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

2. After an awful sophomore slump, Tomas Woldetensae finally broke through with his best performance of the year

A starter in 22 games for Virginia last season, Tomas Woldetensae has struggled mightily to begin his sophomore campaign.  After reaching double-digits in six tilts last year, Woldetensae has failed to muster any of those types of performances this season, scoring as much as eight in Virginia’s opening six games.

Virginia’s December 26th game against Gonzaga yielded just six points for Woldentensae before he was ultimately benched – and he followed that showing with three-straight scoreless displays against Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Boston College.  In the Cavaliers’ most recent outing against Notre Dame, Woldentensae did not even make an appearance.

But against Clemson, Woldetensae finally came alive, pouring in a team-best – tied with Sam Hauser – 14 points in 20 minutes (5-7 FG, 4-6 3PT) to go with five rebounds and two steals.  It was Woldetensae’s first double-figure game since February 22, 2020, when he put in 10 points at Pittsburgh.

The lone negative mark for Woldetensae, arguably, is the fact that he was just a plus-7 in those 20 minutes.  By comparison, Casey Morsell played 21 minutes, scored just five points, and hauled down one board – and was a plus-22.  Contrarily, however, Woldetensae did own the third-best offensive rating, behind Trey Murphy and Kihei Clark.  This is substantial for a sophomore who has struggled to begin his sophomore campaign.

To be fair, Woldetensae struggled last year in a few different areas – he was just 13-43 on two-pointers for the season and made just nine trips to the charity stripe – but his double-digit displays last year were the difference in three of Virginia’s wins.  He scored 10 in a 59-56 win at Pittsburgh, 18 in a 64-62 victory at North Carolina, and a career-high 21 at Wake Forest in a 65-63 overtime win.

Time will tell if Woldentensae can build on his 14-point showing, but his 4-6 display from outside the arc bodes well for a team that ranks in the top 100 in 3P% – compared to 311th last season.  If he can finally come alive from beyond the arc this season and breakthrough his sophomore slump, then that will give the Cavaliers another crucial offensive weapon for a team that struggled mightily early on offensively.