In what very well may be a preview of the ACC tournament play-in game, Virginia will tip off against the Clemson Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.
The Cavaliers (13-10, 3-9 ACC) are coming off a misleading 76-57 loss at Florida State this past Tuesday night. Behind junior Elton Brown's 14 first-half points, Virginia found itself in a 27-27 deadlock at the break. But an 11-0 spurt by the Seminoles to begin the second half quashed any hopes the Cavaliers had of winning their fourth ACC contest.
On the other hand, Clemson (10-13, 3-9 ACC) should be riding a wave of confidence following arguably their biggest win of the season against No. 13 N.C. State Wednesday night. Their third ACC victory brought them into a tie with Virginia for last place in the conference standings.
Clemson lacks a go-to-guy on offense, as none of the Tigers average more than 12 points per game. Forward Sharrod Ford and guard Shawn Robinson are the only Tigers in double digits, averaging 11.7 and 11.3 points per game, respectively.
Although Clemson ranks last in the ACC in scoring offense, they have performed respectably on defense, ranking sixth in the conference. The Tigers allow five fewer points per game than Virginia, which ranks eighth.
Following an excellent 9-0 start to the season, 2004 has brought mostly disappointment to a Cavalier squad with high expectations. But despite their recent struggles, Virginia is determined to finish the season the same way it began.
"Everybody had a team meeting and we just said to keep playing hard," freshman T.J. Bannister said. "It's going to turn around."
However difficult the road the Cavaliers have traveled thus far, the terrain ahead looks equally daunting. After the Clemson game tomorrow, Virginia returns home to face No. 19 North Carolina and No. 15 Wake Forest before ending their regular season at Maryland March 7.
"You can't have a long memory in this league to be successful," senior guard Todd Billet said. "If you make a mistake or lose a game, you have to forget about it right away. If you carry anything negative with you, it is going to just keep coming back to haunt you."
That being said, a short memory may not come in handy tomorrow against Clemson. Virginia's second ACC victory came against the Tigers in Charlottesville Jan. 20. In the game, Reynolds, freshman Donte Minter and junior Devin Smith were especially effective, all scoring in double figures.
With the Tigers already scoring home victories over Florida State and North Carolina in addition to Wednesday's upset of N.C. State, Virginia will likely have to put together 40 minutes of quality basketball tomorrow at Littlejohn Coliseum if they hope to escape Clemson and garner their fourth conference victory of the season.
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