RTC’s Matt Auerbach (@mauerbach24) is providing on-site coverage of the ACC Tournament this weekend.
Three Key Takeaways.
- Virginia can flip a game quickly. Trailing 20-13 midway through the first half and looking like anything but the overall #1 seed heading into next week’s NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers held Clemson without a field goal for the final 9:33 of the first half in converting a seven-point deficit into a nine-point advantage. The 19-3 spurt was sparked by De’Andre Hunter on both ends and punctuated by a pair of Kyle Guy triples, but it was the trademark Virginia defense that was most responsible for the game-seizing run. Clemson missed its last 10 field goal attempts of the half and was coaxed into a period in which the veteran team appeared both flummoxed and demoralized.
- De’Andre Hunter is a game-changer. Hunter, despite being on floor for less than half of the game, is the only other Cavalier besides Guy who qualifies as a major contributor, per KenPom, with a team-leading usage rate of 25.4 percent. After a Mamadi Diakite floater cut the Tigers’ lead to five, Hunter singlehandedly put the lead back in Virginia’s possession for good. A made three, a steal and hit-ahead to Guy for a dunk, followed by another bucket, gave the Cavs a lead they would never relinquish. A lethal combination of size and athleticism with a rapidly improving set of skills, Hunter’s presence on the floor presents a unique problem for opposing defenses. While Virginia’s offense generally is predicated on crisp ball movement and screening action to get a shot for the open man, Hunter provides a wrinkle that can wreck a defensive game plan, with the ability to score or create in pick-and-pop and isolation sets.
- Clemson will be fine. No need to panic if you’re a Clemson fan. The Tigers will hear their name called on a Selection Sunday for the first time since 2011, and while this game will leave a sour taste in Brad Brownell’s mouth, the hard acceptance here is that Virginia has done this to just about all of its opponents this year. And while it is not debatable that the ceiling for this team was significantly lowered with the season-ending injury suffered by Donte Grantham seven weeks ago, Clemson has the grit, experience and defensive aptitude to find its way into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament with the right draw.
Star of the Game: Ty Jerome, Virginia. It is the ultimate compliment for a team like Virginia when the task of choosing just one player as the star seems equally as impossible as it is to consistently score on its defense. While Guy led the team in scoring and Hunter’s surge flipped the game, arguments could also be made for the efforts made by big men Diakite (10 points, four rebounds) and Jack Salt (eight points, eight rebounds). Ultimately, though, it was the defense in holding Clemson to 34.7 percent shooting from the field, led by Jerome and Devon Hall, in limiting the high scoring backcourt tandem of Marcquise Reed and Gabe Devoe to 14 points on a combined 5-of-23 shooting. Jerome, being the primary point of attack defender, and for dishing out a career-high 10 assists, gets the nod here — but again, it could’ve been any of this entire squad.
Quotable.
- “They like it when we get stops — that’s what we try to do.” Virginia coach Tony Bennett, on the crowd’s reaction to his team’s defensive intensity and acumen.
- “We just talk about making all of their players earn”—Bennett, on his team holding leading scorer Marcquise Reed to six points in both of their games this season.
- “Obviously the stretch in the first half where we had difficulty scoring was the difference in the game.” Clemson coach Brad Brownell, on the run that changed the tenor of the game.
Sights and Sounds: While Brooklyn would never be considered in the backyard of either campus, the Cavaliers’ local alumni made its presence felt in creating what amounted to a semi-home court advantage. As if Virginia’s defensive pressure needed an assist, the crowd was decidedly louder as Clemson’s possessions routinely ran the shot clock under 10 seconds.
What’s Next? Top-seeded Virginia awaits the winner of the nightcap between Duke and North Carolina, where it will attempt to win its third ACC Tournament title in history and first since 2014. This will be the third championship appearance for Virginia under Bennett, having dropped a 2016 decision to the Tar Heels and vanquishing Duke two years prior to that. As for Clemson, they will likely be on the #5 or #6 line when the bracket is announced on Sunday evening.