#13 Clemson (23-5, 15-2 ACC) at Virginia (14-14, 7-10 ACC)

12pm, ESPN2

After a surprising road win at Wake Forest on Wednesday night, UVa is back at home as they enter the final week of the regular season. They’ll face their toughest remaining task on Saturday, hosting #13 Clemson (Noon, ESPN2). UVa’s ACC Tournament spot is pretty solid at this point, and can be officially clinched on Saturday if UVa wins or if Wake Forest beats Notre Dame, or if Cal beats Boston College. Meanwhile, Clemson is still battling for a conference regular-season title, tied with Louisville for second place, and a game back of Duke, who the Tigers beat earlier this month.

UVa has gotten the better of Clemson over the years, but this matchup will be a rare occasion where the Tigers enter as a rather prohibitive favorite. Clemson won at JPJ in 2022, but it was their only win in Charlottesville since 2008; the Hoos have also won more than they’ve lost at Clemson, and have beaten the Tigers several times in the ACC Tournament over the past decade.

Clemson ranks #18 in Kenpom, second best among ACC programs, after Duke. The Tigers have been good on both ends of the floor, ranking 16th nationally in offensive efficiency, and 28th on the defensive end. On offense, Clemson has shot the ball quite well, and excelled in most other areas, too. The Tigers are making 38.9 percent of their threes, 10th best nationally, and make 52.3 percent of their two’s. The Tigers are 62nd in turnover rate and 72nd in offensive rebound rate. They’re also good at the free throw line, making 76.9 percent of those attempts. The only area where the Tigers aren’t above average is getting to the line, ranking 328th in free throws per field goal attempt.

Defensively, Clemson is nearly as good as they are with the basketball. The Tigers are 51st in turnover rate, and opponents are making just 49.4 percent of their twos and 32.5 percent of their threes. Clemson also ranks 75th in steal rate, and 105th in block rate. The Tigers have been vulnerable at times on the glass, ranking 242nd in offensive rebound rate allowed.

Chase Hunter, Guard

It feels like Chase Hunter has been running Clemson’s backcourt forever, and that’s because he has. Now in his sixth year with the Tigers, Hunter has been one of the best guards in the ACC this season. Hunter is scoring a career-high 16.7 points per game, shooting 42.8 percent from three and 87.1 percent from the line. Hunter has gone for 20+ points seven times this year, most recently scoring 28 in a triple OT loss to Georgia Tech. Hunter scored 12 points against the Hoos in last season’s contest.

Ian Schieffelin, Forward

One of the ACC’s unique talents, senior forward Ian Schieffelin has improved every year with the Tigers. As a senior, Schieffelin is having a very solid campaign, averaging 12.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. His three-point average is down nine percent from last season, but is still more than solid for a big man at 37.8 percent. Schieffelin went for 24 points and 9 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Notre Dame.

Viktor Lakhin, Center

A transfer from Cincinnati, Viktor Lakhin is the latest in a long line of quality Clemson big men. In his first and only season with the Tigers, Lakhin has bee solid on both ends of the floor. The Russian is scoring 11.4 points and hauling in 6.1 rebounds per game this season, and has been playing quite well of late. Lakhin scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists in this week’s win over Notre Dame. Lakhin had back-to-back 22 point games earlier this month against UNC and Duke.

UVa played well at Wake Forest, particularly on the offensive end, and they’re at home for this one. There is a recipe for UVa to push for an upset here, but they’d have to play their best game of the season, and then some. UVa’s win over Wake Forest was their first in ACC play against a team with a winning conference record, and there is a sizeable gap between where Wake is and where Clemson is. The Tigers dropped a couple of ACC contests, one in triple OT and another nearly two months ago at 2nd-place Louisville. While UVa may have shown flashes in Wednesday’s win, the Hoos pulling this off will require something we haven’t really seen from them, frankly.