On Wednesday night, the Clemson men’s basketball team (11-3, 1-2 ACC) will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia, to face the Virginia Tech Hokies (9-5, 1-2 ACC) at the Cassell Coliseum.
The Tigers have had a complete flip from last season regarding in-conference play. Just a season ago, the team began play with a seven-game undefeated streak in the ACC, which became a school record. A two-game losing streak against Miami and North Carolina last week grants head coach Brad Brownell’s squad an eighth-place spot in the conference.
If Clemson is to earn themselves a dominant victory on Wednesday night, it will have to come with an improvement in their shooting. The team shot an abysmal 5.6% from three-point range, scoring once out of 18 tries in their loss at home against North Carolina. Clemson standouts PJ Hall, Chase Hunter and Joe Girard III, who all have had plenty of success from downtown this season, missed all of their 13 combined attempts.
Like Clemson, the Hokies are also on a two-game losing streak, falling to two conference opponents in the process. With a 20-point loss at Wake Forest and a three-point heartbreaker in Tallahassee against Florida State, Virginia Tech looks to be the squad to end their streak.
The home-court advantage could prove to be a difference maker as well, as Virginia Tech is 7-0 in home games this season. With the university announcing that Wednesday’s game is sold out, look for the crowd to be a factor that is not in the Tigers’ favor.
The Tigers will also face a familiar face on Wednesday night: center Lynn Kidd. Kidd played for Brownell in the 2020-2021 season before transferring to the Hokies in that offseason. The senior center has been incredibly efficient for Virginia Tech, leading the team in scoring and rebounding, with 15.3 and 7.7, respectively. Look for the battle of the glass in this matchup, as Kidd will face Hall in an exciting game.
Following behind Kidd in scoring are guards Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla. Cattoor averages 14.4 points a night while shooting an impressive 41.1% from three-point range. The senior guard scored 19 against the Seminoles, sinking five threes from six attempts. Pedulla scores 13.4 points per game, and he is coming off a 26-point effort in the Hokies’ loss to Florida State over this past weekend.
The two teams are different in terms of scoring. Clemson brings a ton of points to the table, averaging 81.6 points per game over the past ten contests. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech only averages 69.3 points per game while holding opponents to only 68.2 points a night. If the Tigers can play offense in their favor, look for their losing streak to be no more.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
