Virginia basketball returned to Charlottesville for its penultimate home game of the season, taking on No. 13 Clemson. After a good first half that saw the Cavaliers take a five-point lead into the break, the Tigers took over in the second half, winning by 13. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Atrocious second half
The Cavaliers controlled the game for the entire first half and the first few minutes of the second half. Virginia led by as much as 10 after a layup by junior guard Andrew Rohde. It seemed like the Cavs might get their first ranked win of the season on senior day in Charlottesville.
But from there, it was all Clemson. The Tigers held Virginia scoreless for over five minutes and went on a 20-2 run, taking over the game and never looking back. After scoring 13 points in the first half, junior guard Isaac McKneely scored just three after halftime.
Poor second halves have been a recurring theme for the Cavs this year. Multiple times a strong first half has given way to a bad second half. It cost Virginia a chance to beat SMU, Tennessee, Florida, Memphis and now Clemson. If the Cavaliers could’ve played a full 40 minutes, they could’ve found themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble right now.
Takeaway #2: Clemson bullies in the paint
If interim head coach Ron Sanchez and the Cavs had been told pregame that Clemson would make just one three-pointer, they’d probably have been ecstatic. The Tigers rank 12th in the nation in three-point percentage (38.4%), so limiting them from behind the arc was crucial.
However, it turned out Clemson didn’t need to make threes because it got whatever it wanted near the rim. Clemson went 15-25 (60%) on layups and scored 48 points in the paint. Virginia just had no answer. The Tigers scored 1.467 points per possession in the second half, allowing them to turn a 10-point deficit into as much as a 15-point lead. Senior forward Ian Schieffelin led Clemson with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Cavs struggled in the paint. Virginia hopped out to its big lead on the strength of knocking down threes, making five of them in the first half. However, once the Cavaliers started missing from behind the arc, there was nothing they could do. Clemson limited Virginia to just four layups and won the rebounding battle 38-28.
Paint play has been a concern for the Cavaliers ever since they started switching all screens a few weeks ago. It really isn’t working and has made their defense extremely porous.
Takeaway #3: Virginia ends difficult two-week stretch
When Virginia won four of five from the end of January through mid-February, there finally was some excitement around the program. The Cavaliers were playing their best basketball of the season, and they looked semi-decent doing it. However, it was against some bad ACC opponents, and a four-game, two-week stretch was right around the corner.
The Clemson game Saturday was the final game in the stretch, and it wasn’t a good two weeks in Charlottesville. The Cavs were blown out by Duke, North Carolina and Clemson. While the road win over Wake Forest knocked the Demon Deacons off the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, there were some unappealing signs from that game for Virginia. It was a sudden a rough return to reality for the Hoos.
That’s just the truth about this Cavaliers team. They’re not bad — clearly a step above the bottom tier of the ACC — but nor are they good. This has been a down season in Charlottesville, and a depressing ending to the most successful era in program history. The only question is: what comes next?
Up next for Virginia basketball (14-15, 7-11): vs. Florida State (16-13, 7-11) – Mar. 4 at 9 p.m. EST
Up next for No. 13 Clemson (24-5, 16-2): vs. Boston College (12-16, 6-11) – Mar. 5 at 7 p.m. EST