#2 Virginia blasts #18 Clemson, 61-36

Second-ranked Virginia closed the first half on an 11-0 run to erase a seven-point deficit, then seized control with a 20-2 second half run, in defeating #18 Clemson, 61-36, on Tuesday.

UVA (19-1, 8-0 ACC) has now won 11 in a row heading into a titanic Saturday clash with #4 Duke, the preseason ACC favorite.

Clemson (16-4, 5-3 ACC) was playing its first game without senior forward Donte Grantham, the team’s second-leading scorer, who was lost for the season in last weekend’s win over Notre Dame with a torn ACL.

For about 14 minutes Tuesday night, the Tigers seemed to have figured out what they needed to do without Grantham, leading by as many as seven.

But Virginia held Clemson scoreless for the final 6:18 of the first half, and the 11-0 run that ensued put the Cavaliers up 27-23 at the break.

The scoring burst would eventually go to 36-6 over a 20:36 stretch spanning the two halves, and the Tigers would score just 13 points over the final 26:13 of the game, connecting on six of their final 30 shots.

Devon Hall led a balanced UVA scoring attack with 14 points, on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. Kyle Guy had 12 on 5-of-12 shooting.

Virginia shot 44.6 percent from the floor (25-of-56) and was 50 percent (14-of-28) from the floor in the second half.

Clemson finished at 31.9 percent (15-of-47) and had 19 turnovers on its 62 possessions.

Team Notes

• Virginia improved to 19-1 and 8-0 ACC
• The 36 points allowed were lowest ever for the Cavaliers against a ranked foe (61-37 win over No. 18 Clemson on Jan. 11, 1995)
• The 36 points scored by Clemson were its lowest in series history (61-37 UVA win over No. 18 Clemson on Jan. 11, 1995)
• UVA has a seven-game winning streak vs. Clemson
• UVA has a seven-game winning streak against the Tigers in Charlottesville
• The Cavaliers’ 11-game winning streak is their longest since winning 11 straight in 2015-16
• UVA has had five 11-game or more winning streaks under Tony Bennett
• Virginia has started 8-0 in ACC play for the first time since starting 12-0 in 1980-81
• UVA held its 20^thopponent under 50 percent shooting (Clemson – 31.9%)
• UVA improved to 13-0 at home, part of its 15-game home winning streak
• Clemson’s 11-0 first-half run was largest against UVA this season
• UVA ended the half on an 11-0 run
• UVA led 27-23 at the half, limiting its sixth ACC opponent to fewer than 25 first-half points
• UVA is 74-2 when holding opponents under 50 points in the Tony Bennett era (10-0 in 2017-18)
• UVA had a season-high 14 steals, most since 15 vs. William & Mary on Dec. 5, 2015
• UVA is 20-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 40 points (2-0 in 2017-18)

Player Notes

• Devon Hall (14 points) has reached double figures in seven straight games
• Kyle Guy (12 points) has reached double figures in 17 games
• Guy extended his 3-pointer streak to 20 games, most for a UVA player since Malcolm Brogdon’s 20-game streak in 2015-16
• Ty Jerome had a career-high four steals
• Mamadi Diakite had a season-high three blocked shots

Highlights