Kihei Clark had 17 points and eight assists for Virginia at Syracuse. Win, Virginia. He had 15 points and five assists at home against Louisville.
Win, Virginia.
Tuesday night, Clark had 19 points and was 10-of-10 at the free throw line.
When Virginia gets the good Kihei Clark, the ‘Hoos tend to win, as they did here at JPJ, defeating Boston College, 67-55, behind Clark’s effort.
“I thought he came in with great energy, great ball pressure, and pickup point,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett told reporters after the game. “Sometimes you just look in a guy’s eyes, and you see their posture, and you can hear it in their voice. I thought he was terrific in that way.”
Clark hit a rough patch after his standout performance at Syracuse in a 74-69 win, averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 assists per game over the next six UVA games, shooting just 25 percent from the floor, as the Cavaliers went 3-3 over the two and a half week period.
Over his last three, Clark has been the Clark of old – averaging 15.3 points and 3.7 assists, shooting 48.3 percent from the floor.
Virginia has wins over Louisville and BC and a narrow loss at Notre Dame in its past three.
“You can’t dwell too much on the past,” Clark said after the game. “We are in the ACC, and at this rate, anybody can beat anybody. We just need to lock into the next game. We just forget about the past and try to bounce back strong. That is what good ball players do.”
The win gets Virginia to 13-9 overall and 7-5 in the ACC. A daunting schedule awaits – a pair of games with Miami and Duke, beginning on Saturday with Miami coming to JPJ, and a quick turnaround to Big Monday down in Durham with the Blue Devils, plus road games at Virginia Tech, Florida State and Louisville, sandwiched around a home game with Georgia Tech.
Virginia probably needs to figure out a way to go 6-2 in its last eight to have a hope at an improbable NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
“We’re just trying to chase quality, chase improvement,” Bennett said. “We know there are so many teams that are smashed in the middle of this league, and we understand that the top of the league is coming. We just need to show up, be tough-minded, and as good as we can and keep seeking quality and improvement.”
Steady, consistent play from Clark, who has a championship ring from 2019, will be key.
“Kihei is the guy who has the experience, so he has to lead us in that regard,” Bennett said. “It’s everyone’s job to do that and have the right kind of spirit. We’ve talked about what gets done, gets done together for this team. That’s why unity is one of our pillars, and we talked a lot about it today, even in terms of the significance of the shirts the guys wore [in pregame warmups], and what that meant. Passion and unity were our mantras today in terms of how we wanted to play.”
Passion and unity might as well be middle names for Clark, who has gone from overlooked as a prep recruit to a national champion and long-time starter and contributor for an elite ACC program.
Story by Chris Graham
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