North Carolina is conscious that the trajectory of its season is inflicting some alarm, and one other matchup looms giant for the Tar Heels once they go to Clemson on Monday night time.
North Carolina (14-10, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Convention) has endured a bumpy stretch, however the Tar Heels are coming off Saturday’s 67-66 residence victory in opposition to Pitt.
“I feel it’s best to play like that daily, each possession, whether or not it is shootaround, follow, recreation,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis stated. “It isn’t a way of urgency. It is a sense of emergency.”
Clemson (19-5, 11-2) can be simply two days faraway from conquering No. 2 Duke, with Saturday night time’s 77-71 victory ending the nation’s longest profitable streak at 16 video games.
“Our guys mustered up the spirit and vitality,” Tigers coach Brad Brownell stated. “… An enormous one for us and one other one approaching Monday.”
Followers stormed the courtroom postgame to have fun the result in opposition to Duke. The Tigers are hoping that the passion expressed from the gang might be replicated all through Monday night time’s recreation.
Clemson can be going for a trifecta of types on its residence courtroom in opposition to school basketball’s bluebloods. The Tigers have toppled Kentucky and Duke at Littlejohn Coliseum.
“This place is simply particular when it is like this,” Brownell stated. “Clearly, it has been like this a number of instances this 12 months now and I am very grateful for that. I do know our gamers are. It definitely impacts the result of the sport.”
The Tigers covet these conditions and are decided to rise to the event.
“Realizing we’re constructed for it,” stated guard Chase Hunter, who had 14 factors and 7 rebounds in opposition to Duke. “We have been in a whole lot of shut video games, large video games. Ensuring we keep assured.”
Two of North Carolina’s ACC victories are one-point choices. Different tight video games have not gone the Tar Heels’ manner.
“We really feel like we have been in that place so many instances, and we have been on the improper aspect of it,” North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau stated. “So it feels good to be on the nice aspect of it now.”
The Tar Heels felt higher about their ball-handling after committing six turnovers Saturday. Now it is an opportunity for the Tar Heels to generate momentum.
“It is one thing we will use to get ourselves rolling,” ahead Ven-Allen Lubin stated. “Particularly since we’ve a fast turnaround for Clemson on Monday, it will get us on the precise path.”
North Carolina guard RJ Davis, who has led the group in scoring in 11 video games this season, has 2,505 profession factors to rank seventh in ACC historical past.
Clemson confirmed the flexibility of its lineup by taking pictures 63.4 % on 2-point makes an attempt in opposition to Duke. Viktor Lakhin had 22 factors on 9-of-12 taking pictures.
Ian Schieffelin, who’ll go into the North Carolina recreation in search of his tenth double-double of the season, has 28 double-digit rebounding outings in his profession.
“We have an older group of men, who’ve been by a whole lot of video games,” Hunter stated. “It reveals on the market once we play. We play with a whole lot of grit, a whole lot of toughness.”
Apart from defeating San Francisco and Penn State on Nov. 25 and 26, the Saturday-to-Monday turnaround will mark the shortest time between video games this season for Clemson.
–Area Degree Media
