Clemson Visits Chapel Hill For Top 25 Matchup With North Carolina
Clemson who is located in Clemson South Carolina will travel one state up to North Carolina as two teams in the AP Top 25 will hit the hardwood Tuesday night in Chapel Hill as Clemson who is ranked 20th will meet North Carolina who is ranked 15th in this weeks poll. "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings
The Tar Heels are 14-4 overall, 3-2 in the ACC. The Tigers are 15-2, 4-1. UNC is 15th in the AP poll and is tied for 14th in the coaches' poll. Clemson is No. 20 in AP and 18 in the coaches' poll.
• Carolina has won two in a row – a 96-66 home win over Boston College on 1/9 and a 69-68 win at Notre Dame on 1/13. Clemson opened ACC play with three straight wins, then split a pair of games last week with a loss at NC State and a home win over Miami.
• The win at Notre Dame moved Roy Williams past Gary Williams with 76 ACC road wins behind Mike Krzyzewski (172) and Dean Smith (133).
• The teams are ranked ninth (UNC) and 15th (Clemson) by KenPom.com and are KenPom's 11th- and 12th-most efficient defenses, respectively. Offensively, UNC is 21st and the Tigers are 43rd.
• The Tar Heels have won 13 straight home ACC games.
• Carolina plays host to Georgia Tech on Saturday. This is the only week the Tar Heels play two ACC home games this season.
• Luke Maye (18.2) and Joel Berry II (17.4) lead Carolina in scoring. The last time two Tar Heels averaged 17 points or more in the same season was 1983-84, when Michael Jordan (19.6) and Sam Perkins (17.6) were UNC's top scoring duo.
• Berry is third in the ACC in free throw percentage (.891), fourth in three-pointers per game (2.7) and sixth in scoring. Maye is second in the league in rebounding (10.8), fourth in scoring and ninth in field goal percentage (.512).
• Berry, the 2017 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, is tied for 31st in UNC scoring with 1993 Final Four MOP Donald Williams. Both have 1,492 points. Berry needs eight points to become the 31st Tar Heel to score 1,500.
• Luke Maye leads the ACC and is seventh in the country in defensive rebounds (8.2), 10th in double-doubles (10) and 11th in rebounding (10.8).
• Maye was named the ACC Player of the Week for the third time this season for his performances against Boston College and Notre Dame. The junior from Huntersville, N.C., scored 50 points, grabbed 29 rebounds, and made 21 of 34 shots from the floor (.618) in the two wins.
• Maye is the 18th Tar Heel to earn three or more ACC Player of the Week honors in one season (since the award began in 1969-70).
• The win at Notre Dame was the 830th for Roy Williams, who ties Mt. St. Mary's Jim Phelan for seventh place in wins by a Division I head coach. Jim Calhoun is sixth with 873.
• Joel Berry II and Luke Maye are among 25 mid-season candidates for the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy's.
• Maye is one of five players who are on the mid-season list who were not among the 50 players on the preseason watch list.
• Carolina is one of four schools that have two players on the mid-season Wooden Award list; Berry and Maye are among the five ACC players on the list.
• Berry is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award (Tyler Hansbrough won the award in 2009). "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/15/mens-basketball-clemson-visits-smith-center-tuesday.aspx
THE RPI
• Carolina is No. 5 in the nation in the NCAA's RPI behind Duke, Oklahoma, Virginia and Villanova. Clemson is seventh.
• Carolina's strength of schedule is the second-toughest in the country behind only Temple. UNC's non-conference schedule was the 10th most difficult in the nation. (UNC went 11-2).
• Carolina's first 18 opponents have an average RPI of 88, which is the highest in the country. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/15/mens-basketball-clemson-visits-smith-center-tuesday.aspx
Carolina leads the series, 131-20. The 131 wins are tied for the fourth most by UNC against any opponent behind Wake Forest, NC State and Duke.
• Carolina has won nine in a row and 19 out of 20 in the series. The lone loss in that span came on 1/13/2010 at Clemson.
• Carolina is 58-0 at home, including 27-0 in the Smith Center. The 58 wins are the longest home winning streak against an opponent in NCAA history. Princeton (52) over Brown is the only other NCAA streak of 50 or more games (that streak ended in 2003). Marquette (36) over Milwaukee is the second-longest active home court streak over an opponent.
• The 58 wins include four in the Indoor Athletic Court, 14 in Woollen Gym, 13 in Carmichael Auditorium and 27 in the Smith Center.
• The two teams have played 17 previous games (at all sites) when both teams were ranked in the AP poll. UNC is 15-2 in those games (Clemson wins in 1977 and 2010, both in Littlejohn Coliseum).
• This is the first game in which both teams are ranked in the AP poll since 1/13/10, when No. 24 Clemson beat No. 12 UNC, 83-64, in Littlejohn Coliseum.
• This is the first time both teams are ranked in the AP poll in a game in the Smith Center since 1/21/09 when No. 5 UNC beat No. 10 Clemson, 94-70.
• Roy Williams is 19-2 against Clemson. He has coached all 21 times against the Tigers as UNC's head coach.
• Carolina has played four of its 19 overtime games in the Roy Williams era against Clemson. That is more than any other opponent. Williams' UNC teams have played two overtime games against Duke, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
• Four of the last 14 games have gone to overtime. Prior to 2008, the teams had not played an overtime game since 1978. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/15/mens-basketball-clemson-visits-smith-center-tuesday.aspx
LAST YEAR IN CLEMSON (1/3/17)
UNC 89, CLEMSON 86 (OT)
• Joel Berry II scored 23 of his 31 points in the second half and overtime in Carolina's 89-86 win at Clemson.
• Kenny Williams scored six of his 11 points and six of UNC's 12 points in overtime.
• Williams made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 17 seconds to play in overtime with the Tar Heels leading 85-83.
• Berry set career highs in points (31), field goals (12) and 3FGs (7) and minutes (41).
• Kennedy Meeks posted his third straight double-figure rebound game, tied his career high with 16 boards and had a career-best 10 offensive rebounds.
• Tar Heels had a 23-3 edge in second chance points. UNC grabbed 23 offensive boards to Clemson's 22 defensive.
• Berry's 31 points were the most by a Tar Heel at Clemson since Wayne Ellington went for 36 in an overtime win in 2008.
• Clemson shot 53.3 from the floor in the first half, but only 15 of 38 (39.4 percent) in second half and extra period.
• Berry scored 19 of UNC's 23 points from 14:07 to 6:39 in the second half. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/15/mens-basketball-clemson-visits-smith-center-tuesday.aspx
North Carolina comes in to their game with Clemson with a record of 14-4 while they're 3-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference haven escaped with a win their last time out on the road in South Bend against Notre Dame.
Roy Williams wasn't concerned about style points after No. 20 North Carolina beat Notre Dame for its first Atlantic Coast Conference road victory of the season.
"I feel the luckiest I've ever felt after the last minute of a basketball game," Williams said after the 69-68 victory Saturday night. "Joel Berry gets fouled and makes two free throws when you're down one. My frustration button is at a very high level right now."Berry II, saddled with three fouls in the first half, made two free throws with 7.1 seconds left for the winning points. But the Tar Heels (14-4, 3-2) allowed Notre Dame sophomore point guard T.J. Gibbs to dribble the length of the floor, get off a shot, rebound the miss and send the ball inside the cylinder before it, too, spun out at the buzzer. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
Berry finished with 15 points, and Luke Maye had his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Theo Pinson added 13 points, and North Carolina finished with a 9-2 run while holding the Irish (13-5, 3-2) without a field goal in the last 5:58."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
Gibbs, who scored both of those points for Notre Dame on free throws with 37 seconds remaining for a brief 68-67 lead, finished with a game-high 19 points and six assists for Notre Dame, which got 14 points from senior Martinas Geben and a career-high 12 points from sophomore reserve Nikola Djogo.
"Man, I feel for our guys - we battled so hard," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "It's a tough one to swallow because you feel like you're going to get it." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
The Irish, playing without injured starters Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell, used an eight-man rotation that frustrated Williams' Tar Heels, who shot just 42.6 percent (26 of 61) and were outrebounded, 45-37, by the Irish. Geben's nine included seven off the offensive boards. Notre Dame shot just 34.8 percent (23 of 66) from the field but stayed in it with timely 3-pointers (10 of 24) that included the first ever of the 6-foot-10 Geben's career."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
"I thought they played harder than us, they played smarter than us," Williams said. "Even on the last play, we did a good job defending the shot but we didn't box him (Gibbs) out. I told Michael (Brey) I was so proud of his team." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
The game was close right from the opening tip, with neither team able to pull away by more than six points. There were 24 lead changes and the game was tied 12 times. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
The Tar Heels led 40-37 at halftime during which Notre Dame endured a stretch of 6:54 without a field goal. Maye came up one rebound short of a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Berry had nine points, all from beyond the arc before drawing his third personal in the final 2 minutes. Gibbs, who missed his first four shots, finally got on the board with 7:44 left and finished with nine points, one more than Geben."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
Geben scored four points, had two offensive boards and took a charge as Notre Dame started the second half on an 11-7 run for a 48-47 lead with 14:40 to play. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
After five straight points by Pinson gave the Tar Heels a 56-50 lead with 9:48 to play, Notre Dame called a timeout. A 10-4 spurt was highlighted by two 3-pointers by Gibbs after his backhanded missed field goal was hammered home by Rex Pflueger left the game tied at 60-60 with 6:53 left. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
Djogo then hit two quick 3-pointers to put the Irish up 66-60 with 5:58 remaining. They would be the last field goals Notre Dame would make. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels, who lost games at Florida State and Virginia earlier this month, got their first ACC road victory and avoided three straight ACC road losses for the first time since 2014. North Carolina has had winning road records in 11 of its 14 seasons under coach Roy Williams, who got the 830th victory to tie Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan on the career list. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
The milestone was the furthest thing on his mind. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
"The tape session tonight is going to be a lot of fun, that's all I can tell you," Williams said. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
Notre Dame: Matt Farrell, who has missed the last 2 1/2 games with a sprained ankle, dressed and led Notre Dame out of tunnel for pregame warmups but sat on the bench with fellow senior Bonzie Colson (broken left foot, eight weeks) as Brey used eight players, with five of them finishing in double digits in minutes in the first 20 minutes. Farrell is expected to practice Sunday and Monday and likely start Tuesday against visiting Louisville. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
"I don't mind praising another coach," Williams said about Brey. "What he has done is given them a plan and hope that they can still be successful. They've gone from behind an efficient offensive team to a rebounding and defending team." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx?path=mbball
As for Clemson they come into their game with North Carolina with a record of 15-2 while they're 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference haven won their last game against Miami on Saturday.
For just the fifth time in history, Clemson University men’s basketball knocked off a Top 25 opponent with just one day to prepare when they took out No. 18 Miami on Saturday afternoon, 72-63, in front of a sold-out crowd in Littlejohn Coliseum. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
The Tigers (15-2, 4-1 ACC) got big days from both Donte Grantham (18 points, six rebounds) and Mark Donnal (12 points, five rebounds) en route to the nine-point victory. Marcquise Reed chipped in 16 points, while Shelton Mitchell posted 11 points and a season-high seven dimes. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Battling back and forth with the Hurricanes (13-3, 2-2 ACC) in the first half took a turn in the Tigers’ favor when they faced a seven-point deficit at 22-15. A 3-pointer by Gabe DeVoe would spark a 9-0 run which was capped by a tip-in rebound by Grantham to go up 24-22."according tohttp://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Despite one more lead change in the opening stanza, the Tigers took a 34-30 lead into halftime. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
The Tigers pushed its halftime lead to 40-32 early in the second half, but the Hurricanes battled back to knot the score midway through at 44-44."according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
An ensuing 10-2 run by the Tigers would open things up at 54-46 with 7:08 to play in the game. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Miami would cut the deficit to two points on two occasions, but with a 60-57 lead and 2:02 left in regulation, the Tigers would put together a back-breaking 10-0 run to put away the Hurricanes for good.
The Tigers finished with 13 assists on 22 made baskets and recorded seven blocks to ensure a stout defensive effort. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Miami came into the contest leading the ACC in 3-point percentage defense in conference play (10-for-50; 20 percent). The Tigers shot 12-for-21 from distance for a scorching 57.1 percent from long range. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Notes: Clemson improves to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in ACC play … the win marks just the fifth time in Clemson history that the Tigers knocked off a Top 25 ACC opponent with just one day to prepare … Shelton Mitchell (the Tigers active assists leader) led the team with a season-high seven dimes (170 in his career at Clemson; 280 in his career) … Donte Grantham led all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from three … Grantham’s second made three of the afternoon moved him into sole possession of ninth all-time at Clemson in threes made … Miami came into the game leading the ACC in conference play in 3-point percentage defense (20 percent), the Tigers shot 57.1 percent from three … Mark Donnal turned in back-to-back double figure scoring games after posting 13 points at NC State and scoring 12 against the Hurricanes … the last time Donnal achieved that was Feb. 16 and Feb. 21 of 2016 while at Michigan … with the win head coach Brad Brownell moves into sole possession of third all-time in wins at Clemson with 139 – passing Oliver Purnell. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=657841&SPID=103715&DB_OEM_ID=28500&ATCLID=211692530
Tip-off is set for 7:00pm. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network. "according to http://www.clemsontigers.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=28500&SPID=103715&SPSID=657833