Heel Tough Blog: Clemson Preview (ACC Tournament - Quarterfinals)
- Joshua Marlow
- 3 minutes ago
- 4 min read
It’s been five years since the Tar Heels last took the court, but that’s set to change later today, as Carolina begins ACC Tournament play tonight against Clemson. The Tar Heels secured a double-bye in the ACC Tournament after going 24-7 in the regular season, going 12-6 in the league, with wins over Duke and Virginia, the top two seeds at this year’s tournament. In their last time out, Carolina fell to Duke, 76-61, to split the regular-season series with the Blue Devils for the first time since 2021-22. It was the first game that UNC played knowing they won't be getting back Caleb Wilson, who is officially out for the season after breaking his thumb during a non-contact drill in practice leading up to the Duke game. The Tar Heels played the final 7 games of the regular season, posting an impressive 5-2 record, without him, earning big overboth Louisville and tonight’s opponent, the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson lost five of their last seven games to conclude the regular season, but even after those struggles, the Tigers are poised to make the NCAA Tournament after beating Wake Forest to close out the second round. The Tigers raced out to an 18-point lead at halftime before holding off a potential rally from the Demon Deacons. In the win, the Tigers may have potentially lost Carter Welllington, who left the game in the first half, and didn’t return, and was seen in a walking boot after the game. If Wellington isn’t able to go, that means that Clemson would only have one double-digit scorer available tonight, in RJ Godfrey. But as you could expect with a Brad Brownell team, they are tough defensively, as they give up the second-fewest points of any team in the ACC.
Carolina and Clemson played nine days ago, with the Tar Heels earning a close win over the Tigers, to secure an undefeated season at home and set a new school record for the number of home wins (18), in a single season. Luka Bogavac enjoyed his best game as a Tar Heel, scoring a career-high 20 points and maxing 6 three-pointers. Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels will be counting on his scoring production for the remainder of the season, as they are looking for a consistent scorer to emerge without Wilson, if they want to reach the second weekend.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since UNC last won the ACC Tournament, but the program is set out to change that this weekend in Charlotte. But there’s no need to look ahead. Here’s what to watch during tonight’s game against the Clemson Tigers:
Protect the Paint: When Carolina’s defense has struggled, even when they struggled to defend the perimeter, it starts with their inability to keep the ball outside of the painted area. In the first matchup, Clemson kept isolating Godfrey on Veesaar, and he scored time and time again in the painted area. Expect that to be the game plan once again, as Godfrey scored 22 points on an efficient 10-13 shooting. It’s not just the bigs, though, the guards also need to contain the dribble-drive and not have its defense broken down time and time again. Points in the pain are like running the football in January; the team that dominates the game in the trenches usually dominates on the scoreboard.
Rebound: After the loss to Duke, Hubert Davis was very stern when talking to his team about the importance of being a better rebounding team. That’s the part that no one talks about when it comes to Caleb Wilson, you aren’t just missing his 19 points, you are missing his 9 rebounds, and they’ve struggled to replace that production since he first got hurt. It’s hard to advance in tournament play, conference or NCAA Tournament play, if you don’t rebound the basketball. With a lot of practice time since the loss at Duke, you can imagine that it has been the focus of every practice since then. All eyes are going to be on Henri Veesaar, who has a wild sequence of games over the couple of weeks, with there being games he didn’t make his presence felt on either the offensive or defensive glass. That can’t happen the rest of the way, because if Veesaar doesn’t make his presence felt on either end of the floor, then Carolina won’t be able to do so to their fullest abilities.
Hit Perimeter Shots: The only way to soften up Clemson’s defense is to make shots from the outside, and Carolina did that in the first game, making double-digit threes. That was the game in which Luka Bogavac went nuts from the outside, and Derek Dixon began to climb out of his shooting slump. Dixon stayed hot in the loss at Duke, going 5-7 from the outside, and hopefully Derek is able to carry that over this week in Charlotte. But he will need help from Bogavac, Powell, and others, because if Carolina only has one reliable outside shooter, Brad Brownell will be able to take him away.
UNC in the ACC Tournament:
The Tar Heels are 110-53 in the ACC Tournament, with a 50-14 mark in the quarterfinal round. They are second in the league in ACC Tournament wins and championships. As a #4 seed in the ACC Tournament, Carolina is 4-6, having won the 1989 ACC Tournament.
KenPom:
North Carolina - 31st overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 121.6 (37th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 100.5 (34th)
Clemson - 37th overall. Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 116.5 (74th) Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.4 (19th)
NET:
North Carolina - 24th
Clemson - 36th
TV Info: Tonight’s game will air on ESPN, sith a scheduled tip time at 9:39
Comments