A chaotic, frenzied finish at Clemson broke North Carolina's way on Saturday night, giving the fifth-ranked Tar Heels an 81-79 road win against the Tigers.
The officials opted not to call a foul in the closing seconds on Tar Heels guard Coby White and/or Tar Heels forward Garrison Brooks, both of whom crowded Clemson point guard Shelton Mitchell as he tried to make his way to the hoop and tie the game. Mitchell lost control of his dribble -- and instead of going to the line, it was a play-on.
That decision from the officiating crew led to UNC throwing the ball far up the other end of the court, ideally not giving Clemson a shot to win the game on a last-second prayer. In fact, Clemson did get one final shot off -- which ricocheted off the shot clock. Just a wild sequence.
For UNC, its hopes of getting a No. 1 seed are still in tact. The Tar Heels are now an outstanding 10-1 in road play and have not lost a game away from home in ACC competition. The Tar Heels won, by the way, without coach Roy Williams on the court in the second half. Williams went down with vertigo issues in the first half, then sat out the rest of the way.
Williams was available for the postgame presser; he said he would have been OK to return and coach, but given how his team was playing, he didn't want to get in the way of their groove.
Carolina got another great performance out of White, with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tar Heels senior Luke Maye provided 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. UNC keeps pace with Virginia atop the ACC standings as well. This victory was no small deal for a Tar Heels team that's playing as well as just about anyone in college hoops over the past six weeks.
For Clemson, life on the bubble just got even more slippery. The Tigers fall to 17-12 and have only one win (vs. Virginia Tech) against a surefire NCAA Tournament team this season. They've also lost five games this season by two points or fewer, Saturday's being the latest heartbreaker:
- Lost by two at home to Nebraska on Nov. 26
- Lost by two at NC State on Jan. 26
- Lost by one at Miami on Feb. 13
- Lost by one at Louisville on Feb. 16
- Lost by two at home vs. UNC on Saturday
Clemson -- 41st in the NET rankings entering its game on Saturday -- does not project into the latest Bracketology update by our Jerry Palm. The line between the Tigers being a comfortable NCAA Tournament team and one that's dribbling toward the NET ... well it's a line defined by fewer than 10 points.
The Tigers aren't done yet, though, of course. The ACC provides a lot of good opportunities, so Brad Brownell's team will close out the regular season with these two games: at Notre Dame on Wednesday, home vs. Syracuse next Saturday. Winning both seems paramount to Clemson's at-large chances. What comes of the ACC tournament, we'll see.