Big men fuel UNC in win

The North Carolina men’s basketball team’s 80-61 win against Clemson on Sunday could be attributed to a number of statistical factors.

It could be attributed to UNC out-rebounding the Tigers, the higher field goal and 3-point shooting percentages or the Tar Heels outscoring Clemson in nearly every point category.

It could be something found in the final box score, but it’s more likely that North Carolina’s edge against the Tigers stems from the successful pairing of the Tar Heel starting bigs.

UNC coach Roy Williams polled his staff when deciding on his starters for the ACC matchup.

“I said, ‘All of you guys vote on the starting lineup,’” Williams said.

“And I didn’t start any of the lineups that they put out there.”

Instead, Williams went with freshman forward Kennedy Meeks and junior James Michael McAdoo in the frontcourt — a combination that proved to be lethal against the Tigers.

McAdoo led the team with 22 points, his fifth 20-point performance of the season.

Williams said his effort spread to the rest of the roster.

“James Michael did set the tone in how active he was,” Williams said. “He was the first one to dive on the ball for a loose ball.

“And you should play like that. I almost don’t feel like I should congratulate him because that’s the way he should play.”

In what was possibly the most energetic moment of the game, McAdoo put down a monstrous dunk fewer than four minutes into the second half, getting the ball from Marcus Paige after a Meeks steal.

McAdoo celebrated with a high-five from a fan sitting in the front row behind the basket.

When later asked if he knew the fan, McAdoo said, “No, just a cool dude sitting in the front row and I was like ‘Man, let’s do this.’”

Meeks proved to be offensively efficient, as well, though his performance stemmed more from increased patience than energy.

Sunday was Meeks’ third start of his UNC career — his first since the return of fellow forward Joel James.

Meeks, who is usually found dancing to “Jump Around” on the sidelines, made his on-court presence known early on. Just two minutes, two seconds into the match he hit a jumper to bring UNC to a 4-0 lead.

He finished with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Meeks’ patience and maturity in the post became evident as the game unfolded.

In the final six minutes of the second half, Meeks waited seconds in the paint before putting up a shot that pulled North Carolina to a 70-40 lead.

Focusing on that shot-selection and intensity has been a goal for Meeks, who said he’s been working on himself the past few games.

“I think I hit a wall a couple of games,” Meeks said.

“But, I mean, I just had to overcome that — just really sit down and talk to myself about what I really needed to do.”

sports@dailytarheel.com