The Clemson Tigers have won each of their first three ACC games and will look to stay perfect in conference play here as they take a trip to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. Both teams are 11-3 on the year, so we're getting treated to a good one here between two teams with March Madness aspirations. Oddsmakers have the Hokies as a six-point favorite, with the total set at 137. Let's dive in:
Sleep on this Clemson team at your own peril. Expectations weren't too high for the Tigers entering this season because they went just 17-16 last year and missed out on the NCAA tournament, but they appear to be much improved in this campaign.
They've started the year off 11-3, and have won seven of their past eight games. And two of those three losses have come by three points or fewer, so the record could be even better. They've won each of their first three conference games against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and NC State, and all three of those games were lopsided. They won each of them by at least 13 points and beat Wake Forest by 20. Most recently they smothered a pretty good NC State team, limiting them to just 31 percent shooting from the floor. If they can play like that on defense they're going to be hard to beat, because they've got a lot of offensive talent.
Hunter Tyson's coming off a game where he had 31 and 15, and he's far from the only one getting it done. Fellow big man PJ Hall is averaging 12.5 points per game, and guard Chase Hunter is averaging 14.6. They've got a lot of shooting, as they connect on 38.8 percent of their attempts from three-point range as a team. They just beat Georgia Tech by 13 on the road, so I'm not too concerned with their ability to play away from home.