Andy Katz names UNC Basketball clash with Clemson as top matchup of the week
Hours after the UNC Basketball program ascended to the No. 8 team in the AP Poll, veteran college basketball analyst Andy Katz named the Tar Heels' matchup with Clemson on Saturday as the top game of the new year's first week.
New Year, New Games of the Week from @TheAndyKatz 🔥
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 1, 2024
Start the new year right with these matchups 👀 pic.twitter.com/gGqm6wjKrJ
Katz went further in his weekly breakdown of the AP Poll, which streamed on Bleacher Report and was later uploaded to the NCAA March Madness channels. Watch a clip here.
Katz said Saturday's matchup between the Tar Heels and Tigers is intriguing because this game features two of the three best teams in the ACC, with Duke being the other one of those three. He added that Clemson has more than held its own against UNC Basketball in Death Valley, recalling being on hand for at least one game at Littlejohn Coliseum in which Clemson fans rushed the court after upsetting the Tar Heels.
Katz went further in his written breakdown of the upcoming week, saying that this game could go a long way toward "breaking a potential log jam" atop the ACC standings at the end of the season.
Katz is very high on Clemson, ranking the Tigers 14th in his Power 36.
🚨 NEW #Power36 from @TheAndyKatz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 1, 2024
1. Purdue
2. Kansas
3. Houston
4. Kentucky
5. North Carolina
6. UConn
7. Marquette
8. Memphis
9. Oklahoma
10. Duke
11. Tennessee
12. Auburn pic.twitter.com/wq49igjXxS
Looking at Clemson's schedule, it's easy to see why. The Tigers have more than held their own against quality competition, defeating then-No. 23 Alabama on the road 85-77, and narrowly losing to now-No. 15 Memphis on the road.
This could potentially be a tough matchup for the UNC Basketball program, and not just because of the past history. After playing Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the Tar Heels will have to jump back on the road just three days later to play Clemson.
After getting through a minefield of a nonconference slate, this will be one of eight times the Tar Heels will have to leave the state of North Carolina in the meat of conference season. Suffice to say that the Tar Heels could learn a lot about who they really are on Saturday.
Next. UNC Basketball looks to start 2024 on strong note against Pittsburgh. UNC Basketball looks to start 2024 on strong note against Pittsburgh. dark
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