Live Blog: #2 Virginia hosts #18 Clemson in ACC Tuesday Night Hoops

AFP editor Chris Graham leads our live coverage as #2 Virginia (18-1, 7-0 ACC) hosts #18 Clemson (16-3, 5-2 ACC) Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Clemson contest will be televised on the Regional Sports Network and streamed on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3.com) and ESPN App, and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.comand Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.

Key Players: Virginia

• Kyle Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has reached double figures in 16 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17), 22 vs. Syracuse (1/9/18) and 21 vs. Lehigh (12/2/17)
• Devon Hall has averaged 12.6 points, which is 4.2 points higher than last year’s average of 8.4 points.
• Isaiah Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (7.0), blocked shots (1.68) and steals (1.47).
• Ty Jerome is averaging 9.4 points and Jack Salt has chipped in 3.9 rebounds per game and 17 blocked shots.
• Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.0 ppg) has reached double figures in five of the last six games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17) and Virginia Tech (14).
• Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.8 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 5.1 ppg & 3.3 rpg.

Key players: Clemson

• Marcquise Reed, a 6’3” junior guard, leads Clemson in scoring, at 16.0 points per game in 34.1 minutes per game, shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from three-point range.
• Point guard Shelton Mitchell averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 39 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from three-point range.
• Senior guard Gabe Devoe averages 11.7 points per game, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from three-point range.
• Elijah Thomas, a 6’9” junior forward, averages 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and is the second-rated defensive player in the ACC, behind Virginia’s Isaiah Wilkins.

Keys to the game: Virginia

• De’Andre Hunter: Yes, broken record here, but the 6’7” redshirt freshman will be the key guy for Virginia yet again. Even before the loss of Grantham, Clemson was at its best when it went small. That will be even more the case without Grantham being available. Hunter, nominally a guard, has been getting the bulk of his minutes in the post in ACC play as the four in coach Tony Bennett’s small-ball lineup. Expect to see Hunter sub in early and be on the floor in crunch time.
• Closeout on threes: Clemson is shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range in ACC play, third-best in the conference. Without Grantham in the post, Clemson’s only option to score in the paint is Thomas, who is shooting 62.3 percent on 7.3 shot attempts per game. As the Tigers look to find their new way, you might expect more action on the perimeter.