from the field against Missouri (Feb. 3) and lost 81-77. The previous time UVa shot better than 55 percent from the floor and lost was December 18, 1987 when Virginia shot 56.2 percent (27-48) from the field and lost to Old Dominion 74-72 at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Invitational in Richmond, Va.
Four Consecutive Losses
The Cavaliers are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, their first four-game slide since the end of the 1998-99 season. UVa has lost its last four games to Duke (94-81 – Jan. 27), Maryland (91-87 – Jan. 31), Missouri (81-77 – Feb. 3) and N.C. State (85-68 – Feb. 6). The previous four-game Cavalier losing streak was the end of the 1998-99 season. Virginia lost its last four games of the season to Clemson, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Duke.
The last time UVa lost more than four games in a row was in the 1997-98 season when the Cavaliers lost eight consecutive contests.
Three With 1,000 Points
The Cavaliers have three players on the team who have scored 1,000 career points at Virginia. It marks the third time Virginia has had three 1,000 point scorers on the same team. Senior forward Chris Williams leads the trio with 1,682 career points (ninth at UVa). Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., has scored 1,052 points and senior forward Adam Hall is right behind Mason with 1,037 points.
In the 1980-81 season, Jeff Lamp, Lee Raker and Ralph Sampson each had 1,000 career points. Bryant Stith, John Crotty and Kenny Turner were the other trio to accomplish the feat in the 1990-91 season.
Junior forward/center Travis Watson could become the fourth UVa player on the 2001-2002 squad with 1,000 career points. Watson currently has 964 points and needs 36 to reach the 1,000-point milestone.