Littlejohn Coliseum will be the site of a major ACC matchup on Saturday, as the two best teams in the ACC will meet in a battle for conference supremacy. The 12th-ranked Clemson Tigers will be playing host to the 18th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, the teams separated by just one game in the ACC standings.
Virginia has benefitted from a favorable schedule to start conference play, handling the three weakest teams in the league on their way to a 4-0 start. Meanwhile, Clemson has had a much tougher run of things, falling on the road to #19 Virginia Tech before recording wins over Florida State, Miami, and NC State.
Given that Virginia has not yet played a top 25 team aside from their 23-point loss to Gonzaga, this game will serve as something of a litmus test for the developing Hoos. They’ve been steadily gaining in momentum and confidence ever since the Gonzaga loss, but now it’s time to see how far they’ve really come.
A road win over Clemson would be a great resume builder as well, not to mention a massive step down the road towards another ACC championship. Here are four things the Hoos need to do to come out on top.
1) Exploit Clemson’s lack of height
Clemson currently boasts college basketball’s most efficient defense according to KenPom. They hold the crown once worn by Virginia, who has taken a step down from one of the most efficient defenses in history a year ago to 13th this season.
But the one gap in an otherwise stout Clemson defense is a surprising lack of height. The Tigers start 6-10 Jonathan Baehre and 6-8 Amir Simms, but past that duo possess no tall options. Virginia happens to have a 7-1 giant at their disposal in Jay Huff, along with 7-foot Francisco Caffaro and 6-11 Kadin Shedrick (Shedrick’s status for the game is unknown at this time). And a cursory glance at the other positions shows a Virginia height advantage almost across the board.
The Tigers also start 5-foot-10 Nick Honor, begging the question of whether Kihei Clark will return to his antics of posting up opposing guards.
In all seriousness though, the height—or lack thereof—has to be taken advantage of. Clemson likes to guard very far outside the three-point line. The Hoos need to find ways to work the ball inside or they will be forced to loiter far from the basket as they desperately search for an open shot.
2) Limit turnovers
Brad Brownell spent his time in quarantine engineering a highly efficient pressing defense. His Tigers bring 94 feet of pressure, gradually wearing opponents down as they relentlessly apply their press. The secret lies in astounding depth, Clemson going a legitimate 10 deep.
Eight guys have played in all 10 games, a further two having played nine. One of the things that Brownell’s players have had to sacrifice in exchange for the best defense in the country is playing time, as nobody on the team averages more than 28 minutes per game. It’s paying off though, Clemson turning opponents over at the sixth-best rate in all of college basketball.
By contrast, Virginia turns the ball over at the fourth-best rate in the country, only coughing it up on 13.2% of their possessions. Something has to give, and emerging victorious in the turnover battle will go a long way towards doing the same in the game as a whole.
3) Play solid on-ball defense
Virginia held Notre Dame to a mere 25 points in the first half of their most recent game, but allowed the Irish to score 43 in the second in large part due to suspect on-ball defending. The Irish guards were able to blow by Wahoo defenders to get in the lane, finding either easy buckets inside or open teammates on the perimeter.
An undersized Clemson team will not find much success throwing it into the post or trying to shoot over defenders. That makes it even more important that the visiting Hoos don’t grant the Tigers another path to easy points.
Clemson has an array of competent guards, all of who have benefited from the widespread distribution of playing time, so it may prove a struggle for Virginia’s guards to keep their opponents in front of them. Do so, however, and Clemson’s scoring options are significantly whittled down.
4) Hit open looks
It sounds simplistic, but that doesn’t make it any less important that Virginia knocks down the open shots that they will get. Clemson’s defense, much like the packline, relies on helping and doubling in the post. That leaves space on the three-point line, and when Virginia finds that space they have to make the most of it.
The Hoos were on fire in the win over Notre Dame, shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Jay Huff and Casey Morsell in particular were hot, and almost everybody else to take the court chipped in with a three or two. The one disappointment has been Sam Hauser, who has excelled in almost every aspect of the game except for three-point shooting.
He’s going to have to bring the deep shooting that resulted in better than 40% averages at Marquette. The open looks will come, and when they do, Virginia has to be ready to knock them down.
Image – Virginia Athletics