CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– The No. 8-ranked Tar Heels are set to face No.16 Clemson (11-2, 1-1) at noon tomorrow at Littlejohn Coliseum, in the second of their three-game road swing. North Carolina (10-3 overall, 2-0 ACC) is 1-0 on the road after the 70-57 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
While the squad struggled offensively in that game, missing the first 10 field goal attempts, they made up for it with a strong finish led by RJ Davis who sunk a timely three to end the first half and led the rest of the contest.
Clemson is just the second of six ACC road games that North Carolina will face on the road this month. UNC’s shooting guard RJ Davis leads the ACC in scoring with 21.1 points per game. The last Tar Heel to do so was Tyler Hansbrough during the 2007-08 season. Davis leads the NCAA in free throw shooting at 94.9 percent and he also leads the Tar Heels in three-pointers and assists this season with 38 and 48
respectively. He is second in three-point shooting at a 39.6 percent clip second to forward Harrison Ingram.
On Tuesday, the team played with an elevated level of physicality, something that the Tar Heels have displayed on one-off occasions but never consistently. To change this head coach Hubert Davis has set a new, more physical playing style as the standard for the top-ranked Tar Heels and he expects it to continue tomorrow.
North Carolina ranks first in the league with 39.5 rebounds per game, with the Tigers ranking fifth with 35.4. This is an improvement from earlier on in the season when the Tar Heels were getting dominated on the glass, which happened in their losses to UConn and Kentucky.
Not controlling the boards has been a huge factor in these defeats, so their ability to turn it around and do so each game will undoubtedly lead to more wins for Carolina.
Armando Bacot is the team’s leading rebounder with 140 on the season and has encouraged some of the younger bigs like Jalen Washington and Zayden High to step up to the plate and be more confident. Washington in particular is climbing that statistical category – ranking fifth on the team in total rebounds. The Tigers boast more length and height than the Tar Heels, but Washington and Bacot will serve as a good matchup against the Tiger’s pair of bigs in Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall.
Schieffelin ranks second in the ACC with 9.8 rebounds per game behind Bacot, who is averaging 10.8 and Hall is second in the ACC in scoring with 20.2 points per game. The senior has quickly solidified himself as a reliable shooter for the Tigers in his past three years and was recognized as a first-team All-ACC selection in the preseason. The team also boasts a new addition in Syracuse transfer Joe Girard who leads the Tigers – shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc. Their other starters are also shooting well, averaging better than 37 percent from deep.
The Tigers are coming off their second loss of the season – a 95-82 loss at Miami on Wednesday where they originally held the lead yet faltered when it mattered. On Dec. 16, the Tigers lost their road game against Memphis.
North Carolina is 41-18 in Clemson, including 30-15 in the Coliseum. In the last 10
matchups, the Tar Heels lead 7-3.
Who: North Carolina (10-3, 2-0 ACC) vs. Clemson (11-2, 1-1)
When: Saturday, January 6th, noon ET
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, SC
Last Meeting: UNC, 91-71
All-Time: UNC leads the series 132-23