Clemson’s fortunes have soured considerably since a promising 11-1 start to the season.
The Tigers suffered a heartbreaking 66-65 home loss to Virginia over the weekend that would have given them a much-needed victory and morality boost.
Instead, when Jack Clark missed a good-look 3-point attempt from the top of the key just a split second before the buzzer sounded on Saturday, Clemson had dropped its sixth game in nine tries since the start of the year.
A trip to Chapel Hill to face the ACC’s top-ranked team in No. 3 North Carolina will be the furthest thing from a soft landing spot that coach Brad Brownell’s squad can get.
NORTH CAROLINA
Talk about no rest for the purple-and-orange clad weary. The Tar Heels (18-4 overall, 10-1 conference) started 9-0 in ACC play, their best mark in 23 years, before falling a week ago to Georgia Tech in Atlanta to snap a 10-game overall winning streak.
Coach Hubert Davis’ team quickly rebounded for a convincing 93-84 victory over No. 7 Duke at the Dean Smith Center last Saturday.
6-foot-11 senior Armando Bacot has led North Carolina all season and did so again vs. Duke when he scored a game-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds. Harrison Ingram also posted a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards.
CLEMSON
After its latest setback to a streaking Virginia team that’s won seven straight contests, Clemson (14-7, 4-6) had its third loss in the past month that was decided on the final play of the game; the Tigers had previously suffered similar heartbreaking defeats to Duke and Georgia Tech.
“We’ve gotten knocked back a little bit. I think we have a good group of guys and we’ll continue to rally and gain traction. Eventually, the worm will turn and we’ll win a couple of these games that have gotten away from us and be back in a good place,” Brownell maintained after Saturday’s loss.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 19 points against Virginia to match his team-best season average.
Series Notes and Recent History
Tuesday’s game marks the 147th meeting between Clemson and North Carolina. The Tar Heels hold a commanding 124-22 advantage in the all-time head to head series. In the last meeting between the two schools a month ago on January 6, Bacot tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds in a 65-55 North Carolina victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson’s last win over Carolina was three years ago in February 2021 at Littlejohn. The Tigers have won only once all-time in Chapel Hill. That was on January 11, 2020 in a historic 79-76 overtime thriller that snapped a 59-game consecutive losing streak on the Tar Heels’ home court. It was longest such streak vs. a single opponent in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history — one that had dated back to 1926. The Tigers lost 91-71 in their most recent visit to Chapel Hill last season.
How To Watch
Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Tuesday’s game vs. North Carolina.
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 6
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Dean Smith Center
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 389)
Broadcast Teams
ESPN: Rece Davis, Jay Williams
Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret