University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Set to Host Clemson Tonight
January 14, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2003
CHAPEL HILL -- Carolina will return home on Tuesday to host Clemson at 7 p.m. in the Smith Center. The next three Tar Heel games will all be played in Chapel Hill -- Clemson, Connecticut (next Saturday) and Maryland (Wednesday, Jan. 22).
Tuesday's game will be televised in the ACC area by Fox Sports South, Comcast and the Sunshine Network.
Carolina is 9-5 overall (1-1 in the ACC) and is coming off a 79-72 loss at Virginia last Saturday. Clemson is 10-1 overall (0-1 ACC) and is coming off a 75-52 win over Morris Brown at home on Saturday.
Carolina leads the all-time series against Clemson, 111-17. The Tar Heels have beaten the Tigers 24 times in their last 28 meetings (since the 1990-91 season), including the last three meetings.
The Tar Heels lead the series, 48-0, in games played in Chapel Hill. Carolina's 48-game unbeaten mark against the Tigers is the second-longest home streak in NCAA history for a team against one opponent. Princeton has defeated Brown 52 times in a row since 1929. That is the longest streak in NCAA history, as well as the longest active streak.
"The important thing is our kids going out and playing with great effort, great intelligence," UNC head coach Matt Doherty said during a teleconference on Monday. "Winning is a byproduct of that. The streak is not the focus, believe me. ... It's just a byproduct of, over the years, Carolina teams playing better than the Clemson teams in Chapel Hill. It's an interesting phenomenon."
Carolina has beaten the Tigers at home by double figures in 17 of the last 18 seasons. In the lone exception (1997-98), Carolina beat the Tigers by nine. Over those 18 seasons, the Tar Heels have averaged a margin of victory of 22.8 points over Clemson in games played in Chapel Hill.
Last year in Clemson, Carolina shot a season-high 55.4 percent, including a 60.0 percent clip in the second half, and cruised to an 87-69 win. Adam Boone tallied a then-career high 23 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a college player. Melvin Scott scored a career-high 17 points in a start at shooting guard due to an injury to Jackie Manuel.
Last year in Chapel Hill, Carolina hit a season-high 55.9 percent of its shots for the game, and cruised to a 96-78 win. The game marked the final home appearances for five UNC players -- Brian Bersticker, Jason Capel, Joe Everett, Kris Lang and Orlando Melendez.
Capel scored a career-high 28 points in the game. Jackie Manuel scored a season-high 16 points. Tony Stockman scored 28 points (hitting 8 of 10 three-pointers) in the first half, but scored just two points in the second half (on a breakaway layup after a steal) to finish with 30.
