UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Clemson 91-71 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Cruises Past Clemson in a Reset Game to Get Back on Track For the Final Stretch of the Season
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team looked to get back on track in their home game against Clemson on Saturday afternoon. Coming off a three-game losing streak, the Tar Heels came out much more focused and ready to play in this game. Although they were down early, the ball was popping and moving around to the open man on offense and the Heels were locked in defensively early on.
The Tar Heels were much more engaged and connected on both ends of the floor as UNC got back in the game. Clemson’s hot start from the three-point line kept them in the lead for a good portion of the first half. This was until Carolina started to close out better on their shooters, fight over those screens better, and force them off the three-point line. As North Carolina’s defensive intensity picked up, their offense continued to click as the Tar Heels moved the ball around for open threes and got penetration in the lane for layups and dunks in the paint. After UNC took the lead with just over nine minutes left in the first half, the Heels outscored Clemson 23-16 for the remainder of the half and led 42-33 going into halftime.
In the second half, the Tar Heels continued to play well on both ends of the floor. UNC was flying around on defense making Clemson take difficult shots on every possession, drawing charges, and playing the most connected they have on defense all season long. The Tar Heels also continued to play unselfish basketball offensively and had 17 assists on 32 made baskets. Carolina made sure to get the best shot on every offensive possession down the court.
The excellent play on both ends of the floor helped push their lead to as much as 25 in the second half as they dominated Clemson. Caleb Love, RJ Davis, and Armando Bacot were absolutely tremendous in the game and before they checked out for good with 4:22 left in the game they had 59 points combined, more than Clemson had as a team at that time with 57. This was the most locked-in this North Carolina team has looked in a game all season and it led to their 20-point victory over Clemson.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| Clemson 18-7 | 33 | 38 | 71 |
| North Carolina 16-9 | 42 | 49 | 91 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| C. Love | 23 | 1 | 5 | 7/12 | 6/9 | 3/4 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Bacot | 19 | 11 | 0 | 8/11 | 0/0 | 3/4 | 3 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| R. Davis | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5/12 | 4/10 | 3/4 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| L. Black | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3/5 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| P. Nance | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0/7 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| P. Johnson | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3/5 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. McKoy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Dunn | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2/4 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Washington | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2/4 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Nickel | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Farris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Styles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Landry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Watkins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Trimble | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Maye | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Lebo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Shaver | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 91 | 33 | 17 | 32/67 | 15/33 | 12/15 | 17 | – | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| P. Hall | 18 | 3 | 0 | 7/13 | 2/3 | 2/2 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| C. Hunter | 15 | 4 | 4 | 3/16 | 1/8 | 8/8 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| B. Galloway | 10 | 3 | 1 | 5/8 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 3 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| I. Schieffelin | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| H. Tyson | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| B. Middlebrooks | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 4/4 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Wiggins | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3/3 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Godfrey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| M. Kelly | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Hemenway | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1/2 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Beadle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Foster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Nauseef | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Nauseef | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Hunter | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Gibson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 71 | 31 | 11 | 24/53 | 7/20 | 16/18 | 18 | – | 3 | 2 | 12 |
UNC Bright Spots
Caleb Love had 23 points, 5 assists, and 1 rebound.
Armando Bacot had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals.
RJ Davis had 17 points and 3 assists.
Needs Work
The Tar Heel’s shot selection must be better when they have leads. This will keep other teams from making comebacks and making the games more interesting than they should be.
The Tar Heels must bring this consistent effort and energy in every single game they play going forward.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 16-9 on the season and 8-6 in ACC play. They got a much-needed statement win over a good Clemson team and broke their three-game losing streak. All season long we have expected the effort and energy brought in this game to be present in every single game this team suits up.
However, that has not been the case this season, their play has been very inconsistent this season and has affected them negatively in the win-loss column. Many people have questioned the toughness and leadership of this team and rightfully so. They have underperformed all season long and have not lived up to any expectations despite having the talent and players to do so.
In this game, it finally looked like the team blocked out all of the outside noise and just started playing fun team basketball again. It was most certainly their best-played game of the season thus far and something the Heels should look to build on moving forward. Trusting each other and playing off each should be continued to be emphasized by the Tar Heels as the final stretch of the season is upon them.
Consistent play with energy and effort is something that should be displayed in the remainder of the games. The coaching staff must make sure of that and be willing to make any adjustments to offense and defensive schemes, and rotations, that will put this team in the best position to win every game. Every player on the team will need to play unselfish team basketball and everything else will take care of itself because that’s how talented this team is. Next up is Miami on Monday, February 13 at 7:00 P.M.