UNC Basketball vs. Clemson: Game preview, info, prediction and more

The UNC basketball program needs to forget Saturday’s disappointing game against Duke in a hurry and lucky for them, they get that chance right away on Tuesday. But it’s a road game which is never easy in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

North Carolina enters Tuesday’s matchup in Littlejohn Coliseum on the NCAA Tournament bubble at 16-7 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. The good news for UNC is that their schedule moving forward is favorable. Outside of that one game at Duke to end the season and Saturday’s home game against Florida State, UNC has a schedule in which there really aren’t any tough opponents.

I’m not saying they can’t lose those games but they should be right there and they are winnable games. Including tonight.

The Tar Heels have some work to do to improve their tournament resume, especially in Quad 1 games which they don’t have many of left. But they can also get there with a path of winning 6 of their last 8, earning a bye in the ACC Tournament and looking impressive there as well.

Clemson enters the game at 12-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play. The Tigers have had an up and down season, losing five of their last seven games. They did take Duke down to the wire, losing that game 71-69 on the road before beating Florida State and then losing to Georgia Tech.

While the record doesn’t show it, Clemson is very capable of pulling off a big win tonight. They are led by sophomore forward P.J. Hall who is averaging 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this season. Hall is shooting 42.9 percent from the three-point line and will challenge the Tar Heels’ defense from the perimeter.

Let’s get into our game preview for Tuesday’s matchup in South Carolina.

Key to Victory

Guard play. The past few games it’s been very inconsistent from both Caleb Love and R.J. Davis, especially in the loss to Duke. North Carolina will go as far as these guards will take them this season and there is no arguing that.

When the guards struggle, so does UNC. When they play well, the Tar Heels find themselves playing well. Yes, Armando Bacot is their best player and Brady Manek is emerging as a really good player, but UNC needs more from Love and Davis.

That starts tonight.

Something to Watch

The bench.  North Carolina has been going with just a seven-man rotation which has caused for some criticism with head coach Hubert Davis. I don’t know why Davis relies only on Kerwin Walton and Justin McKoy off the bench while negating D’Marco Dunn and Dontrez Styles, both freshmen who need to earn some reps for next season.

I’d like to see Davis go to his bench more, especially with his guards struggling. The problem he’s facing is that the team doesn’t have much depth with Dawson Garcia and Anthony Harris both being out. Still, it’s time to give the freshmen some run here late in the season.

Projected Starters

No. 4 R.J. Davis (So., 6-0, 175) – 13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.4 apg
No. 2 Caleb Love (So., 6-4, 195) – 15.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.5 apg
No. 1 Leaky Black (Sr., 6-8 200) – 4.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.4 apg
No. 45 Brady Manek (So. 6-9, 230) – 13.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 apg
No. 5 Armando Bacot (Jr., 6-10, 240) – 16.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 1.7 bpg

What to watch for

WHAT?  North Carolina Tar Heels  (16-7, 8-4 ACC) AT Clemson Tigers (12-10, 4-7 ACC)
WHEN? Tuesday, Feb. 8th – 6:00 p.m. EST
WHERE? Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina
TV? ACCN
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
LINE? Clemson -1
LAST MEETING? Clemson beat UNC 63-50 on Feb. 2, 2021
ALL-TIME SERIES? UNC leads all-time 121-22
PREDICTION? UNC 72, Clemson 70

For more on this game, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.