North Carolina was far from its best on Tuesday fresh off an emotional win over 7th-ranked rival Duke.
It cost the Tar Heels in a sluggish 80-76 loss at home to unranked Clemson. The win was just the second ever for Clemson in 62 road games against North Carolina. The program’s previous win in Chapel Hill took place in January 2020.
The Tigers punched the Tar Heels in the mouth while jumping out to a 15-2 lead. North Carolina then trailed for most of the game before clawing back to tie it up at 70-70 with 4:18 remaining. But Clemson reeled off seven straight points from there to fend off the Carolina rally and secure a wire-to-wire win in Chapel Hill.
The win marked a bounce-back for a Clemson team that got off to a 9-0 start and was ranked as high as No. 16 in the country. The Tigers have since gone 5-7 and entered Tuesday having lost six out of nine games.
