Clemson Men’s Basketball faces toughest test at Virginia

Clemson Men’s Basketball has been riding a roller coaster in the month of February, with some very steep climbs and very deep drops. The Tigers have been climbing of late, winning three of their last four games by double digits, and this most recent ascent couldn’t come at a better time.

The Tigers will now travel to Charlottesville to face the highest ranked program in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia is ranked 13th in the AP Poll. They are slotted 28th in the NET and 38th in KenPom.

Clemson and Virginia are currently tied for third place in the ACC standings at 13-5 in conference. The Cavaliers are on a two game losing streak, dropping two games on the road against Boston College and North Carolina. Ironically, both teams also defeated Clemson on the road in February as well.

The home environment of John Paul Jones Arena will be a welcome change for Virginia. They are 13-1 at home this season, their lone loss coming to Houston in December.

The Tigers are only 5-5 in true road games this season, though their most recent victory against NC State was in Raleigh.

Senior forward Hunter Tyson leads the Tigers in scoring (15.6 per game) and rebounds (9.4 per game). Junior guard Chase Hunter leads the team in assists with 4.5 per game and is also contributing 14.3 points per game.

Senior guard Armaan Franklin leads Virginia in scoring with 12.4 per game. Senior forward Jayden Gardner paces the Cavaliers with 5.4 rebounds per game, and senior guard Kihei Clark leads with 5.7 assists per game.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is a 6.0 point underdog to the Cavaliers with an over/under of 129.5 points

Clemson is a 6.0-point underdog to Virginia, with a total of 129.5, implying a 67.75-61.75 Cavalier win.

John Chancey (18-11, 10-19 ATS):

I’m not even going to bother to make this sound good, so I apologize if you are expecting professionalism. I’ve picked Clemson to lose the last two games, and they won both by double figures, so why change what isn’t broken? Clemson loses and Virginia covers. I mean, my ‘against the spread’ record is an embarrassment anyway, right?

Marty Coleman (19-10, 12-17 ATS):

A Brad Brownell team has scored 90+ points in their last two games.  Without OT.  I repeat, Brad Brownell’s teams have scored over 90 points in two straight games.

Virginia has lost two straight and while both of those were on the road, this one is in the friendly confines of JPJ Arena, so expect it to full and loud.

The Cavs are also better defensively than anything Clemson has seen on the season and that is ultimately the difference.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change