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Virginia Plays at Clemson Tuesday Night
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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team is back on the road Tuesday night (Feb. 14) when the Cavaliers play at Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference game that is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
Virginia is coming off a 70-52 loss at North Carolina on Saturday and enters the Clemson game with an overall record of 19-5 and a 6-4 record in the ACC.
Clemson brings an overall record of 12-12 and a 4-6 ACC record into Tuesday’s game. The Tigers are coming off a 78-58 victory at Wake Forest on Saturday (Feb. 11).
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. The game will also be televised by ESPNU and available on the internet at WatchESPN.com.
The game is the second of the season between the two teams. UVa defeated Clemson 65-61 in Charlottesville on Jan. 31. Senior forward Mike Scott had game-high totals of 23 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Joe Harris scored 19 points to lead the Cavaliers to the win over the Tigers at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia shot 55.8 percent (24-43) from the field in that game, including 42.9 percent (6-14) from three-point range, and 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free-throw line. The Cavaliers out-rebounded Clemson 34-19.
In the loss at North Carolina on Saturday, Scott scored 18 points to lead Virginia and also had six rebounds. Junior guard Jontel Evans added 12 points and five assists for the Cavaliers. Evans’ 12 points are an ACC career high.
North Carolina out-rebounded UVa 52-32 and had 23 offensive rebounds to eight for Virginia. The Tar Heels had 23-second chance points to nine for the Cavaliers.
Scott leads Virginia in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 59.8 percent (152-254) from the field and 81.0 percent (102-126) from the free-throw line. Scott ranks first among ACC players in field goal percentage, fourth in scoring, sixth in rebounding and eighth in free throw percentage.
Harris is also averaging in double figures in scoring for UVa with an average of 12.5 points a game and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski is averaging 8.2 points a game.
Evans leads the Cavaliers in assists (90) and steals (40). He ranks fourth among ACC players in steals (1.7 spg.) and fifth in assists (3.8 apg.).
As a team, Virginia ranks first in the ACC in scoring defense (51.9), rebounding defense (28.6) and defensive rebounding percentage (74.8 percent).
In national defensive statistics, the Cavaliers are ranked second in points allowed per game (51.9), opponents points per possession (0.85) and opponents assists per game (7.8), fourth in three-point percentage defense (27.1 percent), sixth in opponent assist percentage (40.8 percent), eighth in assist to turnover ratio (0.60) and 20th in field goal percentage defense (38.9 percent).
Virginia leads the series with Clemson 68-50 and the home team has won the last five games in the series. The Tigers lead 33-21 in games played in Clemson.
Senior guard Andre Young leads Clemson in scoring with an average of 13.6 points a game. Senior guard Tanner Smith is second in scoring at 11.3 points a game and he leads the team in assists (97, 4.0 apg.). Junior forward/center Devin Booker is averaging 11.0 points a game and leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.9 rebounds a game. Junior forward Milton Jennings is averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a game.
Brad Brownell is in his second season as the head coach at Clemson. The Tigers compiled an overall record of 22-12 under his direction last season and participated in the NCAA Tournament. In his 10th season as a collegiate head coach, his teams have compiled an overall record of 201-109. Brownell was also the head coach at UNC Wilmington for four years and at Wright State for four years.
After the game at Clemson the Cavaliers return to action on Saturday (Feb. 18) when they host Maryland at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised by the ACC Network.