After taking down Duke, the Hokies stumbled on Senior Night, falling to Boston College and ensuring the word "bubble" would haunt Hokie fans for at least another week. The winner of Saturday’s Clemson-Virginia Tech contest gets the #4 seed in the ACC Tournament next week and is one step closer to securing an invite to the Big Dance. That winner has been the road team in 5 of the last 7 meetings in the series and all but one of the 9 matchups since the Hokies joined the ACC have been decided by 5 points or less.
| Starting Lineups | ||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | Clemson | |||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG |
| G | Green | 6’4” | So. | 11.5 | 2.4 | Stitt | 6’2” | Sr. | 14.1 | 4.4 |
| G | Delaney | 6’3” | Sr. | 18.8 | 3.5 | Young | 5’9” | Jr. | 10.8 | 2.7 |
| G/F | Bell | 6’7” | Sr. | 7.1 | 5.5 | Smith | 6’5” | Jr. | 7.7 | 3.4 |
| F | Allen | 6’7” | Sr. | 14.0 | 10.2 | Booker | 6’8” | So. | 7.8 | 5.3 |
| F | Davila | 6’8” | Jr. | 7.7 | 5.4 | Grant | 6’8” | Sr. | 12.2 | 6.7 |
Game notes:
| Team | VT | CU |
|---|---|---|
| ACC Record | 9-6 | 8-7 |
| RPI | 63 | 64 |
| PPG | 71.5 | 67.5 |
| Opp. PPG | 62.9 | 60.4 |
| Reb. Margin | +2.4 | +1.8 |
| Turn. Margin | +1.8 | +2.0 |
| FG% | 46.2% | 43.7% |
| Def. FG% | 41.0% | 40.2% |
| 3PT% | 33.8% | 33.6% |
- Clemson is 14-2 at home, with losses coming to Michigan (11/30) and UNC (2/12).
- Clemson's opponents are shooting just 37.6% from the field inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
- The Tigers' defense is 11th in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy, giving up just 88.8 points per 100 possessions.
- Jerai Grant is shooting 67% from the field inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Clemson is 4-0 against Virginia Tech when one school is celebrating Senior Day.
Last Meeting: February 6, 2010 - Virginia Tech 70 Clemson 59: Malcolm Delaney was 20-of-23 from the free throw line and led the Hokies with 30 points. Jerai Grant led the Tigers with 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Hokies held Trevor Booker to a rare off-night, only 7 points and 4 rebounds.
Seth Greenberg has to be glad he doesn’t have to worry about that Booker kid anymore…except he does. The elder Booker has been replaced in the starting lineup by a younger version, Devin, who is averaging a respectable 8 and 5 in his sophomore campaign. More dangerous, however, are guard Demontez Stitt and center Jerai Grant, who lead the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, respectively. Both will be looking to put up big numbers on Senior Day.
Clemson is a strong defensive team and the Hokies will have to find ways to manufacture points, whether it be from turnovers or the offensive glass. More importantly, however, the Hokies must get back to what got us this far: defense. Tech can’t let the Tigers get comfortable offensively. Clemson has lost only 2 games all season when scoring more than 65 points. I’m nervous about this one. But I think Seth has lit a fire under our guys (at least I hope) after a sub-par performance versus Boston College. I like the Hokies to jump out to a quick lead versus an emotional Senior Day Clemson squad and hang on to get a big road win.
Prediction: Hokies 67 Clemson 66
Also see:
- The Key Play: Clemson Preview
- Gobbler Country: Virginia Tech Faces Another Bubble Battle at Clemson
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