Despite how poorly it played in the first half against Clemson on Tuesday, the North Carolina men’s basketball team clawed all the way back from a first-half deficit and looked poised to take a late lead.
UNC knotted the score at 70 on Harrison Ingram’s 3-pointer. This was a welcome sight among the Smith Center crowd because Ingram earlier left the game with an apparent knee injury.
However, those were the last points North Carolina scored for nearly three minutes. In that time, Clemson started making shots again en route to a huge, 80-76 victory that gave the Tar Heels (18-5, 10-2 ACC) their second loss in three games.
The Tigers (15-7, 5-6) had a torrid start, thanks to hot shooting from Syracuse transfer Joe Girard (21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 5-of-10 from deep). UNC, on the other hand, couldn’t hit water if it fell out of a boat. It was shooting less than 30% from the floor at one point in the first half.
Armando Bacot was a huge plus for North Carolina in this game, exploding for a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double. This came after Saturday’s victory over archrival Duke in which Bacot recorded 25 points and 10 rebounds.
RJ Davis, despite scoring 22 points, suffered a 7-of-22 night from the field. Cormac Ryan continued to struggle from the field, shooting 1-of-10.
The Tar Heels, even though they hold a one-game lead over Virginia in the ACC standings, are in danger of losing a possible top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Let’s see what social media had to say about the Tuesday dud.