The Virginia men's basketball team's season has continued to unravel, and the Cavaliers are searching for a way to salvage it. They have another opportunity to do so tonight when the Cavaliers take on Clemson at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers (11-9, 1-6 ACC) come into the game having dropped four straight and seven of their last eight games, including four straight in the ACC. The skid has landed Virginia in last place in the ACC and has the team urgently searching for a solution. Some players are trying to focus on the little things to win.
"We just [have to] play harder," freshman forward Mike Scott said. "If you're not scoring, then defend and rebound. If you're doing both, then just keep doing it more. That builds more confidence up."
Despite the Cavaliers' struggles, they have managed to keep games close. With the exception of the losses on the road at Xavier and Duke, all of the team's defeats have been by 10 points or fewer, including three overtime losses, two of which were against archrival Virginia Tech. Some of the close losses could be attributed to the youth and inexperience of the team, as some of the young players have yet to become comfortable playing in Virginia coach Dave Leitao's system.
"We're not playing with confidence," Scott said, adding that the higher confidence levels of Tech's freshmen played an important role on the court.
"Sometimes we're walking on eggshells, as people say," he said. "You don't want to mess up, you don't want to get out of the game, and I think that's hurting us."
The Cavaliers will face some tough tests at home to close out the season, including No. 1-ranked Duke, No. 2-ranked North Carolina and the game tonight with Clemson. The team sees this as an opportunity to get back on track.
"We've got a favorable home schedule, and we can make something of it," senior guard Sean Singletary said. "Those teams that come in here, they're probably top-40 teams, a couple of top-10 teams, so if we can get them, then we'll be in good shape."
Virginia's future success may depend heavily on its ability to find a consistent number-two scorer to supplement Singletary, something the team has not been able to achieve all season after the loss of graduate J.R. Reynolds. This has put a vast amount of pressure on Singletary, who also has been playing hurt for most of the season.
"[Singletary's] a warrior," Leitao said. "I don't know on God's green Earth that I've ever met a warrior like him. Most people wouldn't be out there."
The Tigers (16-5, 4-3 ACC) come into Charlottesville having cooled down after a red-hot start. Clemson is 6-5 in its last 11 games after having won its first 10 to start the season, putting them in a tie for third place in the ACC. Included in those five losses, however, is a 2-point overtime loss to North Carolina and a closely contested match at Duke that the Tigers lost 93-80. Most recently, Clemson is coming off a convincing win against Boston College Saturday.
Clemson will be without freshman starting point guard Demontez Stitt, who is out after having arthroscopic knee surgery. The loss of Stitt is only the latest in a string of injuries that has hit the Tigers this season. Senior forward James Mays has been battling a hip injury and a fracture in his left hand, and his frontcourt counterpart, sophomore Trevor Booker, sprained his ankle during a 75-72 loss at Miami in late January. A key for victory for the Cavaliers could be exploiting the battered-up Tigers.
The game tonight is crucial for the Cavaliers, who desperately need a win to get on a roll and climb out of the ACC cellar. The friendly confines of John Paul Jones Arena just might be the place to start, as Virginia is looking for a little home cooking.
"Just go home -- hopefully the fans are still with us -- get JPJ real loud, just get out there and do our thing," Singletary said. "It's been proven in our league that every team is beatable. We can do it, we've just got to gel and put it together"
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