UNC Opens ACC Tournament vs. Clemson

Written by Sharon Thorsland

It’s tournament time! North Carolina opens play at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte in the quarterfinals taking on Clemson tonight. The Tigers (23-9) knocked off Wake Forest on Wednesday night to advance, while the 4th seeded Tar Heels (24-7) had a double bye so they’re well-rested for this one following their Saturday night loss to Duke. They’re also in a better space mentally, having had time to absorb the season ending injury to star freshman Caleb Wilson, who broke his thumb and had surgery just a day before facing the Blue Devils. Tip-off for tonight’s game is scheduled for approximately 9:30 on WBT.

These teams just faced off last week in Chapel Hill in their only meeting this season. The game went down to the wire with the Tar Heels pulling out a 67-63 win. With no Wilson, Luka Bogovac was the hero for the Tar Heels in the game, hitting six three-pointers en route to a career high 20 points. RJ Godfrey led the Tigers with 22 points, and continues to be one of the stars of this Clemson team. Defense is the Tigers’ calling card, they allow just 31% shooting from behind the arc, and are second best in the league at forcing turnovers. Defensive rebounding is another strength, the Tigers rank third in the league on the defensive glass, with Godfrey and Carter Welling combining for 9.5 rebounds a game. The Tigers aren’t a particularly high-scoring team, they average 74.7 points a game. Godfrey and Welling are the only Tigers averaging in double figures; senior guard Justin Porter is right behind them at 9.9 a contest. The Tigers are deep and spread the ball around, with five other players averaging at least six points a game. One weakness is three-point shooting; the Tigers shoot 34% from behind the arc. Another thing to keep an eye on is that Welling got injured in the game last night and coach Brad Brownell says it’s unlikely he will play tonight – Welling had been averaging over 10 points and five rebounds a game.

The Tar Heels are going to need another strong performance from behind the arc tonight, be it from Bogovac or somebody else. And big man Henri Veesaar needs way more touches than he had in the second half of the Duke game (two!) if UNC wants to pull this one out. With Welling likely out for this one, UNC should be able to take advantage in the paint and come out on top. Go Tar Heels!