Where does UNC basketball go from here? Lopsided loss at Clemson leaves Tar Heels reeling
After beating Pittsburgh on Saturday, the idea of playing with urgency wasn’t enough for North Carolina coach Hubert Davis.
He wanted his Tar Heels to play like it was an “emergency.”
In terms of making the NCAA Tournament, that’s the situation UNC found itself in, even after that thrilling 67-66 win over Pitt at the Smith Center provided a glimmer of hope.
Those hopes were dashed profoundly on Monday night, when No. 23 Clemson rolled to an 18-point halftime lead and beat the Tar Heels, 85-65, at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Just like that, UNC (14-11, 7-6 ACC) finds its postseason chances slipping away once again.
“It’s just frustrating,” UNC’s Seth Trimble said. “We’ve had these talks. Whatever it is, it’s definitely not the performance I expect out of all of us.”
To have a chance to beat the Tigers, Davis thought his Tar Heels needed to win three areas: Rebounding, turnovers and free throws.
Though UNC had 13 turnovers to Clemson’s 15, the Tar Heels were soundly outrebounded (41-28) and hit only 5 of 11 free throws while Clemson hit 9 of 12.
Fail. Fail. Loss.
Where UNC needed desperation, it showed frustration. So much for playing like this was an emergency.
“That’s the type of mindset that you have to have in your preparation, practice and play every day,” Davis said. “It doesn’t guarantee you that things will work out your way, but without it, you have no chance.”
UNC’s tournament resume is seriously lacking in Quad 1 wins. Now 1-10 in those toughest of games, the Tar Heels have failed to give the NCAA Tournament selection committee a reason to be included in the 68-team field.
After beating Pittsburgh on Saturday, UNC followed up by starting hot from the field to take a 23-21 lead on R.J. Davis’ 3-pointer with 9:23 to play in the first half. In a blink, that magic start disappeared.
Clemson’s Viktor Lakhin drilled a 3-pointer and Chase Hunter followed with another. Ven-Allen Lubin scored inside off a nice pass from Elliot Cadeau for UNC but the Tigers scored the next eight points to build a 35-25 lead.
UNC was never closer than eight points the rest of the way as Clemson led 49-33 at halftime and by as many as 26 in the second half.
Game. Set. Match.
Earlier in the season, when UNC fell into deep holes like it did against Clemson, the Tar Heels routinely fought back. They rarely won those games but at least the outcome wasn’t decided until the final minute.
That’s no longer the case, causing Davis to be asked if his team has lost its will to fight.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he answered before pausing for six seconds and adding, “I would not say that.”
After another 15-second pause, Davis said, “We have to keep getting back up and keep competing. And we got knocked down today, but we’ve got to get back up and we’ve got to move forward, and we have to competitively fight.”
The problem is UNC didn’t do that in the games it really needed to of late. The ACC doesn’t offer many Quad 1 opportunities this season. That’s why the four game stretch that included a home-and-home set with Pitt, plus road games at Duke and Clemson, were so important.
The Tar Heels went 1-3, with only the win over fading Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Now, having lost of five of its last seven games, UNC faces a stretch of six games against teams behind it in the ACC standings before closing the regular season at home against Duke on March 8. The next six are absolutely crucial to win but, at the same time, are like empty calories in the NCAA Tournament at-large bid picture. They won’t boost UNC’s NET rating the way it’s needed.
Which, again, is why Monday night was an emergency the Tar Heels failed to respond to properly.
Clemson showed more physicality and hustle to easily win the rebounding battle, which included grabbing 15 offensive rebounds. UNC only had 10 offensive rebounds.
“Rebounding, I’ve always said, is the number one determining factor of outcome of the game,” Davis said. “Our inability to keep them off the offensive glass and our inability to get to the offensive glass is something that we just couldn’t overcome.”
Lakhin led Clemson with 22 points, stepping out from the post to hit 4 of 5 3-pointers. Davis said, “He didn’t feel us defensively at all. He was in a really comfortable rhythm.”
That lack of defensive intensity and the way Clemson dominating the rebounding isn’t sitting well with the Tar Heels. And they’ve about run out of time to do much about that type of play this season.
“It’s not just that we lost this game,” Trimble said, “I’m really upset with the fact that we got bullied. I think some guys responded, but it takes 15. It takes all 15 of us, and we just didn’t have it.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.