Heel Tough Blog: Clemson Recap (ACC Tournament - Quarterfinals)

@UNCMBBStats

Charlotte has usually been a good second home for Carolina Basketball, having won many ACC and NCAA Tournament games in that city over the years, but that wasn’t the case this year, as UNC fell to Clemson 80-79 in the quarterfinal round, extending UNC’s drought of not having won the league championship to a decade. The Tar Heels had beaten Clemson nine days prior, 67-63 in the Smith Center, but failed to recuperate the same type of effort on both ends, trailing by as many as 18, before a furious comeback fell short. And the Clemson team that UNC beat last week was healthier than the Clemson team that Carolina saw last night, as the Tigers lost big man Carter Welling to a torn ACL. The short-handed Tigers built a 39-31 lead at the half, as they would build a lead as big as 18, before Henri Veesaar and Derek Dixon tried their best to bring Carolina back. Veesaar enjoyed the best game of his career from a stats perspective, scoring a career-high 28 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds, in the loss. Meanwhile, Derek Dixon added 16 points, on 6-9 shooting, including 4-6 from behind the arc, as it appears that the freshman has officially broken out of his shooting slump. 

If you just read the box score, it would suggest that Carolina could’ve or maybe even should’ve won the game, because Carolina shot 48% from the field, 37% from behind the arc, on 11 makes, while winning the battle of the boards 38-29, and outscoring them in the painted area 32-24. So how did Carolina lose the game then? They turned it over 10 times and missed seven foul shots, shooting just 59% from the foul line. Combine that with Carolina’s inability to generate misses and string together stops, and once Clemson built the lead, they were able to protect it just enough. The Tigers shot 49% from the field and 47% from behind the arc, on nine makes. 

Carolina is forced to navigate the rest of the season without Caleb Wilson, who was lost for the season after breaking his thumb in a freak accident last week. The absence of Wilson can be felt in terms of production, as Carolina is left without roughly 20 points and 10 rebounds, but maybe more importantly, there’s a leadership void with Wilson on the floor. On a night where Carolina lacked both energy and toughness, Wilson may have been able to will the team to a victory, and for all of his efforts, Henri Veesaar quite simply isn’t capable of doing that, and he waited too long to pick his game up individually. 

After back-to-back losses, it’s safe to say that frustration is setting in for the coaches, the players, and the fan base. The belief that Carolina could still accomplish something in March after losing has quickly evaporated, and the confidence has left the team after a 5-1 start without Wilson. After a quick exit from the ACC Tournament, it’s back to the drawing board for all parties involved, as the Tar Heels will learn their NCAA Tournament destination and opponent on Sunday, during the annual Selection Show. 

1. Lack of Toughness: Clemson has an identity of being the tougher team under Brad Brownell, and they certainly looked the part last night. Just like in the first matchup, RJ Godfrey was able to power his way through Veesaar to get easy buckets at the rim. In addition to that, they made it hard on Carolina to score in the halfcourt, taking away driving lanes for Seth Trimble to attack, and were much better running Luka Bogavacc off screens, allowing him to make just a single three, after making 6 in the first matchup. Hubert Davis always talks about wanting to have his team ready to start a fight, and last night it was Clemson who took the fight to them. 

2. Bench Production: Behind Nick Davidson, Clemson’s bench outscored Carolina’s bench, 29-5, as Davidson scored 17 points. The only bench scoring for Carolina came on a Jonathan Powell three and a Zayden High putback. Carolina’s depth had really started to show up in the absence of Wilson, but that wasn’t the case last night. Jaydon Young played a UNC-high 12 minutes off the bench and failed to score a single point. That forced Hubert Davis to play all of his starters at least 30 minutes, with three starters playing 33 minutes or more. 

3. Free Throws: On a night where Carolina struggled to generate consistent offense until the final 8 minutes, Carolina left too many points at the foul line, going just 10-17 for 59%. Three different Tar Heels missed at least two free throws, as Luka Bogavac was the only UNC player to attempt a free throw and not miss one. Carolina has been able to overcome poor free-throw shooting efforts in home wins, and even some road wins, but on a neutral floor, they become all the more important, and last night, they weren’t up to the task of making them. 

4. Full-Court Press: What ultimately helped get UNC back into the game was their full-court pressure, which got the pace of the game where they wanted it, and it led to some quick shots for a Clemson offense that was trying to put the game on ice. Hubert has been reluctant to press without Caleb Wilson, but his hand might be forced going into the NCAA Tournament to do so more often. 

5. Oh and Four: For the fourth straight time that UNC has been the #4 seed in the ACC Tournament, they have lost their opening round game, after doing the same thing in 1990, 2000, and 2014. 

Up Next: Carolina will wait to learn their NCAA Tournament opponent and destination. The 2026 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will start at 6 PM on CBS.