All Cavalier fans let out a big sigh Sunday afternoon as Pete Gillen and the troops recorded their first win in the ACC. Now, the Virginia men's basketball team (11-4, 1-3 ACC) turns their attention toward Clemson (8-7, 1-3 ACC). The Cavaliers take on the Tigers tonight as Virginia looks to string together back-to-back ACC victories.
Last time out, the Cavaliers defeated Florida State 76-67 after an extra overtime session in what was a must-win game. With the possibility of starting 0-4 in the ACC, a first since the 1998-1999 campaign, Virginia coach Pete Gillen understood what was on the line.
"In the ACC every game you win is the greatest thing that's ever happened and every game you lose it's like the world's going to end," Gillen said. "On Sunday, the world didn't end. It was a giant win, because it was our first ACC win, but we have a big game on Tuesday."
Virginia's win was due in large part to great individual efforts offensively from Todd Billet and Devin Smith, with their 26 and 21 points respectively, and defensively by Jason Clark, with 9 rebounds and two pivotal blocks. The Cavaliers will have to settle for no less from their team if they want to stay out of the ACC cellar.
Clemson, coming off their most recent defeat at the hands of N.C. State 86-69 this past Saturday in Raleigh, will be hungry for that first illustrious ACC road victory as they look to continue their two-game winning streak against Virginia. Last season the Cavaliers watched the first of their two losses to the Tigers slip out of their hands as Clemson forward Olu Babalola sunk two free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining to clinch the game.
In order to prevent the same result tonight, Virginia must rely on several factors, the first being Clemson's proneness to turn the ball over. Coming into tonight, the Tigers have averaged a league worst 19.0 turnovers per game while the Cavaliers have averaged 13.1 turnovers per game, a league best.
The Cavaliers must also continue their emergent emphasis on defense. Tonight they will attempt to shut down Clemson's leading scorer, Sharrod Ford who is averaging 11.6 points per game, and hold the Tigers under 40 percent shooting for the second straight game (31.9 percent against Florida State).
To achieve this, Virginia will need another great effort by its most recent addition to the starting lineup, junior forward Jason Clark.
"He's a man," Gillen said. "He's a physical aggressive man and he helps us defend the basket: a tough, hard-nosed, gritty guy and we need that in this league. Everybody's got them."
After the addition of Clark, Virginia's rebounding margin has increased from -3.0 to 0.0, and looks to continue to rise with the effort and muscle put forth by Clark.
Finally, Virginia will hope to gain momentum from the energy of the crowd tonight as the new Cavaliers HOOps Band debuts.
"Just having the crowd with you at home, to get loud when certain things happen, it really helps you out," freshman forward/center Donte Minter said.
In a conference as solid as the ACC this year from top to bottom, Minter also understands the importance of winning at home especially when yours is a beleaguered 1-3 team in the ACC.
"It's very important. This year the ACC, top to bottom, is really tough, so you have to get your wins when you can."
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