North Carolina Heads To South Carolina To Take On Clemson

After playing two straight games in Chapel Hill fifth ranked North Carolina travels one state down to South Carolina where they will visit Clemson on Saturday night.

North Carolina comes into the game with a record of 23-5 while they’re 13-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Clemson comes into the game with a record of 17-11 while they’re 7-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As for North Carolina’s previous game, they topped Syracuse in Chapel Hill.

The shots were falling again for North Carolina's Coby White. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

The freshman point guard shook off four games of shooting struggles to score a season-high 34 points, helping the fifth-ranked Tar Heels pull away late to beat Syracuse 93-85 on Tuesday night and maintain their perch atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

White, who entered as UNC's No. 2 scorer at 15.2 points per game, had made 17 of 56 shots in the past four games since going for 33 points against Miami. That included a rough performance in last week's win at then-No. 1 Duke (3 for 14, six turnovers).
Those struggles were gone Tuesday. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

"I've said it before: He's the best scoring point guard that I've coached," UNC coach Roy Williams said, adding: "I knew he was bound to make some because he hadn't made any the last three or four weeks." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

White — who set a North Carolina high school career scoring record — had 15 first-half points and finished with six 3-pointers to go with a 10-for-10 effort in free throws that led North Carolina's all-night parade of shooters to the line. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

Asked what got him going in this one, White had a simple answer. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

"Nothing really, I think I just came out and hit shots," he said. "Got a couple of open ones. I just knocked them down." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

Cameron Johnson added 16 points for the Tar Heels (23-5, 13-2 ACC), who have won 11 of 12 games and own their highest AP Top 25 ranking of the season. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

"North Carolina's playing as well as anybody in the country," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "I think they've got a really great mixture of veteran guys and young guys that can help them." “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

White's night aside, it wasn't a great offensive showing for the Tar Heels. They shot just 40 percent but made 34 of 37 free throws (92 percent) while dominating the glass and finishing with 18 offensive rebounds. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

Tyus Battle scored 23 of his 29 points after halftime for the Orange (18-10, 9-6), who shot 48 percent and made 14 of 31 3-pointers. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/2/26/mens-basketball-vs-syracuse.aspx

Like North Carolina, Clemson also won their previous game as they defeated Pittsburgh on the road.

Clemson University men’s basketball held Pittsburgh to just 16 first half points and 27.3 percent shooting en route to its convincing 62-48 victory. This marked the fourth time this season that Clemson has held its opponent to less than 50 total points – tied for the most in a season since the 2015-16 campaign. “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

The Tigers (17-11, 7-8 ACC) got out to a lightning fast start from the floor – starting 7-for-10 from long range. Clemson held Pittsburgh to season-low 16 points in the first half. The 16 points was also the fewest allowed by the Tigers this season. “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

Three Tigers posted double-figure scoring with Marcquise Reed (game-high 14), Elijah Thomas (12) and Shelton Mitchell (10). “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

One of the biggest contributors of the contest was freshman Hunter Tyson who poured in a season-high nine points on a season-best four 3-point field goals. Tyson also grabbed four rebounds. “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

Thomas filled up the stat sheet against the Panthers (12-16, 2-13 ACC). Aside from the 12 points, Thomas also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, dished a career-high-tying five assists, blocked three shots and made a career-high-tying three steals. “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

In the second half, the Tigers pushed its lead to a game-high 26 points at 44-18, but Pittsburgh would slowly close to within just 10 but the Tiger defense wouldn’t let them any closer and held on for the 14-point victory. “according to https://clemsontigers.com/tigers-upend-panthers-on-the-road-62-48/

Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN.