Virginia Cavaliers vs Clemson Tigers Prediction, 1/16/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
Game: Virginia Cavaliers vs Clemson Tigers
Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021
Location: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC
TV: ESPN
Odds/Point Spread: Virginia (+2)
The Clemson Tigers (9-1) play the Virginia Cavaliers (8-2) at Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday. Virginia opens this matchup as 2-point dogs. The O/U has been set at 116.5.
Virginia comes into this matchup with a record of 8-2 this season. They turn the ball over 8.3 times per contest and as a group are committing 13.8 fouls per contest. As a unit, Virginia is collecting 32.3 boards per game and has accounted for 132 assists for the campaign, which is 191st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.4% on three-point attempts (79 of 217) and 79.8% from the charity stripe. They average 72.4 points per contest (180th in college hoops) while shooting 49.7% from the field. Defensively, the Cavaliers have forced 10.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 13.6 fouls. The Cavaliers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 40.6% (213 of 524) and they concede 29.4 boards per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 139th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 121 surrendered on the season. They are giving up 34.2% on shots from distance and they are 14th in college basketball in PPG allowed (60.3).
The Virginia Cavaliers faced off with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and went home with a win by a final score of 80-68 in their last game. Virginia ended having earned a 54.4% FG percentage (31 out of 57) and converted 12 out of their 24 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Cavaliers knocked down 6 of their 7 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they compiled 24 with 2 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists for the game in addition to having 3 steals and 3 rejections. When talking about defense, Virginia allowed the other team to go 54.4% from the floor on 31 of 57 shooting. Notre Dame earned 10 assists and had 4 steals for the contest. Furthurmore, the Fighting Irish snagged 24 boards (4 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Notre Dame finished 95.0% when shooting free throws by converting 19 of their 20 shots. They made 5 of 22 attempts from 3-point land.
Jay Huff is one player who was a factor for this game. He accounted for 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He played 24 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Huff walked away from this one shooting 53.8% from the field and also earned 2 assists. An additional guy that was a major factor in this contest for the Cavaliers was Sam Hauser. He collected 9 rebounds and also totaled 2 dimes. He ended up shooting 46.2% from the floor in the matchup by going 6-of-13 (15 points). When this game wrapped up, Hauser played for 36 min.
Clemson has a record of 9-1 this season. Clemson has totaled 683 points for the campaign (68.3 per contest) and they grab 34.5 boards per contest. The Tigers have committed 17.8 fouls per contest and they go 72.3% from the free throw line. When it comes to offensive execution, the Tigers are connecting on 42.7% from the field, which is ranked 255th in college hoops. They are dishing out assists 13.0 times per game (206th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 12.9 times per game. The Tigers on the defensive side of the court are 6th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 57.6. They are forcing 18.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the field (30th in D-1). The Clemson defense gives up 29.9% on shots from beyond the arc (58 of 194) and opponents are connecting on 65.9% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 9.8 assists and 34.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 22nd and 123rd in those categories on the defensive end.
When they last stepped on the court, the Clemson Tigers got the victory with a final of 74-70 when they played the NC State Wolfpack. The Tigers were able to corral 25 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 34 for this contest. They rejected 2 tries while getting 4 steals for this contest. The Wolfpack were called for 16 fouls for this game which took the Tigers to the charity stripe for a total of 9 attempts. They were able to make 3 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 33.3%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Clemson converted 9 out of their 30 tries (30.0%). When all was said and done, the Tigers finished 31 for 69 from the floor which had them at 44.9%. The Tigers allowed the Wolfpack to convert 23 of their 54 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in this game. They finished shooting 36.8% from three-point range by going 7 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 17 of 24 at the charity stripe (70.8%). When it comes to rebounding, Clemson permitted North Carolina State to get 40 in all (7 on the offensive glass).
Nick Honor was important for the Tigers in this game. He converted 8 of 11 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 72.7%, which had him finishing with 21 points. Honor pulled down 3 boards in his 33 minutes and added 3 dimes in this game. An additional guy who came through for Clemson was Clyde Trapp. He totaled 11 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood by going 5 out of 10 from the floor in this game. Trapp ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor and also collecting 2 assists and 7 rebounds.
Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?
Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Virginia (+2)
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Additional Resources:
Clemson Tigers - Twitter
Virginia Cavaliers - Twitter