University of North Carolina Athletics
Joel Berry II
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
January 30, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the visit to Clemson.
By Adam Lucas
1. An early perimeter onslaught was too much to overcome at Littlejohn Coliseum, where Clemson remains undefeated this year. The Tar Heels fought back from 16 points down at halftime to tied with two minutes left, but they couldn't finish it out, and Clemson escaped with an 82-78 win to break a 10-game UNC losing streak in the series. The loss marked the second straight road loss in which the home crowd has stormed the court and is the first time the Heels have lost three in a row since 2014.
2. The three-point monsoon is getting a little ridiculous. Clemson made ten three-point shots in the first 20 minutes, meaning at that point 37 of the last 78 field goals made against the Tar Heels were three-pointers. The Tigers did slow down from the outside in the second half, and finished with 14 three-pointers.
3. Cameron Johnson (a career-high 32 points in the game) and Joel Berry (27 points) kept Carolina close in the second half. The duo combined to score 29Â straight points over the final 11:18 of the game and took all but one Carolina field goal in the final 13:30. Of Carolina's 28 field goal attempts in the second half, Berry and Johnson took 19. Their offense was a necessity because the Tigers were doing a very good job on Luke Maye defensively, as the UNC junior attempted just one shot in a 30-minute span and finished with four points and nine rebounds. It's a struggle to think of any time in the recent Williams era when the Tar Heels have depended so completely on just two players through over a full quarter of the game.
4. When Theo Pinson went down with a shoulder strain less than two minutes into the game, it made an already difficult personnel situation almost unprecedented. Already missing Jalek Felton, who is suspended by the University, Roy Williams undoubtedly planned to use Pinson as the backup point guard. With him unavailable, the Tar Heels had to put some very unusual combinations on the floor. At one point in the second half, Carolina's lineup included Kenny Williams, Andrew Platek, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Robinson and Luke Maye. It would be surprising if those five have even been on the court in practice together this year, much less a game.
5. Williams mentioned in his pregame interview that he would use the freshmen big men more frequently. That became a necessity rather than a choice as soon as Pinson went to the locker room. The Tar Heels got some nice energy from Sterling Manley, who had six points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
6. Clemson, which was also playing shorthanded without standout Donte Grantham (out for the season with an ACL injury), bogged down offensively in the second half. Without the hailstorm of three-point shots, they frequently used at least 25 seconds of the shot clock before throwing up a wild attempt.
7. When things are going badly, it feels like every break goes the wrong way. The Tar Heels had a great call on with 2:30 left in a 74-72 game, as they had on a trap. Berry and Maye surprised the Tigers and forced a loose ball that looked like it would become a turnover that created an easy fast break chance. But the ball was fumbled out of bounds.Â
8. Other than getting players healthy, the long-term goal now is simple: make the NCAA Tournament. At 5-5 in the ACC, the Heels probably need to win four games to feel comfortable in that area. Four road games remain, including games at red-hot Louisville and the regular season finale at Duke. The only thing that matters now is what's next: beat Pitt on Saturday night at the Smith Center.
9. Great to see two former Tar Heel greats from different sports in the stands at Littlejohn--Shammond Williams from basketball, who was a key member of back to back Final Four teams in 1997 and 1998, and quarterback Marquise Williams, who is now with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
1. An early perimeter onslaught was too much to overcome at Littlejohn Coliseum, where Clemson remains undefeated this year. The Tar Heels fought back from 16 points down at halftime to tied with two minutes left, but they couldn't finish it out, and Clemson escaped with an 82-78 win to break a 10-game UNC losing streak in the series. The loss marked the second straight road loss in which the home crowd has stormed the court and is the first time the Heels have lost three in a row since 2014.
2. The three-point monsoon is getting a little ridiculous. Clemson made ten three-point shots in the first 20 minutes, meaning at that point 37 of the last 78 field goals made against the Tar Heels were three-pointers. The Tigers did slow down from the outside in the second half, and finished with 14 three-pointers.
3. Cameron Johnson (a career-high 32 points in the game) and Joel Berry (27 points) kept Carolina close in the second half. The duo combined to score 29Â straight points over the final 11:18 of the game and took all but one Carolina field goal in the final 13:30. Of Carolina's 28 field goal attempts in the second half, Berry and Johnson took 19. Their offense was a necessity because the Tigers were doing a very good job on Luke Maye defensively, as the UNC junior attempted just one shot in a 30-minute span and finished with four points and nine rebounds. It's a struggle to think of any time in the recent Williams era when the Tar Heels have depended so completely on just two players through over a full quarter of the game.
4. When Theo Pinson went down with a shoulder strain less than two minutes into the game, it made an already difficult personnel situation almost unprecedented. Already missing Jalek Felton, who is suspended by the University, Roy Williams undoubtedly planned to use Pinson as the backup point guard. With him unavailable, the Tar Heels had to put some very unusual combinations on the floor. At one point in the second half, Carolina's lineup included Kenny Williams, Andrew Platek, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Robinson and Luke Maye. It would be surprising if those five have even been on the court in practice together this year, much less a game.
5. Williams mentioned in his pregame interview that he would use the freshmen big men more frequently. That became a necessity rather than a choice as soon as Pinson went to the locker room. The Tar Heels got some nice energy from Sterling Manley, who had six points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
6. Clemson, which was also playing shorthanded without standout Donte Grantham (out for the season with an ACL injury), bogged down offensively in the second half. Without the hailstorm of three-point shots, they frequently used at least 25 seconds of the shot clock before throwing up a wild attempt.
7. When things are going badly, it feels like every break goes the wrong way. The Tar Heels had a great call on with 2:30 left in a 74-72 game, as they had on a trap. Berry and Maye surprised the Tigers and forced a loose ball that looked like it would become a turnover that created an easy fast break chance. But the ball was fumbled out of bounds.Â
8. Other than getting players healthy, the long-term goal now is simple: make the NCAA Tournament. At 5-5 in the ACC, the Heels probably need to win four games to feel comfortable in that area. Four road games remain, including games at red-hot Louisville and the regular season finale at Duke. The only thing that matters now is what's next: beat Pitt on Saturday night at the Smith Center.
9. Great to see two former Tar Heel greats from different sports in the stands at Littlejohn--Shammond Williams from basketball, who was a key member of back to back Final Four teams in 1997 and 1998, and quarterback Marquise Williams, who is now with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
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