University of North Carolina Athletics
Clemson Visits For ACC Opener
December 29, 2015 | Men's Basketball
THE MATCHUP
♦ North Carolina (11-2) will play its first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the 2015-16 season when it hosts Clemson (7-5) on Wednesday December 30.
♦ The Tigers and Tar Heels will tip off just after 7 p.m. in the Smith Center.
♦ Carolina is playing its second game in three nights after beating UNCG on Monday, while Clemson is playing its first game in nine days (since a Dec. 22 loss at Georgia).
♦ Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) will call the game for an ESPN2 national television audience. Every Tar Heel game in December has been televised nationally.
TAR HEEL STORYLINES
♦ Carolina and Clemson both will open 2015-16 ACC play on Wednesday. UNC went 11-2 in non-conference games this season.
♦ The Tar Heels will be beginning ACC play in December for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when they opened conference action at new member Virginia Tech on Dec. 19, 2004.
♦ Carolina is in the midst of a stretch when it will play four games in eight days. The Tar Heels, who beat UNCG on Monday, also will host Georgia Tech on Saturday before visiting Florida State next Monday.
♦ Carolina is looking for its ninth win in its last 10 games and its 12th victory of the season.
UP NEXT
♦ After hosting Clemson, the Tar Heels will host Georgia Tech on Saturday, then hit the road to play at Florida State next Monday.
♦ Carolina will play only one game in 12 days after visiting Florida State. UNC will have a Jan. 9 date at Syracuse, then a week off before its Jan. 16 home game with North Carolina State.
A TAR HEEL WIN WOULD ...
♦ Improve Carolina to 12-2 in 2015-16.
♦ Make the Tar Heels 52-11 in ACC openers.
♦ Make UNC 58-0 at home vs. Clemson.
♦ Make UNC 8-0 in the Smith Center in 2015-16 and 371-67 there in 31 seasons overall.
♦ Improve Carolina to 130-20 all-time against Clemson.
♦ Improve Roy Williams' career record as a head coach to 762-204 overall.
♦ Make Williams 344-104 at Carolina.
A TAR HEEL LOSS WOULD ...
♦ Drop Carolina to 11-3 this season.
♦ Be Clemson's first win over UNC since Jan. 13, 2010.
♦ Make UNC 7-1 in the Smith Center this season and 370-68 in the arena overall.
♦ Make the Tar Heels 51-12 in ACC openers.
♦ Make UNC 57-1 at home vs. Clemson and 129-21 vs. the Tigers overall.
♦ Drop Roy Williams' career record to 761-205 overall.
♦ Make Williams 343-105 at Carolina.
TAR HEEL TIDBITS
TEAM NOTES
♦ Carolina ranks No. 1 in the nation in offensive efficiency (119.4) in the KenPom.com statistical rankings (through games of Dec. 28).
♦ The Tar Heels scored 90 or more points six times in their 13 non-conference games to start the season. UNC scored 90 or more points five times all of last season.
♦ The Tar Heels are averaging 92.0 points in their seven games in December.
♦ Carolina has scored 80 or more points in nine consecutive games. The Tar Heels have reached 80 11 times in 13 outings this season.
♦ Carolina has committed just 42 turnovers in the last five games (8.4 per game).
♦ Carolina has shot 50 percent or better from the field in nine of 13 games this year. The Tar Heels are shooting .500 as a team in 2015-16.
♦ The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better in the second half of 18 of their last 23 games (including nine of 13 games in 2015-16).
♦ No Tar Heel player scored 25 points in a game last season, but the team has had four 25-point performances already this year by three different players: Justin Jackson (25 vs. Northern Iowa), Kennedy Meeks (25 vs. Temple) and Brice Johnson twice (25 vs. Tulane and 27 vs. UCLA).
♦ Carolina is averaging 10.5 turnovers per game in 2015-16. Last year, the Tar Heels averaged nearly 13 miscues per contest.
♦ Carolina is ranked No. 10 in the nation in the KenPom.com statistical rankings. UNC leads the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.4) and is 61st in adjusted defensive efficiency (97.0).
♦ Clemson is 94th overall in the KenPom rankings, including 146th in offensive efficiency (103.8) and 73rd in defensive efficiency (97.9).
PLAYER NOTES
♦ Marcus Paige has scored 1,518 points entering the Clemson game, 26th in Carolina history. J.R Reid is 25th with 1,552.
♦ Paige is the ACC's top active career scorer with 1,518 points and Brice Johnson is fourth with 1,249.
♦ Paige is the 12th Tar Heel to reach 500 career assists, entering the Clemson game with 503.
♦ Paige is the second Tar Heel (with Jeff Lebo) and the 12th player in ACC history with at least 1,500 points, 500 assists, 150 steals and 200 three-pointers.
♦ Paige made one three-pointer vs. UNCG to extend his career school record to 242.
♦ Paige has 29 assists and four turnovers in his seven games this year.
♦ Over the last four games (since Kennedy Meeks' injury), UNC's Brice Johnson is averaging 22.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and is shooting 76% (38-50) from the field.
♦ Johnson has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games. He has nine career 20-point games.
♦ Johnson is the only Tar Heel to score in double figures in each of the first 13 games this season.
♦ Johnson has seven double-doubles this season and is averaging 16.2 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game. His previous career highs were 12.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg last season.
♦ Johnson leads the ACC in field goal percentage (66.2), is sixth in rebounding (9.7) and third in defensive rebounds (7.62 per game).
♦ Junior forward Isaiah Hicks has scored in double figures five games in a row for the first time in his career. Hicks had 13 points and four rebounds against UNCG on Monday.
♦ Joel Berry II has stepped into a starting role this season and improved across the board statistically, including scoring (4.2 to 11.8 ppg), field goal percentage (40.4 to 42.9), three-point percentage (35.4 to 37.7) and assists (1.5 to 4.5 per game).
♦ Berry has scored in double figures in 10 of 13 games this season. As a freshman he scored in double figures one time all year.
♦ Justin Jackson leads UNC with four defensive player-of-the-game honors this season (awarded by coaches after film review). He won the award once as a freshman last season.
♦ Jackson has 18 assists and only one turnover in the last four games.
♦ Theo Pinson is 11 for 30 (.367) from three-point range this season. He made just seven three-pointers all year as a freshman in 2014-15.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CLEMSON
♦ The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with Clemson, 129-20.
♦ The Tar Heels have beaten the Tigers 17 times in the last 18 meetings and 41 in the last 48 (since the 1990-91 season).
♦ Roy Williams is 17-2 vs. Clemson as the Carolina head coach, including a 6-2 mark in Clemson, an 8-0 mark in Chapel Hill and a 3-0 record in ACC Tournament games.
♦ Carolina has never lost at home to Clemson, leading the series 57-0 in games played in Chapel Hill. That is the longest streak of home wins over an opponent in NCAA history.
♦ Carolina has beaten the Tigers by double figures in 25 of the last 27 meetings in Chapel Hill (the exceptions were in 1997-98 and 2002-03).
♦ Clemson has played in Chapel Hill 57 times since 1926 with 14 coaches, losing three times at the Tin Can, 15 times at Woollen Gymnasium, 14 times at Carmichael Auditorium and 26 times at the Smith Center.
♦ UNC is 86-4 vs. Clemson in games played in the state of North Carolina. Included in that figure is a 57-0 mark in Chapel Hill, an 11-1 mark in ACC Tournament games in Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte and a 1-1 record in Southern Conference Tournament games in Raleigh prior to the formation of the ACC. Also included is a 13-2 UNC edge in games in Charlotte for the North-South Doubleheader in the 1960s and 1970s and a 4-0 Carolina advantage in other regular season games played in Greensboro or Charlotte.
♦ Clemson has beaten the Tar Heels in the state of North Carolina on the following dates: March 1, 1939 (Southern Conference Tournament in Raleigh), Feb. 14, 1964 (North-South Doubleheader in Charlotte in double overtime), Feb. 18, 1967 (North-South Doubleheader in Charlotte) and March 8, 1996 (ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Greensboro).
PREVIEWING THE TIGERS
♦ Clemson is 7-5 this season and has lost three of its last four games entering Wednesday's meeting.
♦ The Tigers have lost back-to-back games vs. South Carolina and at Georgia. Clemson beat Presbyterian on Dec. 15 for its last win while also losing by a point at home to Alabama two days earlier.
