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Lucas: Clemson Rapid Reactions
March 12, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the ACC Tournament.
By Adam Lucas
1. Disappointing result in Charlotte as Clemson beats Carolina, 80-79, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
2. Carolina didn't defend well enough or play offense well enough to win the game. To complicate matters, the Tigers were also the more physical team. There was a lot of energy in the final three minutes as the Heels eventually cut it all the way from 15 points with 3:33 left to one with 2.7 seconds remaining, but the fourth seed was outplayed in the prior 37 minutes.
3. Those final three seconds were interesting. After missing the first of two free throws, Clemson appeared to miss the second on purpose after calling timeout to talk strategy. But the Heels were unable to get anything more than Jarin Stevenson's 75-foot heave, which fell well short. He probably could have taken another dribble, but it still wouldn't have been a great look.
4. Brad Brownell's team shot 49.1 percent from the field and 47.4 percent on its 19 three-point attempts. In Chapel Hill last week, their offense was largely dependent on RJ Godfrey, but on Thursday night in Charlotte they spread it around. Six different Tigers finished in double figures.
5. The one Tar Heel standout throughout the game was Henri Veesaar, who earned his 14th double-double this season with a career-high 28 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Seth Trimble added 13 and was effective getting to the rim, and Derek Dixon had 16 points in his first ACC Tournament game.
6. It was a stretch when UNC couldn't get the ball to Veesaar that provided Clemson with an edge. The 39-31 halftime deficit was largely due to a roughly ten minute stretch where the Heels went 3-for-14 from the field, got much too three-point happy, and lost Veesaar's involvement in the offense. At this time of year against good teams, those long droughts are fatal.
7. Clemson's bench was one of the most decisive storylines of the game. The Tigers had a 29-5 edge in scoring by reserves. The only Tar Heel substitutes who scored were Zayden High with two points and Jonathan Powell with a three-pointer. Nick Davidson played very well off Brownell's bench, scoring 17 points to go with his 11 rebounds. Davidson made all four of his three-point shots. It wasn't just scoring--the UNC bench had just three rebounds, one assist, no steals and no blocks in 36 minutes. As you would expect, no one on the bench for UNC had a positive plus/minus rating. Stevenson led the team with +8 in his 35 minutes.
8. Free throw shooting quietly played a role in that game. UNC was just 10-for-17 from the line and missed a pair of potential and-one opportunities in the second half.
9. A late push by Carolina highlighted some smart possessions by Clemson midway through the second half when they consistently burned most of the shot clock before scoring. That time ended up being important and was another example of the way the Tigers executed.
10. The loss reversed some recent trends but continued another. It stops a streak of 11 straight ACC Tournaments when UNC had won at least one game. Carolina is now 34-5 against Clemson at neutral sites and 17-3 in Charlotte. The Heels are also 15-2 against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament, with both losses coming when the Tigers had a Buckner in the lineup. Ace Buckner had 11 for Clemson on Thursday and the Tigers are now 5-4 in the last nine against Carolina. One trend that continued: the Heels have now lost their first game of the event the last four times as the four seed. The others are 1990, 2000 and 2014.
11. As always, a solid turnout of former Tar Heels in Charlotte. Brendan Haywood, Marvin Williams, Tyler Zeller and several others were among the Heels on hand. The highly partisan UNC crowd in Charlotte never really fully got into the game because of the struggles prior to the final three minutes.
12. Carolina will now wait for Sunday's NCAA Tournament pairings.
1. Disappointing result in Charlotte as Clemson beats Carolina, 80-79, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
2. Carolina didn't defend well enough or play offense well enough to win the game. To complicate matters, the Tigers were also the more physical team. There was a lot of energy in the final three minutes as the Heels eventually cut it all the way from 15 points with 3:33 left to one with 2.7 seconds remaining, but the fourth seed was outplayed in the prior 37 minutes.
3. Those final three seconds were interesting. After missing the first of two free throws, Clemson appeared to miss the second on purpose after calling timeout to talk strategy. But the Heels were unable to get anything more than Jarin Stevenson's 75-foot heave, which fell well short. He probably could have taken another dribble, but it still wouldn't have been a great look.
4. Brad Brownell's team shot 49.1 percent from the field and 47.4 percent on its 19 three-point attempts. In Chapel Hill last week, their offense was largely dependent on RJ Godfrey, but on Thursday night in Charlotte they spread it around. Six different Tigers finished in double figures.
5. The one Tar Heel standout throughout the game was Henri Veesaar, who earned his 14th double-double this season with a career-high 28 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Seth Trimble added 13 and was effective getting to the rim, and Derek Dixon had 16 points in his first ACC Tournament game.
6. It was a stretch when UNC couldn't get the ball to Veesaar that provided Clemson with an edge. The 39-31 halftime deficit was largely due to a roughly ten minute stretch where the Heels went 3-for-14 from the field, got much too three-point happy, and lost Veesaar's involvement in the offense. At this time of year against good teams, those long droughts are fatal.
7. Clemson's bench was one of the most decisive storylines of the game. The Tigers had a 29-5 edge in scoring by reserves. The only Tar Heel substitutes who scored were Zayden High with two points and Jonathan Powell with a three-pointer. Nick Davidson played very well off Brownell's bench, scoring 17 points to go with his 11 rebounds. Davidson made all four of his three-point shots. It wasn't just scoring--the UNC bench had just three rebounds, one assist, no steals and no blocks in 36 minutes. As you would expect, no one on the bench for UNC had a positive plus/minus rating. Stevenson led the team with +8 in his 35 minutes.
8. Free throw shooting quietly played a role in that game. UNC was just 10-for-17 from the line and missed a pair of potential and-one opportunities in the second half.
9. A late push by Carolina highlighted some smart possessions by Clemson midway through the second half when they consistently burned most of the shot clock before scoring. That time ended up being important and was another example of the way the Tigers executed.
10. The loss reversed some recent trends but continued another. It stops a streak of 11 straight ACC Tournaments when UNC had won at least one game. Carolina is now 34-5 against Clemson at neutral sites and 17-3 in Charlotte. The Heels are also 15-2 against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament, with both losses coming when the Tigers had a Buckner in the lineup. Ace Buckner had 11 for Clemson on Thursday and the Tigers are now 5-4 in the last nine against Carolina. One trend that continued: the Heels have now lost their first game of the event the last four times as the four seed. The others are 1990, 2000 and 2014.
11. As always, a solid turnout of former Tar Heels in Charlotte. Brendan Haywood, Marvin Williams, Tyler Zeller and several others were among the Heels on hand. The highly partisan UNC crowd in Charlotte never really fully got into the game because of the struggles prior to the final three minutes.
12. Carolina will now wait for Sunday's NCAA Tournament pairings.
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