Heel Tough Blog: Clemson Preview
Believe it or not, but the final home game of the 2025-26 season has arrived, as Carolina hosts Clemson tonight to close out what has been a spectacular season at home for Carolina Basketball. With the win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Tar Heels improved to 17-0 in the Dean Dome, a win tonight would earn the program its first unbeaten season at home since the 2016-17 national championship season and set a new school record for home wins in a single season.
Senior Night is always a special night for Carolina Basketball, and it’ll be extra special tonight. Not only will Carolina honor Seth Trimble and Elijah Davis in the pregame, but the speeches from the players will return after the game, as both will address the crowd following the conclusion of the game. In addition to the Senior Night festivities, former UNC guard RJ Davis will be honored at halftime, with his jersey already hanging in the rafters at the Smith Center, making it a special night to be in person for tonight’s game.
Before their win over Louisville on Saturday, Clemson had lost four straight games, falling out of contention for a regular-season conference title. Tonight’s game will go a long way to determining who secures the fourth and final double-bye for next week’s ACC Tournament. They feature a balanced scoring attack, with only two players averaging double-figures scoring in RJ Godfrey (11.5) and Carter Welling (10.2), but outside of that, they have eight different players averaging 6.0 points per game. Like a typical Brad Brownell team, they are solid defensively, ranking second in the ACC in points per game allowed, at 65.9, and are top-20 defensively in KenPom at 96.9 points per 100 possessions.
A win tonight for Carolina, and the picture becomes clearer in terms of their standing for the ACC Tournament, because with a win, and some help, UNC can secure the #4 seed, before the regular season finale at Duke on Saturday night. Here’s how Carolina can create some program history and stay hot amid the absence of Caleb Wilson, who is still working his way back from injury:
Don’t Settle For Outside Shots: Even though Carolina scored 44 points in the first half against Virginia Tech, they were still too dependent on perimeter shots, as at one point, they were being outscored 22-8, points in the paint. In the second half, they made a more concerted effort to put the ball inside, and ended up only losing the points in the paint 34-32. The big thing for Carolina is that when they put the ball inside, their offense is more efficient. They scored 89 points on Saturday, while shoot 56% from the field, 40% from behind the arc, and averaged 1.35 points per possession in the win over the Hokies. Clemson is going to want to force Carolina’s guards and wings to beat them from the outside, something they have failed to do consistently for the majority of the season. That means that Henri Veesaar, Jarin Stevenson, and Zayden High need to establish an inside scoring presence early in the game and force Clemson’s defense to collapse, opening up open shots from the outside.
Take Away the Paint: On the flipside, they need to take away the painted area from a Clemson offense that will look to get downhill, before kicking the ball back outside for a three-point shot. Even the teams that want to attack from the outside, like Alabama for instance, it starts with a paint touch, a kick-out, followed by a ball reversal, looking to generate an open look from behind the arc. Clemson wants to win the game from behind the three-point line, as they lack the size needed to win on the inside against a team as big as Carolina, which means UNC needs to take away driving lanes, which could potentially open up the defense.
Special Teams: Given how good Clemson is defensively, combined with how few of possessions they want to play, Carolina needs to make the most of every scoring opportunity, which means limiting their turnovers, making foul shots, and controlling the glass, to control the pace, and generate second-chance points.
Series History:
The Tar Heels are 136-25 all-time against the Clemson Tigers, with an impressive 60-2 mark in Chapel Hill, including being 29-2 in the Smith Center, although Clemson has won two of the last three games in Chapel Hill, and four of the last seven overall in the series.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 28th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 122.3 (32nd) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 101.0 (40th)
Clemson - 36th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 116.4 (76th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 96.9 (18th)
NET:
North Carolina - 25th.
Clemson - 35th.
TV Info:
Tonight’s game will air on ESPN2, starting at 7 PM.
The Four Corners Podcast:
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