A highlight for UVa was when Akil Mitchell drove right around UNC 7-footer Tyler Zeller for a sweet one-handed jam.

Virginia, on the strength of five straight baskets by Mike Scott, took an early 16-9 lead. UNC answered with a 9-0 run to go up 18-16.

Jontel Evans then took over. The UVa guard scored eight straight points in propelling the Wahoos to a 27-20 lead.

UNC answered with a 9-1 lead to take a 29-28 lead.

Scott and Evans lead the way for Virginia with 10 points each. No other UVa player has more than three points.

Zeller leads UNC with 14.

Virginia is in some foul trouble: Scott, Mitchell and Harris have two fouls apiece. Darion Atkins has three.

In these two clips, Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe and I discuss Saturday’s Virginia-UNC basketball game, social media pioneer Tucker McLaughlin and the “Linsanity” phenomenon.

We also talk about the news that recently rocked the sports world: Hootie is on Twitter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hootie’s handle is @HootieBooty.

In another Twitter development, I have started a second Twitter account: @WhiteysWorld365. I will continue posting all of our videos to @CavalierInsider, but will be using my new handle for most everything else.

For those of you who prefer reading the quotes, here are a few—many of which didn’t make my game story—from UVa media relations.

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

Opening Statement:
“I thought tonight was one of those games when the offense and the defense came together. After the first few minutes, I felt we had breakdowns defensively but then our defense tightened up and then we guarded well. Obviously guys were in the zone shooting the ball: Mike, looking at the stat sheet I did not realize he did not miss a shot; Joe got us off to a great start. We were moving the ball but making it hard for them to score and it was nice to see that because there was good effort and good execution.  Wake Forest is a team, they certainly were cold tonight because they did miss a few of the open looks they got, but they are a team that can score so I was pleased that we made them shoot mostly contested shots.

On coming back after big halftime lead:
“It was a great first half but as they say the score is 0-0, let’s see what we can do in these first four minutes and we executed. Jontel had a nice drive to get us started, and again just had good shots in rhythm and I’m sure on Wake Forest’s part they were a little deflated being down like that. I still think our guys executed offensively. They didn’t turn it into trying to get a quick shot, just took what the defense gave them and made them work on the other end. They got some deflections and held each other up.”

On playing in the ACC in the closing weeks of the season:
“You’ve been watching us every time we’ve played, in this league you better be ready and tonight we were fortunate to have both parts working and Wake Forest was a little off. I understand BC beat Florida State so again every game is tough. Going to North Carolina and teams coming up, we know what we have to do and we’ll try to execute to the best of our abilities. They’re great opportunities out there for us.”

On team’s play:
“They were efficient. The ball was moving topside, guys were screening and getting people open and the looks were there. They were playing together, and the same thing defensively. That’s what you hope for, that’s why you practice hard and you prepare for and when it comes together it’s nice to see. We showed some spurtability, we were pretty good on the glass, and got some transition buckets. But because we did it once doesn’t mean it will show up again, so we’ll need to be at a very high level come Saturday.”

On Mike Scott’s play:
“He didn’t have one bucket in the paint, they were all outside it. He was in the zone, but he has good touch and he works at that. He took one maybe where there were hands in the face but today wasn’t a game where he needed to lock up and get down there because there were some nice openings and creations off of penetration and kicks and you could just see. Like in the Clemson game, he had that nice rhythm and he caught it in rhythm and shots certainly were dropping, but that versatility of his, he has added to his game makes him a hard matchup.”

Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik

On the overall game:
“First of all Virginia did a great job of executing their offense with great intensity. They made shots and they just kept making shots. That defused our energy. Our players got down on themselves a little bit and it just kept going. When it keeps going like that, it’s hard to stop. That’s not us, and that is not how we have been playing lately. We’re just going to get on that bus and go back home and know that we are much better than this. We can’t allow our energy to be defused when teams come out and start making shots like they did. That has happened to us before this year and it is unacceptable. We will go back tomorrow and get back at it.”

On Mike Scott shooting 9-9 from the field:
“Our intentions were good coming out of the gate, but he was just on fire. So were the other guys and they were just hitting from all areas and operating on all cylinders. Let’s give Virginia a lot of credit.”

On defending Mike Scott:
“We thought our length would at least bother him and it didn’t. You cant double team him in the mid-post area. We doubled him in the post. When he catches it mid-range and when you run at him, he is used to that. He shoots it very quick.”

On struggling at the end of the first half and beginning of second half:
“We turned the ball over and that fueled it some. They got out, and instead of making tough shots, they got some easy shots with those tough shots. We have to have everyone playing as well as they can play. We need to be operating on all cylinders.”

Virginia senior guard Sammy Zeglinski

On the fast start:
“Joe [Harris] came out of the gates hot and knocked down three three-pointers in a row. Mike [Scott] was phenomenal again. Offensively, we were clicking, and defensively, we made it tough for them all night.”

On upcoming game against North Carolina:
“We’re all excited about going down there. I know they’re playing right now, so I’m going to try to catch some of that. I’m going to take a look at them. We’ve just got to get ready tomorrow and start preparing for what will be a big game for us. We’re excited for the challenge and we’re going to need everybody to contribute.”

On defensive performance:
“I thought we made it difficult for them to get in the paint. We did a good job closing out shooters. It definitely was tough on them. I think it tired them out to go through 30 seconds on the shot clock before they could get a shot.”

Virginia sophomore guard Joe Harris

On offensive performance:
“The guards did a good job of moving and the bigs did a good job of setting screens. Offensively, I just felt like the rhythm was there. Guys were on time with the passes. The screens and everything were just really efficient.”

On entire team effort on offense:
“It makes it really tough when everyone’s coming in, hitting shots, creating for their teammates, and everyone’s being really unselfish. We’re a tough team to defend on nights like that.”

On play of Mike Scott:
“That’s pretty impressive, especially because he wasn’t just around the basket and making lay-ups and jump hooks. He was spreading it out, hitting shots all over the court. I think that’s a testament to Mike and the work that he’s put in with his jumper. His confidence level is really high right now.”

Virginia senior forward Mike Scott

On perfect shooting night:
“I knew I made a lot. I didn’t know how many I had made. I was on a little bit and I was going. I tried to just keep being aggressive.”

On offensive output:
“I was just screening. I think the better my screen is, the more likely the guards are to get open or I’ll get open. I just tried to set better screens and create space. I worked on that shot all summer.”

On reason behind team’s offensive outburst:
“Against Florida State, we had a lot of empty possessions. We had a lot of turnovers—I had seven myself. We just took care of the ball tonight and ran a good offense. We got everyone going.”

Wake Forest junior guard C.J. Harris
On whether or not the loss was stunning given the fact that UVa has had trouble scoring this year:
“No because it’s an ACC team and every team can score.  You got to respect the game and the team.  It happens.  It will just be a short term memory.”

On the game:
“We let a lot of people down and got embarrassed.  We disappointed ourselves.  That’s about it.”
Wake Forest senior center Ty Walker

On Mike Scott:
“He’s a good player.  I give him credit.  He hit some big shots and some real good shots.  He shot a great percentage from the floor so I just give him credit.  He is a great shooter, and I did the best I could.”

On whether the game is a low point of the season:
“We are mostly just disappointed with ourselves.  We just were not ourselves out there.”

The No. 19 Cavaliers lead Wake Forest at the half, 40-19.

Virginia shot 71 percent in the first half!

Mike Scott leads UVa with 15 points. Joe Harris has nine and Malcolm Brogdon has eight.

Wake Forest entered the contest giving up the most points per game (70.7) in the league—and from the outset it was easy to see why.

Virginia got off to a blazing start.

After Wake opened the game with a Travis McKie jumper, Virginia went on a 10-0 run that was capped by two Harris 3-pointers—the first of which was set up by Jontel Evans penetration and a nice kick-out pass by Akil Mitchell.

After Wake had cut the lead to 12-7 on a basket by Nikita Mescheriakov, Harris hit another 3 to put UVa up 15-7.

Virginia had three turnovers, an airball and a missed 3-pointer on its next five possessions as Wake trimmed the lead to 15-11 before answering with five straight buckets as part of an 11-4 run to take a 24-15 lead.

The surge was highlighted by a 3-pointer and drive to the hoop by Brogdon, two deep jumpers by Scott and an ugly-looking shot by Evans that got a lucky bounce to beat the shot clock.

Virginia closed the half on an exciting 12-0 run that had Wahoo fans going crazy.

The spurt was highlighted by a Mitchell fastbreak dunk and a falling-down lefty scoop shot by Evans that hung on the rim for a brief second before falling as the halftime buzzer sounded.

I have lots of video, starting with head coach Brian O’Connor.

While watching some of the New York Giants’ Super Bowl parade through Manhattan yesterday—which featured a speech from Giants DE Justin Tuck—I couldn’t help but think of this video with former Virginia basketball player James Johnson that I had on my blog this past summer.

My question: Does Johnson get a Super Bowl ring? Looks to me like he “carried” Tuck through some grueling off-season workouts. That’s a heck of a lot more than some people who receive Super Bowls rings do!

Speaking of Johnson, I just read a story on him by Mark Zeigler (my former co-worker at The San Diego Union-Tribune). Z says Johnson measured 6 feet, 11 inches during his recent San Diego State physical. Johnson was listed at 6-9 when he was at UVa.

The “growth” likely has to do with Johnson’s spondylolisthesis—a condition that is the result of a car accident that he was involved in when he was 3.

Headed over to Virginia baseball Media Day now. Stay tuned for video!

During UVa coach Tony Bennett’s radio show last night, it was revealed that Jesperson (who was a guest on the show) is one of the biggest pranksters on the team.

Bennett told the story of a prank in which Jesperson instructed fellow freshman Darion Atkins to block a dunk attempt by Virginia assistant coach Ron Sanchez.

“Coach Sanchez was going up to show the guys that he could dunk—it was after practice, practice was done,“ Bennett recalled. “I think [Paul] told Darion to ‘Block coach Sanchez’ shot when he’s going up to dunk.‘

“Coach Sanchez thought he was going to have a free alley to dunk it. So he goes up to dunk it and Darion goes up and blocks it, way up there, and coach Sanchez ended up getting flipped in mid-air like Mike Scott fell [against Florida State] and coach Sanchez landed hard…

“Paul’s laughing at his coach who was on the floor. He instigated it!“

Two months later, Bennett says Sanchez’ shoulder is still sore from the fall.

I’m gonna have to keep an eye on this Jesperson kid, who I am hereby nicknaming “The Court Jesper.“

This is what he had to say:

“I didn’t really get any [encouragement],“ he said. “Maybe I was a little overanxious to hear [about the results of an X-ray]. They just took off the cast and I think they took an X-ray from what I understand after I talked to Ethan [Saliba] about it just to make sure that none of the—I don’t know exactly how many screws he had put in, but the plate and the screws just to make sure that everything was still in place. I think it was more just to make sure that nothing looked out of the ordinary or out of place and that’s all it was. I was hoping maybe you could see a little healing or filling in of the fracture, but that didn’t look, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“I don’t think there was anything [seriously] out of place. I think it’s not for a while until you get a feel for where he’s at in terms of his recovery process.“

Sene’s original prognosis was five to six weeks, which would put him back in the lineup for possibly the last couple of ACC games in late February/early March.

Later in the teleconference, I asked Bennett if he’s given any thought—given Sammy Zeglinski’s shooting struggles—to starting Malcolm Brogdon and bringing Sammy Z off the bench to possibly reenergize him.

This is what he had to say:

“You know Whitey, we’re playing predominantly six players. Darion [Atkins] and Paul [Jesperson] are seven and eight. And they’re all going to play, especially those six for sure are going to play a lot of minutes—they have to.

“Again, watching the tape, Sammy—he guarded well and did a lot of good things. He didn’t shoot it particularly well of course, but they’re all going to play. Again, whether you come off the bench, you start, I think that’s not as significant of a deal. It’s a matter of playing to help the team and doing the right things.

“To specifically answer your question, I haven’t [thought about it]. Nothing’s out of the realm, certainly you would, but I don’t think that’s the answer. If you’re saying, ‘Well, the guy’s struggling with his shot, so we’re going to bring him off the bench to relax him’—when you’ve played as many games as Sammy has or as many minutes as really all of our perimeter guys are getting, it’s just a matter of continuing to find the right kind of looks and impact the game in as many ways as you can, including shooting, but also in the other areas. So I feel like that wouldn’t necessarily be the issue, but again we’ll just keep looking at how things go.“

Me: Have you seen anything technically off with his shot—he had a bunch of airballs in that Florida State game?

Tony: “Ah, no. His shot’s the same. A few of those—a couple of our guys got their balls tipped. They really close quick on the perimeter and they rush your delivery more than most teams. But you just try and have a consistent shot. At times, sometimes the shot can get flat, but I didn’t see [that]. His shot [looked] pretty much the same. You know, we work at it—just try and have a repeatable and consistent shot and have good feel. For whatever the case, they got to a couple of his balls. Certainly, all of the shots that he missed were strong, so he wasn’t leaving it short. But I didn’t see anything particularly from a square-up, a technique [standpoint] or an issue that looked different in his shot.“

Well, we made it back from Tallahassee. We being Doug Doughty, Jerry Ratcliffe and myself.

In case you haven’t been following along via my YouTube videos, well, lets just say I’ve been a little bit disturbed by Doughty’s eating habits over the last few days. So much so, that I decided to keep a “Doughty food diary.“

I hope that this can serve as an example of what not to eat during a weekend road trip.

Friday
Lunch:  Shrimp appetizer, pork chop with rice pilaf and macaroni and cheese

1 hour later:  5 servings of trail mix, medium sized milkshake from Wendy’s

1 hour after that:  S’mores

Dinner:  Pasta parmesan, 5 biscuits, salad, 4 pomegranate iced teas

1 hour later:  3 servings of trail mix

Saturday
Breakfast:  Hardboiled egg, waffle, apple juice, coffee

Press meal at arena:  Scrambled eggs, salad, biscuit, bacon, sausage, iced tea, tic tacs

After game: 5 servings of trail mix

Dinner:  Blackened bleu salad, garlic bread, diet coke

1 hour later:  3 servings of trail mix

Sunday
Breakfast:  Fried eggs, biscuit and jam, grits, turkey sausage, coffee, cider

30 minutes later:  3 servings of trail mix

Lunch:  3 pieces of chicken with chili sauce, McDouble burger, diet coke

1 hour later:  Whatever was left in the bag of trail mix

NOTE: This diary does not include what Doughty likely ingested in his hotel room after hours.

Time to get back in the car with Doug Doughty and Jerry Ratcliffe and drive 12 hours back to C’ville.

No. 16 Virginia has lost to No. 19 FSU, 58-55.

UVa was led by Mike Scott and Joe Harris, who each scored 16 points.

Here’s a brief recap. Be sure to check out my full game story later.

Jontel Evans cut the FSU lead to three with 1:01 left in the game. Akil Mitchell then stole a Michael Snaer entry pass and Virginia called timeout with 34.3 seconds remaining.

With about 16 seconds, Joe Harris launched a 3 off a pass from Sammy Zeglinski that could have tied the game, but it went in and out.

Virginia trailed 23-22 at the break, but FSU started the second half strong. An Xavier Gibson dunk off a nice feed from Michael Snaer started a 7-1 spurt that was capped by a Deividas Dulkys 3-pointer that put the Seminoles up 30-24.

UVa went the first 5:05 without a field goal before Scott scored on a fastbreak layup that came off an FSU turnover.

The Seminoles took a 37-29 lead following an Okaro White layup and an Ian Miller jumper in transition, which came after Malcolm Brogdon couldn’t handle a pass from Jontel Evans.

FSU then took a 42-29 lead, its biggest of the game, on a White dunk before Virginia, shockingly, reeled off baskets on seven straight possessions to take a 45-44 lead. The 16-2 run was highlighted by the last guy you’d expect—Evans, who scored six of the points. One of his hoops came on a pretty drive to the hoop after he had executed a great ball fake. The other came when he stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup.

FSU, though, answered with a 5-0 run to take a 49-45 lead with 3:36 remaining.

Virginia trimmed the lead to 50-48 after a Harris 3-pointer

It was a sloppy, yet entertaining first half. The teams combined for 23 turnovers.

For Virginia, it was the same old story—lots of scoring from Scott and not much from anybody else.

Virginia hit four of its first seven shots to start the game. Sammy Zeglinski set Scott up for two baskets—the first a jumper, the second a wide-open dunk—to give UVa an 8-6 lead.

FSU was aggressive on the glass early, scoring twice on put-back baskets by Gibson and Bernard James.

After the first television timeout, Virginia began to self-destruct. FSU, which came into the game leading the ACC in steals, forced UVa into turnovers on four straight possessions and took a 13-8 lead after White hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down and then converted on a slicing layup.

Trailing 17-10, Virginia clawed back into the game via a 7-0 spurt. Joe Harris drilled a 3-pointer and then Scott connected on four straight free throws—the first two coming as a result of a flagrant foul call on Gibson.

A Brogdon drive pulled Virginia to 23-22 at the break.

Lots of turnovers so far.

For Virginia, it’s been the same old story. Lots of scoring from Mike Scott and not much from anybody else.

Virginia hit four of its first seven shots to start the game. Sammy Zeglinski set Scott up for two baskets—the first a jumper, the second a wide-open dunk—to give UVa an 8-6 lead.

FSU was aggressive on the glass early, scoring twice on put-back baskets by Xavier Gibson and Bernard James.

After the first television timeout, Virginia began to self-destruct. FSU, which came into the game leading the ACC in steals, forced UVa into turnovers on four straight possessions and took a 13-8 lead after Okaro White hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down and then converted on a slicing layup.

Trailing 17-10, Virginia clawed back into the game via a 7-0 spurt. Joe Harris drilled a 3-pointer and then Scott connected on four straight free throws—the first two coming as a result of a flagrant foul call on Xavier Gibson.

A Malcolm Brogdon drive pulled Virginia to 23-22 at the break.

The men open their season at Drexel on Feb. 18. The women get underway at home against Loyola (Md.) on Feb. 18.

Until then, here’s some stuff to whet your appetite…

Virginia men’s coach Dom Starsia:

Virginia women’s coach Julie Myers:

Just an FYI: The media hasn’t been permitted to ask the coaches anything about the upcoming trial of former UVa player George Huguely. In addition, we aren’t being granted any access to current players until the seasons get underway.

Here’s a conversation I had with UVa coach Brian Boland yesterday. Boland discusses his opponents, the upcoming ITAs, the importance of Drew Courtney this season and MUCH more.

Here’s a conversation I had with Alex Domijan. The sophomore discusses the health of his shoulder and his love for USC.

And here’s a conversation I had with Virginia co-captain Jarmere Jenkins, who had one of the best offseasons of any player on the team. (Wish it could have been longer, my camera battery died)

Here was a postgame chat that Doug Doughty and I had after Virginia’s win over Clemson last night.

Here was Tony Bennett’s press conference.

Here I am giving Mike Scott grief about a dunk he missed in a game at FSU when he was a freshman.

And here are some quotes, many of which didn’t make it into my game story.

(Courtesy UVa media relations)

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On Mike Scott and Joe Harris:
“I thought Joe and Mike were terrific tonight. We needed it. We were better offensively in the second half and not so great in the first half, but some of the plays that Joe and Mike made were timely. And with Akil hitting those big free throws, it was significant for us.  I really liked their activity and how they hunted down the shots offensively. It was nice to see them getting some rhythm and going to work.”

On rebounding:
“We were better. Early on we had a couple loose ones that we didn’t get, but our guys rebounded hard and we came up with some big defensive rebounds late in the game when we needed them. And the numbers obviously look a lot better than they did last game.”

On Akil Mitchell:
“Akil did a nice job. You can look at his seven rebounds, his play and his activity, and he got better in second half too. This was an invaluable experience for him in his career. We don’t have a choice with him, he has to be ready. We rode Akil hard and we rode Mike hard. I know its physically and mentally draining to play that hard for that long but that’s what’s required. We don’t have any other options.”

On Mike Scott:
“He had a better second half. Mike did well with the double team and he shot it really well. We got him some good looks, and again we like him to post up and score but his versatility is what makes him so effective. Not only with his perimeter shot but his ability of when they come at him to find people and make some passes. We just have to do a good job of stretching the defense.”

On Mike going 4-4 from the line in the final 16 seconds:
“That made a difference. That was significant. Probably the greatest joy as a coach is to see a player mature on the floor, which he has, but what I see from him off the court is in terms of leadership and the way he’s reached out and to care for his teammates. It’s really become a priority for him. Even when we’ve had a few bumps in the road, he’s been there.”

On turnovers:
“It was a little uncharacteristic for Jontel to have five turnovers, with three of those being charges. He wasn’t the best with some of his decision-making. But that’s hard as an offensive player. He did a good job to start the second half and came up and really challenged the other team. He was physical and I believe he will get better.”

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

On Virginia getting production from other players besides Mike Scott:
“I think they have three guys, Zeglinski, Harris, and Scott, that when those guys are making shots or taking shots you don’t feel good about it on your end. Those are three guys who are all good players, can make shots, and get hot. I know Sammy’s been a little up and down at points but you don’t feel good on the other bench when he’s shooting a three. Joe Harris is a really good player. I really like the way he plays. I love his game. I’ve said coming into this game that Mike Scott is one of two of three of best players in this league. What he’s doing is tremendous. He’s gives them a guy to go to late in the clock when you really need a basket. He made his free throws down the stretch, made some 17-foot jump shots but you’re guarding so many things that there are some things you got to give him. Then he makes more pro-moves that are off the lane and harder to guard. Your trap almost can’t get there sometimes and even when they go, he still makes tough shots. You know this is a very good team because they have some guys that can score. The way they play their points are never going to be high, but if you look at their field goal percentage, they shot a tremendous field goal percentage. I thought we played well, we had three or four bad shots we took in the second half and I think the other part of the story is that we drove the paint several times in the second half. You know we didn’t get calls; we didn’t make baskets we needed and a lot of times we’d miss and our guy would go flying and we’d have another guy trying to get the rebound and all of sudden they’re on a four on three and Joe Harris making a three at the other end. So its no points for us, three for them and you can’t go back and get your defense set. So that is a problem for us. We’re not a great team that finishes at the rim, we’re not a great driving team so you run good offense and get to the paint and don’t score, and you give up a basket in six seconds, it’s back-breaking tough.”

On getting back into the game after Virginia’s run:
“Yeah we held in there. Our guys have been gritty all year so there were probably three times they could have just knocked us out completely. We used some timeouts to try to get settled and to our guys credit, we’d make a basket. We might get a stop and we’d cut it to eight, cut it to six, they’d score again, send it back to ten. We’d bring it back to six, they’d go back to 10 and then the crazy thing is I got my best player shooting an open three with 16 seconds to go and if he makes it we’re tied and now who knows what happens. And it kind of has been the story of our season.  We’ve had that shot in about three games this year and haven’t made it and they’ve been open shots.”

On rebounding:
“Well the rebounding is a little misleading only from the standpoint of they didn’t miss very many shots so we didn’t have many chances to get defensive rebounds. They only got seven offensive rebounds. We got thirteen defensive. That’s not a great percentage.  If it’s 14-6, that’s 70% rebounding and that’s pretty good. Most coaches live with something like that: 70-75%. You know we ended up with 65% or something along those lines so the rebounding looks a little skewed because they didn’t miss very many shots. There weren’t very many chances for us to get rebounds. We missed very many shots for them to have a lot of defensive rebounds. They do a good job with defensive rebounding. That’s where us being a little smaller doesn’t help us.”

On Mike Scott:
“He is just a tremendous player. You do the best you can. The problem is he catches it in areas that are hard because they are pro-lane areas. He’s off the lane enough that it’s hard to trap him because he’s so far off the lane, he’s catching it and looking to see if you’re coming. If you’re coming he’s going to pass it and if you don’t come now that’s one on one with him and he’s good enough to make some of those shots.  He made some perimeter shots that obviously hurt us and 7-8 free throws. You can live with some of his baskets but he played too well tonight and those 23 points were too much.”

Virginia junior guard Jontel Evans

On Coach Bennett at halftime:
“He got on us a little bit. He told us that we weren’t playing hard defense. That’s our bread and butter. He just wanted us to pick it up in the second half, and that’s what we did.”

On Clemson’s performance:
“Now that we’re having success, I feel like we’re going to get the best out of every team. We should expect to have a game like that every time we step on the court.”

On Andre Young:
“He’s a great player, strong, physical, and can really shoot the lights out. So I just wanted to try to pressure him and get him out of his comfort zone. I felt like I did a pretty good job on him. He didn’t hit his average.”

On Mike Scott:
“The way he approaches these games, he’s so focused mentally. Nobody can knock him off his game. He comes in well-prepared, getting shots up during the week. His focus is unbelievable.”

Virginia senior guard Sammy Zeglinski

On team play:
“Joe played great. His shots were looking really nice. Mike obviously had a strong game again. We found a way to get it done. Clemson is a pretty solid team, so it was a good win for us. “

On winning record:
“It’s just finding a way to get it done. When people have off nights, other guys step up, and that’s the way it’s been all year. I think going forward, we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We’re excited about our season so far, and we’re excited about the future.”

On focus:
“Everybody is going to be ready to play this late in the season. Every game is so important. Everybody’s really playing for post-season play and ACC tournament play. Going forward, we’re going to have to be ready to play every game.”

Virginia senior forward, Mike Scott

On team play:
“They threw the ball to me so much, that they forgot about Joe. Joe got some good shots, some easy shots, so that’s good for everyone.”

On inside-outside game:
“It was definitely important because they were double downing me and I had to make a pass. I found my teammates when the other team started double teaming me. When they’re not, then I’m just playing my game.”

On Florida State:
“They’re athletic. They’re long. They’ve got some good shooters and they’re very good defensively. It’s definitely going to be a battle. We’re two defensive teams, so that’s what it’s going to come down to, who’s going to outlast the other.”

On leadership:
“Since Assane has been out, I’ve been trying to be that leader, stepping up even more, especially defensively. I’m trying to carry my teammates.”

Clemson Senior Guard Tanner Smith

On overall performance:
“It was a grinder, guys just made shots tonight and that was just kind of the story of the game.  The second half they came out and made some shots we didn’t. We had some good looks.  We didn’t really turn the ball over.  I think we had some really good effort tonight, but again its one of those one or two possession games that we are on the losing end of.  This is a tough place to come to on the road and win so I’m encouraged with our performance, but we got to get these one or two possession wins.”

On how to avoid runs like 17-3, similar to the one against Miami:
“It’s tough.  Like I said, they made some shots and the bad part about that run was that it was really quick.  It was over a very short period of time, we are up 4 or 5 at halftime and all of a sudden we look up and we are down 8 and we have only played two minutes of the second half so we need to cut those runs out and we need to play better defensively.”

On Mike Scott:
“As you saw tonight, the only thing he can’t do is consistently make a half court shot, and I think that’s about it.  He’s a great player, very active, unselfish, but demands the ball at big times and he did that tonight.  I thought we did kind of what we wanted to do.  He made some shots and sometimes you just got to live with that with a good player.”

On forcing Mike Scott out:
“He made some at the beginning and continued to make some. We had guys close out, but with him its pick your poison and we figured the farther he is away, the less the percentages are.  But like I said, he made some good shots tonight.”