North Carolina
Defense Leads 65-55 Win At Clemson – University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina closed the game on a 7-0 run in the final four minutes and held the Tigers scoreless for the final 5:02 of action.
UNC’s defense stymied Clemson into missing 17 of 18 three-point attempts and limited Clemson to season lows in points (55), field goal percentage (36.2) and three-point percentage (5.6).
All 10 Tar Heels who played scored at least one field goal. Armando Bacot led the way with his 75th career double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while also tallying three assists and two blocked shots.
Bacot also moved into fifth in school history in career scoring, passing Al Wood and Charlie Scott. His defense helped limit Tiger All-ACC candidate PJ Hall to 10 points on 4 of 13 shooting. Hall entered the game averaging 21 points per game.
RJ Davis tied Bacot for the team scoring lead with 14 despite a tough shooting day (5 for 13) in a team-high 35 minutes. Cormac Ryan scored 10 and dished out four assists, and Harrison Ingram had nine points and four rebounds.
The Tar Heels have held their opponents to under 70 points in four consecutive road games and committed 10 or fewer turnovers in each of their last four outings overall.
Carolina has won four straight games and improved to 3-0 in ACC play, its best conference start since going 3-0 to begin 2015-16. Clemson fell to 11-3, 1-2.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina displayed a balanced offense and played well from the start. Four Tar Heel starters (all but Harrison Ingram) scored at least a field goal before the first media timeout of the game. Eight Tar Heels eventually scored in the first half.
• Ryan led Carolina with 10 first-half points despite leaving the game for a minute of action due to a turned ankle.
• Carolina made 4 of its last 5 shots of the half, upping its field goal percentage to 47% while holding Clemson to 40.7% (including 0 for 8 on 3FG).
• UNC entered the game averaging over 20 free throw attempts per game and was third nationally in free throws made per game. The Tar Heels were 1 for 3 at the line in the first half while Clemson was 12 for 14.
Second Half
• Both teams went scoreless for long portions in the early portion of the second half, including a stretch of nearly five minutes for Clemson.
• The Tar Heel defense limited Clemson to 10 for 31 shooting in the second half (32.3 percent) and 36.2 percent in the game.
• UNC dominated the glass, 25-16, in the second half for an overall 44-33 rebounding advantage in the game.
• The Tigers were 0 for 2 at the free throw line in the second half after piling up 14 first-half attempts.
Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Clemson was UNC’s sixth ranked opponent already this season (Associated Press poll). The Tar Heels are 4-2 in those games.
• Saturday’s game was the second of six ACC road games for Carolina in January. This is UNC’s first time playing six road games in a month since it played seven in January 1952 as a member of the Southern Conference.
• The Tar Heels are in the midst of a 42-day stretch during which they only play one home game (hosted Florida State on Dec. 2 and Charleston Southern on Dec. 29; next home game is Jan. 13 versus Syracuse).
• UNC is 136-23 all-time against the Tigers, including 42-18 in Clemson and 31-15 in Littlejohn Coliseum. UNC has won three in a row in the series.
• Carolina is 17-3 against Clemson when both teams are ranked in the AP poll
Up Next
Carolina will play the last of three consecutive ACC road games when it visits NC State on Wednesday January 10. UNC then will play three of four at home, beginning on Saturday Jan. 13 against Syracuse.
Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.
Gallery: (1-6-2024) MBB Grinds Past No. 16 Clemson, 65-55