Countdown to tipoff: Clemson looks to avenge earlier loss to Cavaliers
By: will-vandervort March 9, 2018

NEW YORK — Clemson, the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament, is looking to avenge a 25-point loss they suffered on Jan. 23 to top-seed Virginia when the two meet today (7 p.m.) in the semifinals at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Tigers are coming off a 90-82 win over No. 12 seed Boston College on Thursday in the quarterfinals, while the Cavaliers defeated No. 9 Louisville, 75-58.

Today’s came will mark Clemson’s 13th trip to the ACC semifinals.

GAMEDAY SETUP

CLEMSON (23-8, 12-7 ACC) vs. Virginia (29-2, 18-1 ACC)

Date: Today

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

Arena: Barclays Center (19,000)

Radio: CTN (Don Munson-pbp; Terrence Oglesby-color)

TV: ESPN (Sean McDonough-pbp; Dan Dakich-color; Maria Taylor-sideline)

TIGER TRACKS

  • Clemson is 2-10 all-time in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
  • The Tigers have not played in the semifinals since 2011.
  • The Tigers have not won a semifinal game since 2008.
  • Clemson is 1-6 all-time vs. Virginia in the ACC Tournament.
  • Clemson earns its 23rd win of the season – tying for the most wins under head coach Brad Brownell while at Clemson (2013-14)
  • Gabe DeVoe notched his fourth 25-point game of the season in the win over BC … the Tigers are 4-0 in all of those games.
  • Shelton Mitchell notched his second 20-point game of the season with a season-high 21 points.
  • Elijah Thomas grabbed 10+ rebounds for the 10th time this season.
  • Anthony Oliver II scored a career-high nine points – all on threes.
  • Clemson tied a program record with 12 made threes in an ACC Tournament game.
  • Clemson’s 90 points were a program record for an ACC Tournament game.
  • The Tigers’ seven turnovers were the lowest total since a 72-70 win at Georgia Tech
  • Aamir Simms tied his career-high with 10 points.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA

  • The Cavaliers improved to 39-62 all-time in the ACC Tournament with its win over Louisville, including 6-2 as the No. 1 seed and 24-36 in quarterfinal games.
  • UVA has now reached the semifinals in four of the last five seasons … The Cavaliers have won at least one game in each of the last five ACC Tournaments, tying a program best first set from 1970-74.
  • All-ACC first-teamer Kyle Guy led Virginia’s scoring with a game-high 19 points and went 4-for-6 from 3-point range … Guy has reached double-figures in 25 games and has connected on 78 shots from 3-point range this season.
  • Virginia senior Devon Hall (14 points) reached double figures for the 21st time and handed out a game-high five assists
  • Virginia sophomore Ty Jerome (11 points) reached double figures for the 16th time this season.
  • The Cavaliers’ Mamadi Diakite (10 points) has scored nine or more points in four of the last five games.
  • UVA freshman De’Andre Hunter (12 points) reached double figures for the 12th time versus an ACC opponent.
  • Virginia limited its 30th opponent of the season to less than 50 percent shooting and held the opposing team to under 60 points for the 23rd time.
  • The Cavaliers will carry a six-game winning streak into Friday night’s semifinal and have won at least 29 games for the eighth time in program history.

–Staff Reports