Virginia
Clemson Basketball Preview: Clemson vs Virginia Tech
Clemson (16-4, 8-1 ACC) vs Virginia Tech (8-11, 3-5 ACC)
Blacksburg Virginia, Cassell Coliseum
Saturday, January 25th, 5 PM
ACC Network
This isn’t a good Virginia Tech team. Mike Young’s squad has struggled all season against any team with a pulse. Their win over NC State on January 15 is their only victory over a team in the KenPom top 100, and NC State is ranked 97th. On top of not beating good teams, they have a few head-scratching losses on their resume, including a home loss to Jacksonville and an away loss to Georgia Tech last time out in a battle of bottom-tier ACC squads.
I will say this for the Hokies: they’ve managed to cobble together three ACC wins over Miami, Cal, and the aforementioned NC State. They are currently on a two-game losing streak, including a nine-point home loss to Wake Forest. If the Hokies are going to salvage anything from this season, knocking off Clemson at home could be the impetus to turn things around during the back half of the ACC schedule.
Turnovers have been one of the primary issues for Virginia Tech. Their turnover percentage of 20.7% ranks 332nd in the country (out of 364 teams). Meanwhile, Clemson’s defensive turnover percentage of 20.5% is good for 48th in the country. Virginia Tech is terrible at holding onto the ball, and Clemson is pretty good at taking it away. If that trend holds, it’s going to be tough for the Hokies to win this game.
Giving a team as efficient on offense as Clemson (currently 26th in the nation in terms of offensive efficiency) extra chances to score is a bad idea. The Hokies lost the turnover battle 17-10 to Georgia Tech in their loss in Atlanta and 14-7 in their home loss to Wake Forest. Forward Tobi Lawal and guard “Little Poppa Pump” Bradon Rechsteiner have both struggled with turnovers this season, coughing the ball up around 2.5 times a game. Look for Clemson’s sticky defense to force Tech to go the long way around on offense. The Tigers are the best team in the nation in terms of forcing opponents to use clock on offense. The longer Tech has the ball and the more passes they attempt, the better it is for Clemson.
Inside scoring is another spot where the Tigers should have a decisive advantage. Tech is allowing teams to shoot 54.8% from two (302nd in the nation) this season. Clemson isn’t great at scoring inside the arc, hitting 51.8% (153rd) from two, but the combination of Ian Schieffelin and Viktor Lakhin should find the going easier against Virginia Tech. Their frontcourt combination of Tobi Lawal (6’8”) at power forward and Mylyjael Poteat (6’9”) at center leaves a lot to be desired in terms of rim protection. Look for the Clemson guards, led by Chase Hunter, to attack the paint all game.
This could also be an opportunity for Ian to polish his post-game ahead of the back half of the ACC schedule.
Virginia Tech is going to need help from Clemson in this game. If the Tigers play anything close to their “B game” on Saturday, I don’t think the Hokies have much of a chance. The Tigers are too good on offense, and Virginia Tech isn’t particularly good on defense.
The only way forward I see for Tech is to play a game similar to the one they played in their win over NC State. They put enough points on the board in that one because they got hot from three, hitting 11-22 from behind the arc, including a 3-3 performance from leading scorer Tobi Lawal and a 3-4 performance from Jaden Schutt.
The three-point line is the one place where Tech could potentially hurt the Tigers. They’re currently hitting 36.2% (70th) of their three-point attempts. That’s not great, but that—along with offensive rebounding (72nd)—are the only two areas where they are ranked in the top 100 in KenPom.
The problem they run into is that Clemson is currently shooting 39.2% (8th) from behind the arc. Still, shooting on the road can be tricky in college basketball and can act as a great equalizer. Clemson shot 33% (8-24) from three in their road loss to Louisville and would need to replicate something similar—both in terms of volume and percentage—to lose on the road in Blacksburg.
As long as they don’t fall in love with a three-point shot that isn’t falling and remember to work inside-out on offense to get quality outside looks, the Tigers should win this game.
Prediction
KenPom
Clemson – 72
Virginia Tech – 63
Confidence – 80%
Drew
Clemson – 77
Virginia Tech – 63
Clemson is the better team and has handled its business on the road against opponents ranked outside of the KenPom top 100 this season. Virginia Tech is ranked 170th and hasn’t exactly been stellar at home this season. The Tigers are too talented and experienced to get drawn into the kind of rock fight Tech needs to win this game.
As long as Clemson breaks 70, they should be bringing a dub back home to Tiger Town. I think they put up 77 and force Tech’s offense into an unsustainable number of turnovers.
Of course, I could also be totally wrong.
Continuing coverage Thursday night on the recent fires across Southwest Virginia.
2 families are now picking up the pieces after losing their homes and the memories inside them.
Glade Spring homeowner, Billy Cannon’s home went up in flames around 3 a-m last Thursday.
Billy said it started with something you wouldn’t expect a motor inside their refrigerator.
Now, the family is trying to move forward after losing so much.
Your house is more than just a house. It’s all of the memories from decades and decades of a gatherings. The Cannons have a lot of history here and I think that is what hurts the most, said Billy Cannon’s niece, Tanika Gilbert.
Billy Cannon’s family has owned his home for generations and last Thursday, it went up in flames. His girlfriend Debby first saw the fire around 3 a-m.
At first, she thought she was dreaming, until she realized the kitchen was on fire, said Tanika.
3 fire departments, Glade Spring, Damascus, and Meadowview responded and fought the flames for nearly 5 hours.
In a separate fire this past Sunday in Dickenson County, Ronnie Mccowan, 72, lost the home he had lived in for 60 years. Ronnie’s son Raymond said it was his childhood home, filled with a lifetime of memories.
I can only imagine on his end when I look at it, and you know all the memories that were there, so I can only imagine what he feels, said Ronnie’s son, Raymond Mccowan.
A local woman, Millie Brown is the Founder of nonprofit God’s Second Chance. She has been collecting donations for both families, driving around picking up essential items and delivering them directly.
Their homes is just a shell right now nothing inside of it, said Founder of nonprofit God’s Second Chance, Millie Brown.
Both families told News Five’s Natalea Hillen they are grateful for the community support.
I thank everybody in the community, said Glade Spring fire victim, Billy Cannon.
But still need help as they begin to rebuild.
As of right now, we don’t have nearly enough to be able to stick build even a smaller home, so we’re just continue to ask for the community support, said Tanika.
The biggest thing is any kind of donations you know, it doesn’t have to be in money, said Raymond Mccowan.
If you’d like to donate to help the Cannon Family, click here.
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If you’d like to donate to help the Mccowan Family, click here.
Change could be coming to Virginia’s voting districts.
Governor Abigail Spanberger recently signed a bill that would allow voters to decide on a proposed Constitutional amendment that would give the Virginia General Assembly the power to redraw state congressional maps.
This comes on the heels of other states such as Texas and California making similar decisions when it comes to their district maps.
This has been defined as “partisan gerrymandering,” and it comes on the heels of other states like Texas and California making similar redistricting efforts.
Out of the 11 districts within Virginia, Democrats hold six of those districts. Should voters approve the amendment and it gets signed into law, Democrats could control up to ten of those districts.
“So it draws one district in Southwest Virginia, which is extremely heavily Republican, and then draws eight seats that are pretty heavily Democratic, and then two competitive seats that I think would favor the Democrats, especially in a year like 2026,” Virginia Tech Associate Professor of Political Science Nicholas Goedert said.
Re-drawn districts could also lead to some districts that would normally lean Republican shift into a district that leans more Democrat.
A special election will be held on April 21 to decide this.
Copyright 2026 by WSLS 10 – All rights reserved.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — A new bill to protect pets against animal cruelty passed unanimously in the Virginia Senate on February 10. Now, it’s on to the House of Delegates.
If approved, the bill will increase the punishment for maliciously wounding a dog or cat across Virginia.
This push for change is spearheaded by Senator Bill Stanley in response to the revenge killing of two Labrador pups by a Franklin County man almost three years ago.
SEE ALSO: Natural Bridge Zoo legal fight spurs animal welfare bills headed toward Gov. Spanberger
Jennifer Foley, manager of Planned Pethood Adoption Center, hopes this bill will make pet owners think twice before treating pets as objects.
“Pets are family, and so I think this is a perfect step in the right direction. We have pretty harsh sentences for people who do things to people, and it’s time the animals get their voice too,” Foley said.
The penalty for the malicious killing of a dog or cat would now be a class six felony- punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $2,500.
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