Harris fractures left hand

When Joe Harris said he couldn’t squeeze his hand after Saturday’s loss at North Carolina, you didn’t need to be Doogie Howser or House to know that there might be a problem.

It turns out that Harris has a fracture in his left hand.

The good news is that since it’s Harris’ non-shooting hand, he’ll be able to continue playing, starting with Tuesday night’s game at Clemson.

Harris injured the knuckles on his index and middle fingers in the first half of the UNC game when he got stepped on. Exactly which bone Harris fractured isn’t clear.

According to a press release that was issued Sunday afternoon, Harris’ "stable fracture will be managed without an operation at this time."

The release added that "Harris’ hand will be protected when he plays and he will be closely monitored."

The loss of Harris for any extended period would be crippling to a Virginia team that is down to eight healthy scholarship players and has had problems scoring.

Harris, averaging 12.5 points, is UVa’s second-leading scorer.

Harris had just one point in the first half of Saturday’s game. Playing with a wrap on his hand in the second half, he scored seven straight points to give Virginia a 41-39 lead.

However, Harris didn’t score again as the team tallied just 11 points over the game’s final 16 minutes.