Two Good: Tigers shock No. 3 UNC for second win ever in Chapel Hill |
And that’s two.
Clemson men’s basketball never trailed and held on late in grabbing its second-ever win in Chapel Hill, topping the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels 80-76 at the Dean Dome Tuesday. The victory is monumental both for Clemson men’s basketball history, and also more for the short-term NCAA Tournament resume. The Tigers (15-7, 5-6 ACC) improved to 2-60 all-time versus the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, but the victory is also the second for Brad Brownell there, after a 79-76 overtime win in 2020. The win was a first in 38 tries for Clemson versus a ranked Tar Heels team in Chapel Hill. It adds a second NET Top 10 road victory of the campaign and a fourth NET Quadrant 1 victory overall. The win reverses some trends to bring the Tigers to 3-3 in the last six games, and it evens the season series with the Tar Heels after UNC won 65-55 in Clemson last month. UNC’s Harrison Ingram tied the game up 70-all with four minutes left, evening the score for the first time since the game was 2-2. PJ Hall restored a Clemson lead with a tough bucket, missing the shot at a 3-point play with the free throw attempt. The Tar Heels’ attempts to take a first lead came up short, however, and Joseph Girard III hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night to give Clemson a 75-70 edge with 2:09 to go. UNC (18-5, 10-2) matched its turnover count for the entire game in a couple-minute stretch late, with three, and with Clemson in the bonus on free throws, Jack Clark sunk a pair to put the Tigers up 77-70 with 1:42 to go. Up five, Ian Schieffelin went to the free throw line and hit 1-of-2 to give Clemson a 6-point edge with a minute to go. Schieffelin grabbed the ensuing defensive rebound on the missed layup from the ACC’s scoring leader coming in, RJ Davis. After a Clark miss, Hall picked up his fourth foul on a scrum under the hoop, sending Armando Bacot to the line, who hit 1-of-2, and made it a 5-point game with 23.6 seconds to go. After a UNC steal, their shot attempt went awry, and Hall was sent to the line to ice the game with four seconds to go. "I'm really happy for these guys," Brownell said. "I've said a couple times that I think we're playing better than our ACC record, but you are what your record says you are so we've got to finish some games. Our guys have really hung in there. They've battled. Stayed pretty positive. Very connected -- they're working hard in practice every day. We haven't been giving in -- we just haven't had some good results." Hall led the Tigers with 25 points, while Girard contributed 21 points. The victory is the first road top-25 win in conference play for Brownell. In the bid for a second win in Chapel Hill ever, Clemson led at the half for only the second time on North Carolina’s campus in the last 25 years also. The Tigers put together one of their more dominant efforts against a quality opponent this season, going into the break up nine points, 43-34. That was aided by a start where Clemson hit seven of its first eight shots to a 17-4 lead. After making only 1-of-18 3-point attempts when the teams met in Clemson last month, the Tigers hit their first three shots from beyond the arc and 6-of-14 overall in the first 20 minutes. "The start to the game was huge," Brownell said. "It obviously gave us a big shot in the arm and some confidence...We weathered the storm. This place was loud most of the game. I think we shocked them early and the last 30 minutes it was loud in here most of the game. I think the guys handled that very well and made some big plays down the stretch. It's just a big win for us." The edge grew to as much as 16 points during a 3-plus-minute Tar Heels’ scoring drought, but a pair of UNC 3-pointers cut the deficit into the break. The battle of the bigs was well underway with 14 points each for Hall and Bacot, who scored 10 of his all in a row to keep the Tar Heels in it early. The Tigers extended the lead to 10 out of the break on a Hall bucket, but Hall picked up his third foul on the next possession with just under 18 to go. A mini-UNC run quickly cut the lead to three and prompted a Clemson timeout with 15 minutes left. Bacot followed with his third foul six minutes into the second half, sending Ian Schieffelin to the free throw line, who made both and put Clemson up four. Chauncey Wiggins connected on Clemson’s third trey of the half to give Clemson a 63-54 advantage with 8:55 left. An Elliott Cadeau 3-point play brought UNC back within three with six minutes left, however. Bacot picked up his fourth foul on the offensive end going up against Hall down-low with the game just ticking under five minutes to go. The Tigers finished with 11 3-pointers. Clemson heads to Syracuse next for a noon start (ESPN2).
Clemson defeats #3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill 80-76. Clemson's highest ranked win on opponents home court since Jan 21, 1976 a 82-77 at second Maryland .
— Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) February 7, 2024
TURN UP THE MUSIC 🎶🗣️ pic.twitter.com/orIMWqTBSp
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) February 7, 2024
UPSET ALERT! 🚨
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) February 7, 2024
Clemson defeats No. 3 UNC, 80-76 on the road! @ClemsonMBB | #ACCMBB pic.twitter.com/dkdEpq3gVC
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