Tar Heels look to rebound from first ACC loss

Game and Time: No. 6 North Carolina at Clemson. Tipoff is at 9 p.m.

Site: Littlejohn Coliseum.

TV/Radio: The game will be televised regionally by Raycom/Jefferson Pilot. The Tar Heel Sports Network will provide radio coverage; the broadcast will air on 100.7 FM and WCHL-AM 1360.

Records: North Carolina 14-2, 3-1 in the ACC. Clemson is 10-6, 1-3 in the ACC.

Series: North Carolina leads 113-19.

Probable Starters:

North Carolina
G: Raymond Felton, 6-1 JR
G: Rashad McCants, 6-4 JR
F: Jackie Manuel, 6-5 SR
F: Jawad Williams, 6-9 SR
C: Sean May, 6-9 JR

Clemson
G: Cliff Hammonds, 6-3 FR
G: Shawan Robinson, 6-2 JR
F: Cheyenne Moore, 6-6 FR
F: Olu Babalola, 6-6 SR
F: Sharrod Ford, 6-9 SR

The Key Matchup: Clemson’s Sharrod Ford against North Carolina’s Sean May.

If you shut down Sharrod Ford, you shut down Clemson.

The senior leads the Tigers in both scoring and rebounding — and by a wide margin.

May has struggled in the last few games. He scored zero second-half points in the loss to Wake Forest on Saturday when the Demon Deacons suffocated him with double- and triple-teams.

The Tar Heels don’t necessarily need a big offensive day out of May, but they need him to limit Ford’s scoring and keep him off the glass.

Final Analysis/Prediction: After the Tar Heels’ last loss, they responded with 14 consecutive wins.

But the Tar Heels have struggled in Littlejohn, losing in three of their last four trips.

After UNC lost in Winston-Salem on Saturday, some started to murmur about the team’s inability to win on the road. Don’t expect the Tar Heels to give their critics any fodder tonight.

The Bottom Line: North Carolina 84, Clemson 66.

— Compiled by Daniel Blank