The Virginia men’s basketball team — loser of eight straight ACC games — is set to face No. 10 Clemson Sunday. Tuesday against Florida State, the Cavaliers played their best first-half in ACC play since their victory against Georgia Tech, even though they could not hold on to their halftime lead, losing 68-57.
“It sucks,” Virginia freshman guard Sammy Zeglinski said. “It’s no fun, but we’re gonna continue to get better and go out there every day.”
One area that the Cavaliers are looking to improve is their shooting. Virginia shot just 34 percent from the field and 26 percent from three point range against Florida State. On the season, Virginia is last in the ACC in field goal percentage and tied for last in three-point field goal percentage. If they did not rank third in ACC free-throw percentage, the Cavaliers could find themselves in an even worse situation heading into their game against Clemson.
“It is frustrating,” freshman guard Sylven Landesberg said of the team’s shooting rates. “We have a lot of guys who could go for a lot of points, and knock down shots with hands in their face, open shots. It’s just frustrating to see in the games that it’s hard sometimes for us to score.”
The Cavaliers might catch a little break Sunday against Clemson, considering that the Tigers are in the bottom half of the ACC in field goal defense and three-point field goal defense. If Virginia wants to beat the Tigers, however, it will need to work on its defensive play as well.
Virginia is last in the ACC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and is .001 away from being last in the ACC in three-point field goal defense. Clemson’s offense, meanwhile, can attack Virginia in a variety of ways. Inside, junior forward Trevor Booker has been an essential part of the Tiger offense. Booker averages 14.9 points per game and is second in the ACC in rebounding, averaging nine per game. He also showed impressive offensive prowess during the Tigers’ 74-47 thrashing of Duke Feb. 4, scoring 21 points on eight of 10 shooting from the field and adding eight rebounds — five of which were of the offensive variety. Factor in Booker’s ACC-leading 2.3 blocked shots per game, and the Cavaliers could struggle to contain Clemson’s biggest two-way weapon.
Outside, Virginia has a lot to handle as well. Senior guard K.C. Rivers has led the Tigers this season, contributing an efficient 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Demontez Stitt is seventh in the ACC in assists with 3.6 per game, while fellow sophomore guard Terrence Oglesby is lethal from three-point range, making 40 percent of his long-distance shots. Virginia coach Dave Leitao and his Cavaliers will need to grapple with a lot of offensive and defensive issues Sunday, and the team’s recent ACC struggles certainly do not bode well.
“When you’re struggling, you look at things that you try to control,” Leitao said. “When you’re struggling, you take care of your business in one aspect, you tend to leak oil in another.”
And if Virginia needs any extra motivation Sunday, one of its all-time greats also will be receiving an honor at John Paul Jones Arena. Sean Singletary, a three time first-team All-ACC honoree and the fifth-highest scorer in Virginia basketball history, will have his number retired during halftime. Virginia recently has been retiring only jerseys, but it made an exception for the current Charlotte Bobcat.
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