Mens Basketball: VT(10-14,2-9) at Clemson (14-10, 6-6) ESPN3 Nooner

As if having to get up to summarize a nooner on a Saturday wasnt bad enough, almost feels like football season, my wife's lovely computer decided to do a Windows Update with no warning, so the last hour's worth of writeup, GONE. If there was ever a nooner that calls for lots of bourbon, it would be playing on V-Day in the dregs of the morning game. We will be on the internet today so hopefully every one is able to pull up WatchESPN.

Away with the niceties since the game starts in 20 minutes.

Jaron Blossomgame(#5) is a 6'7, 215 lbs sophomore Forward, great sports moniker, and Clemson's leading scorer at 13.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg.

Teaming with Blossomgame down low is Donte Grantham, (#15), a 6'8, 205 lbs freshmen Forward from Hargrave Military Academy, who is averaging 9.4 ppg and 4.6 rpg.

The Center is Larry Nnoko, 6'10, 255 lbs junior, averaging 7.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 1.8 bpg. This trio of players lead Clemson in their strength, which is rebounding. As a team, they pull down almost 37 rebounds per game. This will prove troublesome for Tech, as it has all season.

The guards on the floor for the Tigers starts with their teams glue, Rod Hall, a 6'1, 205 lbs senior Point Guard, who chips in 8.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 3.6 apg. He is a calming force on this team and has the ability late in games to take over, making circus shots in the lane, that kind of stuff.

The shooting guard here is Damarcus Harrison, who is averaging 8.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg and is the teams best outside threat. Tech will not be able to play Clemson like they did GT for one simple reason. Clemson shoots from the outside, they dont do it well but they average 18.4 three point attempts per game so far. With our track record, this could be a bad thing, as they will likely hit more of them.

If I had to pick a surprise player playing a role for Clemson it would be Josh Smith, 6'8, 245 lbs junior Forward. He has that body type that seems to give Tech fits, has the ability to shoot from anywhere on the floor and could cause us problems.

Clemson likes to run a slow game, they average only 62 points per game on the season, so if Tech is sloppy with the ball, expect to see Clemson run their shot clocks all the way down before getting a shot. We cant afford to give this team the second chance and turnovers that we have been averaging. Clemson will also run a lot of a stretch zone on defense. They like to keep their big men down low and have their guards stretch out. Expect to see Bibbs and the big men stepping to the free throw line to break this zone.

Mueller and Smith play their normal big role and we get a surprise performance from Satchel Pierce. This is a road game, early in the day, against a team that plays sluggish basketball. Unless Tech can change the pace, I think they may have problems and allow Clemson to get a lead it wont relinquish. This game will come down to the final few possessions, and may come down to the free throw line.

Virginia Tech 69 - Clemson 65