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Virginia Basketball: 3 takeaways from commanding win over No. 12 Clemson

By Benjamin Zacher

Jan 16, 2021; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Jay Huff (30) shoots against Clemson Tigers guard Clyde Trapp (0) and center Lynn Kidd (22) during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2021; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Jay Huff (30) shoots against Clemson Tigers guard Clyde Trapp (0) and center Lynn Kidd (22) during the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Virginia Basketball Tony Bennett Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /

Virginia Basketball picked up their most impressive win of the season, romping Clemson on the road in a stellar display on both ends of the court.

In one of the most shocking results of Saturday’s busy day of college basketball, Virginia Basketball produced their best performance of the 2020-21 season, taking down the Clemson Tigers in a top-20 showdown – as well as in a battle of two of the best defensive in college basketball – in dominant fashion, claiming an 85-50 victory.

This was an absolutely bizarre showing by both squads.  Clemson entered the contest with the most efficient defense in all of college basketball and the best resume of any ACC squad, while Virginia has struggled to prove itself after falling from their top-5 preseason ranking and being decimated by Gonzaga.  To say the least, all the signs pointed to Clemson pulling away with a huge win – but the exact opposite happened.

This was nothing short of a defensive clinic from the Cavaliers, who kept the Tigers in single-digits until the 2:56 mark in the first half, when Virginia led, 31-9.  The Cavaliers would lead by as much as 39 at one point, 76-37, before running away with the 85-50 victory and their 11th-straight victory against the Tigers.

The Cavaliers featured a whopping five double-digit scorers in Sam Hauser (14 points and eight rebounds), Tomas Woldetensae (14 points), Trey Murphy III (13 points), Jay Huff (12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Kihei Clark (12 points and five assists) – while Clemson featured zero players in double-figures.  PJ Hall was the closest, tallying eight points off the bench.

Likewise, this was an offensive clinic for the Cavaliers.  They averaged an incredible 1.47 points per possession, shot 65.5% (19-29) on two-pointers, and drained 55.6% (15-27) of their long-range bombs – while just making two trips to the charity stripe.  Virginia’s 85 points are their highest output since their 89-point performance in their season-opener against Towson.

For Clemson, this is obviously incredibly disappointing, especially after coming off a long break due to a positive COVID-19 test.  Their last game was back on January 5th, and it was easy to tell that this team was out of sorts – but even then, it was difficult to ignore the performance put on by Virginia and what the Cavaliers can take away from it.

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