Virginia Tech vs Clemson 3/9/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 10-seed Clemson Tigers & 7-seed Virginia Tech Hokies will square off at the Barclays Center this Wednesday night in the New York Life ACC Tournament.

The 10-seed Clemson Tigers improved to 17-15 on the season after defeating the 15-seed NC State Wolfpack, 70-64, this past Tuesday. Clemson was outstanding on the defensive end against NC State and was able to hold the Wolfpack off for the victory after taking a 52-43 lead with 7:09 left in regulation. Clemson shot 41.7% from the field & 26.1% from beyond the arc while holding NC State to just 34.9% shooting from the field & 17.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Tigers was PJ Hall who had a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, & 4 blocks.

On the season, Clemson is averaging 71.6 ppg on 45.5% from the field. The Tigers were averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 36.3% from beyond the arc. Offensively, Clemson has been led by PJ Hall (15.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 bpg), Al-Amir Dawes (11.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg), David Collins (10.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg), & Nick Honor (7.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.4 apg).

Defensively, Clemson was allowing their opponents to average 68.2 ppg on 42.4% shooting from the field. The Tigers had a rebound margin of 2.1 and a turnover margin of 0.1.

The Virginia Tech Hokies finished their regular season with an overall record of 19-12 and earned the 7-seed in the New York Life ACC Tournament after finishing conference play with an 11-9 conference record. Virginia Tech finished their non-conference portion of their schedule with a 8-3 record with their best wins coming against Maryland & St. Bonaventure. Virginia Tech had a rough start to their conference schedule, losing 7 of their first 9 games, however, the Hokies finished strong, winning 9 of their last 11 games which included wins over Miami & Virginia.

On the season, Virginia Tech is averaging 69.6 ppg on 46.7% shooting from the field. The Hokies are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 38.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Virginia Tech has been led by Keve Aluma (15.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg), Justyn Mutts (10.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 spg), Nahiem Alleyne (10.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 apg), & Hunter Cattoor (9.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.0 spg).

Defensively, Virginia Tech is holding their opponents to an average of 61.3 ppg on 42.5% shooting from the field. The Hokies have a rebound margin of 1.7 and a turnover margin of 1.2.

The Tigers are 4-1 ATS in thier last 5 games overall & 9-4-2 ATS in thier last 15 games vs. a team with a winning striaght up record. The HOkies are 1-3-1 ATS in their 5 games overall & 1-6 ATS in thier last 7 games following a straight up loss.

Clemson defeated Virginia Tech in their only regular season matchup as the Tigers defeated the Hokies by a 63-59 margin at home in their regular season finale.

Virginia Tech has been led by their defense this season, ranking 16^th in scoring defense & 134^th in defensive FG$%, however, despite shooting the ball well, the Hokies had trouble putting points up on the scoreboard as they come into this matchup ranked just 214^th in scoring offense. Clemson has been decent on both ends of the court this season, ranking 156^th in scoring offense, 90^th in FG%, & 152^nd in scoring defense.

Virginia Tech is a solid team, however, they did struggle against the better ACC teams this season as the Hokies went just 1-4 against the top-4 seeded teams in the ACC Tournament. Clemson has been playing well as of late, winning their last 5 games and as I think their defense is going to give the Hokies trouble, I think Clemson keeps this game competitive and does enough to cover with the points. Good Luck!