Defense is key to beat Tigers

Game and Time: Clemson at No. 4 North Carolina. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.

Site: Smith Center

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

Records: Clemson is 12-12, 2-9 in the ACC. North Carolina is 21-3, 9-2 in the ACC.

Series: North Carolina leads 114-19. The Tar Heels have never lost a home game in this series (50-0).

Probable Starters:

Clemson

G: Vernon Hamilton, 6-0 SO

G: Cliff Hammonds, 6-3 FR

F: Sam Perry, 6-5 FR

F: James Mays, 6-9 FR

C: Sharrod Ford, 6-9 SR

 

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

 

The Key Matchup: Clemson’s Cheyenne Moore against North Carolina’s Jackie Manuel and David Noel.

Clemson center Sharrod Ford quietly has established himself as one of the most consistent big men in the ACC, as he has averaged 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest this season.

But Ford’s interior presence could be negated by the continued solid play of North Carolina center Sean May, who turned in his third straight double-double against Virginia on Wednesday, dropping 17 points and snagging 16 rebounds.

With Ford likely contained, the Tigers’ other scoring threats will have to shoulder the burden if Clemson is to win in Chapel Hill for the first time in its history.

But while Mays and Perry have started each of the Tigers’ last four games, neither of the freshmen has played more than 23 minutes in any of those contests.

That often left Moore, a 6-foot-6 wingman, to make a significant contribution — and he has done so of late, scoring 14 points against Miami on Saturday and 12 against Georgia on Wednesday.

But Moore likely will have to solve the defensive tandem of Manuel and Noel, something not even J.J. Redick could do. Duke’s prolific shooting guard managed only 4-for-12 from the floor against the Tar Heel duo’s smothering defense.

Final Analysis/Prediction: Ordinarily, a home game against a below-average opponent three days before a trip to play at N.C. State might create a trap game for the Tar Heels.

But even if North Carolina didn’t have a streak to defend — 50 consecutive wins against Clemson in Chapel Hill — it has too much talent to allow the Tigers to spring the upset.

Even without Marvin Williams, who could miss his second straight game with a toe injury, the Tar Heels feature more than enough firepower to defeat the struggling Tigers by a comfortable margin.

The Bottom Line: North Carolina 81, Clemson 64.

—Compiled by Brian MacPherson