CLEMSON, S.C. — After Saturday’s loss at Wake Forest, many observers wondered if this year’s North Carolina team was as improved as advertised.
It appeared that Wednesday’s game at Clemson would serve as an ideal test.
After all, last year’s Tar Heels fell 81-72 at Littlejohn Coliseum, one of UNC’s six ACC road losses.
And after a first half performance reminiscent of that 2003-04 squad, UNC roared back in the second half with selflessness, strong defense and — most importantly — the intensity to come away with a passing grade.
“Last year’s North Carolina team would have lost this game,” Coach Roy Williams said. “There’s no question in my mind. … We were so much more competitive and aggressive and held the intensity in the second half, and we didn’t back up.”
The first half ended tied at 27, a seemingly fortunate position for the No. 6 Tar Heels given how the half had played out. UNC committed 16 turnovers to just five assists, leaving Clemson’s poor shooting the only thing keeping UNC with the Tigers.
“Forty percent of the time in the first half, we turned it over without a shot, and you’re not going to beat very many people like that,” Williams said. “We were not ready for their intensity, their aggressiveness.”
But in the second frame, UNC racked up 11 second-half dimes to just seven turnovers that helped permanently build the UNC lead into double digits with 12 minutes to play in the contest.
But if Clemson had shot like it did last year, the outcome could have been entirely different despite UNC’s second-half improvement. The Tigers connected on 11 of 13 3-pointers a year ago, but on Wednesday they made just five of 19 attempts.
