Clemson Vs. Virginia Tech First Half Thread

The Virginia Tech Hokies battle the Clemson Tigers in a pivotal ACC battle on Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies are hoping to further solidify their NCAA Tournament standing, currently sitting as a 10-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology on ESPN.

Clemson meanwhile, has much left to play for, as they are currently on the outside looking in, as one of the last four out.

While you’re waiting for tip-off, check out the game preview here.

Action Prior to Under 16 Media Timeout

• Khadim Sy off to a rough start for the Hokies on both ends with a 1-3 effort from the field offensively, while falling asleep at the switch in the post defensively.
• Jaron Blossomgame has gotten a bunch of early touches for the Tigers. He only has two points at the first media timeout, but he has gotten the ball much too easily in the early going offensively.
• Outlaw is starting to really make some headway offensively. The junior is on fire from beyond the arc, but is looking for his shot much more off the dribble of late than he had in the early part of the season.
• Hokies have already switched from zone to straight man-to-man defense, as Buzz tries to throw some different looks at the Tigers after their 6-for-8 start from the floor.

Action Prior to Under 12 Media Timeout

• Hokies off to a big start from beyond-the-arc. Outlaw, Bibbs, and Hill all canning threes.
• Buzz imploring his team to step things up on the defensive end of the floor. The man-to-man defense seems to be a better look for the Hokies, as they had a bit of an easier time slowing the Tigers down coming out of the first media timeout. Let’s see if that continues for the rest of the half, or if Buzz will continue switching things up on that end of the floor to give the Hokies their best match-ups.
• Speaking of the Hokies on offense, take a look at this stat courtesy of Tech Sideline:

Action Prior to Under 8 Media Timeout

• Avry Holmes has done a nice job of penetrating into the lane for Clemson thus far. As the announcers point out, he gets lost in the offensive discussion because of how good Jaron Blossomgame has been. Holmes averages over 11 points per game and shoots 45% from three.
• Seth Allen has picked up his second foul with 10:21 to play in the half, which is not ideal for an already shorthanded ball club for the Hokies.
• LeDay is struggling to get going for the Hokies underneath, but he continues to work hard on the offensive end to get looks.
• And right as I type that, LeDay drives baseline and slams down a thunderous dunk after another Justin Bibbs three pointer. That is certainly one thing he has done well all year: catching the ball outside of the paint and taking it to the rim baseline.

Action Prior to Under 4 Media Timeout

• Really encouraging that Ahmed Hill has started to shoot the ball well again over the last three games. Already has two threes tonight to continue his breakout from a slump that extended for a majority of the conference schedule.
• Six players have scored tonight for the Hokies already, as they continue to spread the load offensively. When they shoot it like this and get a number of guys in the mix, they’re a very, very difficult team to guard. Hokies are now 7-of-8 from three point land, but turnovers have kept the game tight.

Action Prior to Halftime

• Bibbs up to nine points following an acrobatic three pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down. He has been really good of late for the Hokies offensively.
• Hokies take a 41-38 lead into the break. Tech 8-of-12 from deep, while Clemson finishes the half 5-of-8 from beyond-the-arc.
• I’d imagine both teams will be figuring out how to slow down the other from three in the second half. I would not be surprised to see both the Hokies and Tigers extend their man-to-man defenses out towards half court to put a bit more pressure on the ball handlers from the drive and kick offense that was so prevalent for both squads in the first half.