Carolina coasting: Clemson basketball blows out UNC, continues hot ACC start
This was supposed to be a tricky two-game stretch for Clemson.
Sure, the Tigers men’s basketball team didn’t have to leave home. But they were playing the No. 2 team in the country and then another blue-blood program in back-to-back games. It was their only Saturday-Monday turnaround in ACC play.
To make things a little more uncomfortable, Clemson lost the pre-weekend trap game everyone saw coming against Georgia Tech last Tuesday ... in triple overtime.
How’d the Tigers respond?
By gutting out their signature win of the year against Duke, dominating an unranked but talented UNC team and more or less clinching an NCAA Tournament spot.
Clemson grit, indeed.
Newly ranked in the AP Top 25 after a seven-week absence, the No. 23 Tigers avoided any post-Duke hangover and smoked the Tar Heels 85-65 on Monday night at Littlejohn Coliseum, just two days after they knocked off the No. 2 Blue Devils.
Center Viktor Lakhin had 22 points, four 3-pointers and five blocks as Clemson moved to 20-5 (12-2 ACC) and won its eighth conference game in the last nine tries.
The Tigers shot a scorching 12-25 (48%) on threes as a team, led by as 26 points in the second half and did not trail past the 9:23 mark of the first half against a UNC team that was in desperate need of a win to boost its own postseason chances.
Instead, Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels fell to 14-11 (7-6 ACC) and, despite a roster loaded with McDonald’s All-Americans, looked outmatched against a veteran Clemson squad that’s now 9-4 in Quadrant 1 and 2 games per the NCAA’s NET metric.
“We knew coming in after that Duke win we couldn’t just settle and be happy with that win,” said Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery (16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists). “We have to keep building off that, and that’s what we did today.”
Tar Heel domination
Two days after dominating in the paint against Duke, the Tigers shifted their game plan, played a lot faster and shot a lot more 3-pointers (25 against UNC versus 10 vs. Duke) to combat a guard-heavy Tar Heels lineup.
Lakhin, a 6-foot-11 center, made four 3-pointers in the first half alone (which set a new season high and was one off his career high). The Tigers were 8 of 12 from deep in the first half. They finished shooting 48%, their third-best single-game percentage.
That sort of blistering production made the difference in a high-scoring first half, and eventually wore down UNC. Clemson, in Davis’ words, wanted it more than the Tar Heels and flexed that drive after UNC took a 23-21 midway through the first half.
“Every effort and physicality part about the game ... from that stretch, they dominated,” Davis said. “They’re a very good team and they played tonight hungry in every aspect of the game, and I thought that was the deciding factor.”
Clemson led UNC 49-33 at halftime and outscored them 36-32 in the second half, a margin aided when the Tigers called off the troops and subbed in their bench players (including a number of walk-ons) in the game’s final minutes.
Brownell’s squad outpaced the Tar Heels in just about every stat that mattered. Rebounding margin? Plus-13. Second-chance points? Plus-5. Clemson had more bench points, more blocks, more assists.
“That’s why we have a chance to be a good team, is we can beat you in different ways,” Brownell said. “Defensively, we were solid. ... And when you shoot the ball like we did, it can be hard for the opponent.”
The Tigers led for 35:08 of a possible 40 minutes on Monday night (87% of the game), and their lead never dropped below 16 points after the 15-minute mark of the second half. Clemson’s lead against a preseason AP Top 10 squad that’s now a postseason bubble team peaked at 26 points — 77-51 — with 5:21 remaining.
By that time, a noticeable chunk of Clemson fans were heading for the exits ... for good reasons. It was not the most frequent sight at Littlejohn Coliseum, where ACC stalwart UNC was 43-18 (.700) all-time entering Monday.
The Tigers are now 4-3 in their last seven against the Tar Heels and have won 12 of their 14 ACC games. Among 18 ACC teams, their conference winning percentage (.857) is second only to Duke, which they hold a head-to-head win against.
“I’m very proud of us, all of us, what we’re doing,” Lakhin said.
NCAA Tournament time approaches
What’s next?
Barring a massive collapse, the Tigers are safely in the NCAA Tournament at this point. ESPN gives Clemson a 92% chance of making the field following the UNC win and said the Tigers are in “great shape,” with a 12-5 record against teams in the website’s Basketball Power Index top 100 and top 30 strength of record.
At this point, it’s a matter of seeding (Clemson’s average NCAA seed among 88 predictions was a No. 7/8 seed as of Monday) and avoiding an epic collapse.
Clemson’s already clinched a winning record in ACC play. Among the team’s six remaining conference games, four (Florida State, SMU, Virginia and Boston College) are on the road. The Tigers also get Notre Dame and Virginia Tech at home.
The Tigers are currently favored in all six, per ESPN, including a slight edge for a big Feb. 22 road game at SMU that currently stands as a Quad 1 opportunity.
“At the end of the day, we just keep trying to play better basketball,” Brownell said.
Lakhin, the Cincinnati transfer center who was drawn to the Tigers out of the portal after watching their Elite Eight run last year, took it a step further.
“We’re trying a hang a banner and do something that’ll last forever,” he said.
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 9:02 PM.
