Clemson basketball enters February optimistic about its chances to gain ground in the ACC standings after defeating Louisville 70-64 Tuesday to conclude January with a 3-5 record. Now the Tigers turn their attention to Saturday, hosting Virginia at Littlejohn Coliseum in a key conference matchup. 

“I think it was huge for us,” guard Chase Hunter said Tuesday. “We needed that momentum going into Saturday, playing a good Virginia team.”

The Cavaliers ride into South Carolina on a five-game win streak and have one of the nation’s top 3-point scorers and scoring defenses.

Clemson (14-6, 4-5 ACC) comes into this pivotal matchup on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN) in 10th place in the ACC; Virginia (16-5, 7-3) is third.

Here are three things to follow:

Clemson must figure out its 3-point shooting woes

Littlejohn Coliseum was a house of horrors for the Tigers from 3-point range in January. The team shot 19.8% on 3-pointers across four games while shooting 35.4% on the road.

“For whatever reason in this building, we’re having a hard time making (3-pointers),” coach Brad Brownell said. 

In January, the Tigers shot 28.2% on 3-pointers after shooting 41.5% in November and 37% in December. With six of the Tigers’ remaining nine games at home, it is imperative they gets out of this slump.

Virginia boasts the second-best scoring defense in the country

The Cavaliers’ opponents have averaged 57.4 points in 21 games. In conference play, Virginia allows 61.4 points per game — the fewest in the ACC. During its five-game win streak, the team is allowing 56.2 per game.

Two of Virginia’s key defensive players are guards Ryan Dunn and Reece Beekman. Dunn leads the ACC in blocked shots (47) and is tied for fifth in steals per game (1.7). Beekman has 52 steals, which leads the conference.

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PJ Hall has to live up to the billing

Hall has faced many stout ACC defenses this season. The John R. Wooden Award late season watch list recipient struggled against North Carolina (10 points) and Virginia Tech (11). But he showed out against Duke in Clemson’s narrow loss, scoring 19 points and recording his fifth double-double of the season. Whichever Hall shows up may decide the outcome Saturday.

“He’s a stud,” Brownell said. “He’s a first-team all-conference player, and we’re trying to go to him when we can, and most of the time, he delivers.”

Clemson basketball score prediction vs Virginia

Virginia 70, Clemson 65: Clemson has been strong at home (8-2), while Virginia struggles on the road (2-4). Still the Cavaliers have dominated the Tigers, winning six straight in South Carolina and taking the past three matchups. Expect a Virginia team that’s in stride to win a close one against a Clemson team that’s trying to regain its footing.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00