All season, Virginia coach Tony Bennett has preached his team has a razor-thin margin between success and failure.
That now applies to the big picture.
Clemson defeated U.Va. 60-48 on Tuesday night, a loss that could push the No. 22 Cavaliers (19-6, 6-5 ACC) onto the NCAA tournament bubble.
Forward Mike Scott turned in his usual solid performance (13 points, eight rebounds). Guard Jontel Evans emerged as a go-to player with a career-high 17 points. But beyond that, there were few bright spots.
Guard Joe Harris did not start because of a fractured bone on his left hand. He played 21 minutes wearing a thick cast, but went 0-for-4 from the 3-point line and turned the ball over three times.
He wasn't the only one. The Tigers (13-12, 5-6) picked up 19 points off 18 Virginia turnovers.
"In a game with this few possessions, that's 18 times we don't get a chance to get a shot," Bennett said.
Harris said after the game he'll be in the cast for 4-6 weeks. Add in the foot injury to center Assane Sene, and the Wahoos will be dealing with a banged-up lineup in the games that matter most.
It was a particularly acute problem in a rapid-fire game like Tuesday's, which lasted about 95 minutes start to finish.
"I feel like we were all kind of a little tired down the stretch," forward Akil Mitchell said. "But you know, we're playing six or seven guys. It's something we'll have to get used to, because we're getting low in numbers."
Still, Virginia hung tight for the game's first 30 minutes. With eight minutes remaining, Evans converted a pair of baskets to keep it tight, and nearly added a third that would have made it a one-point game. On that shot, he was hit hard by a Clemson defender, but no foul was called. Harris picked up the rebound, also getting hit but not drawing a foul call.
As the Tigers' Tanner Smith converted on the other end, the lead was extended back to five for the Tigers.
Bennett was livid at the officiating, correctly perceiving it to be a key moment in the game.
Clemson dominated from that point, extending the lead behind the shooting of Smith and Devin Booker. Bennett cited it as an example of the importance of every possession.
"Those possessions, they really hurt and sting," he said. "That's probably why I was very animated. I thought — I'll watch the tape — I thought our guy got bumped, and boy, was that big."
By the end, though, it was all Clemson. Between that play and the 4:00 TV timeout, the Tigers scored four points while the Cavs were held to none. Small though it was, that spurt nudged the game out of reach.
Virginia faces an uphill climb the rest of the way, with no game more important than Saturday's home date with Maryland. After having their weaknesses exposed by a middle-of-the-pack Clemson squad, the 'Hoos can't sleep on anybody, a task made even taller because of injury.
"The back end of our schedule is tough. . . . Every game out is going to be a battle," Bennett said. "There's some challenges there, but we'll keep working at it. We've still got some good basketball left in us. I know that."
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