When fully healthy, Virginia sophomore guard Joe Harris represents many things for the Cavaliers. He is the team’s second-leading scorer. He is the team’s top-rebounding guard. And both of those attributes are important for the team’s success.

But the greatest value Harris provided to Virginia before he broke his left hand during Saturday’s 70-52 loss at North Carolina was lineup protection for fifth-year senior forward Mike Scott. Harris is the team’s top three-point shooter, and his ability to stretch an opposing defense with his perimeter marksmanship did wonders for Scott in the post.

When Harris was on – which, considering he entered the North Carolina game shooting 51.4 percent from three-point range, was quite often – opposing defenses could not afford to devote as much attention to locking down Scott inside. With more frequent one-on-one matchups, Scott could create room for his patented fadeaway jumper or draw fouls with strong moves to the basket.

But, understandably, Harris was not as effective Tuesday in his first full game playing with the injured hand. Sporting a thick protective pad he will have to wear during games for the next four to six weeks, Harris came off the bench to log 21 minutes. He shot 0 for 4 from three-point range and finished with two points. Scott still managed to tally 13 points, but he was nowhere near as dominant has he’d been with these two teams met two weeks earlier.

So as Harris grows accustomed to playing with that protective pad, add this to the growing list of obstacles Virginia must figure out a way to overcome in the coming weeks: A largely one-dimensional lineup.

Coach Tony Bennett and Virginia were dismayed by a non-call as Tuesday night’s game against Clemson was winding down. (Rainier Ehrhardt - AP) With about seven and a half minutes remaining in the second half Tuesday night, Virginia junior guard Jontel Evans capped a fast-break opportunity with an attempt at a reverse layup. He missed, but sophomore guard Joe Harris was there to grab the offensive rebound. The Cavaliers trailed by three at the time.

Harris went up for a would-be put-back attempt, but Clemson forward Milton Jennings knocked the ball loose and then recovered it. As he ignited the Tigers’ transition offense, the Virginia bench erupted over what it felt was a non-call. The Cavaliers – particularly Coach Tony Bennett – wanted a foul called on Jennings and two free throws for Harris.

“It’s just one of those, I don’t know,” Harris said. “It might have been a questionable call, but I probably should have gone up a little bit stronger with it, because I got the rebound and nobody was really there. I was kind of hoping we could get a call there and get to the line and maybe calm down the momentum from their run.”

When it was immediately clear such relief would not come, Bennett stomped and howled down the sideline. He was more consistently irascible Tuesday night than he’d been during any previous game this season, but that moment was the high point of his visible anxiety. As he finished hollering at the officials, Clemson guard Tanner Smith scored a layup.

You know that feeling when you’re running downhill and you know your legs are moving too haphazardly for your own good? Typically, that means a face plant is coming.

That’s kind of what it was like to watch No. 22 Virginia fall, 60-48, at Clemson on Tuesday night. Each team had only 60 possessions, but the tempo at which those possessions were played was simply too much for the Cavaliers to handle.

The game lasted 1 hour 40 minutes, which has to make it one of the quickest slow-paced contests of this college basketball season. Virginia tallied 18 turnovers, which negated the fact that the Cavaliers made half their shots and won the rebounding battle (28-23).

And now, with five regular season games remaining and having dropped three of its past four contests, Coach Tony Bennett’s squad has to start wondering how its résuméstacks up against others on the fringe of the NCAA tournament bid conversation. Virginia is 19-6 overall and 6-5 in ACC play.

Virginia sophomore guard Joe Harris will be a game-time decision for the 22nd-ranked Cavaliers’ contest Tuesday night at Clemson, Coach Tony Bennett said Monday. Harris fractured a bone in his left (non-shooting) hand Saturday during the Cavaliers’ 70-52 loss at North Carolina. 

Harris – the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder – will not undergo surgery immediately to correct the injury and will wear protective padding as he attempts to play through the discomfort for the remainder of the season. 

But as of noon Monday, Bennett had yet to see Harris work with the aid of the protective pad, which the coach described as a thermal plaster with a hard outer shell that covers the palm and allows only for finger movement and wrist flexion. The team planned to practice at Clemson on Monday evening after making the trip from Charlottesville. 

“I’m sure it will be a little cumbersome, but it’s also got to allow for protection,” Bennett said of the pad.

Virginia sophomore guard Joe Harris fractured a bone in his left hand in Saturday’s 70-52 loss at North Carolina, according to a statement from the team.

The fracture won’t require immediate surgery, the statement said, and Harris’s hand will be protected when he plays.

Harris has started all 24 of the Cavaliers’games this season and is averaging 12.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.