Clemson vs. North Carolina Tactical Breakdown: 3 Ways Tigers Can Beat Tar Heels

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— For the second time in nine days, Clemson and North Carolina will face off, but it’s inside a bigger venue than the one in Chapel Hill.

The Tigers and Tar Heels will fight for a spot to be one of the final four teams in the ACC Tournament on Thursday night, and Clemson will look to avenge a 67-63 loss that was suffered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on March 3.

Head coach Brad Brownell has ways to do so, looking back on what worked nine days ago against Hubert Davis’s group. These are three different ways that the Tigers can get back to the ACC Tournament semifinals in back-to-back seasons.

Clemson’s Bench Steps Up, Again

Clemson forward Chase Thompson had one of his best games as a Tiger in his freshman season on Wednesday night. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Carter Welling’s knee injury has him out for Thursday night’s game, meaning that Brownell’s rotation thins, but if the bench performs as it did against Wake Forest, it would be helpful.

Clemson turns to freshman Chase Thompson or redshirt senior Nick Davidson to start on Thursday night, although Davidson has done his best work coming off of the bench in recent months. Thompson finished with nine points on Wednesday night in the win, having the highest plus/minus on the team at 14.

The platoon-style offense that Brownell ran, five in and five out, helped Thompson hit some key shots in the win over the Demon Deacons.

“Yeah, personally it's just how can I affect the game, winning plays, use my IQ to my advantage,” Thompson said after the game. “It brings five fresh guys going against guys that have been in the game four or five minutes. That's an advantage, as well.”

The Tigers had 22 bench points to Wake’s two. On March 3, North Carolina had 27 bench points to Clemson’s 11. That will need to be flipped if the Tigers want a better chance of playing on Friday night.

Limiting The Deep Shots

Clemson couldn't stop the hot hand of North Carolina's Luka Bogavac on March 3, hitting six threes in the win. | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

The Tar Heels had an anomaly for a stat in the win to begin March, shooting better from three than they did from the field as a whole.

Clemson allowed North Carolina to shoot 44.4% from deep that Tuesday night, while only shooting 37.9% from the field. The Tigers’ opponent is generally a 34.9% from three-point range against ACC opponents, and Brownell’s group will look to get a number similar to the average compared to the one it saw recently.

It was a momentum shift in the game as well. North Carolina guard Luka Bogavac had a stretch of hitting five threes in the second half for the Heels in that game. Clemson can’t have that, while going cold on the offensive side from deep, if it wants to continue to play in the conference tournament going into this weekend.

Winning The Turnover Margin

Clemson's presence on defense was clear in the win over Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It sounds simple enough, but when Clemson is active on defense and forces turnovers, its identity helps it win games and by a lot.

Against Wake Forest, the Tigers forced 12 turnovers to only four of their own. All four of those were in the first half, playing a clean game to limit any Demon Deacon comeback from happening on Wednesday night. Brownell’s group played to its identity, being third in the conference in the turnover margin, and it showed.

“Just a lot of intensity and effort,” Thompson said after the game. “I think Coach Brownell has been honest about that for sure, as of late.”

Clemson lost the turnover margin by only one to the Tar Heels, but that’s the difference between a win and a loss in a close game like the win at the Dean E. Smith Center that night. North Carolina has also given up more turnovers than it has forced, being eighth in the conference in doing so.

That is consistently the key for Brownell, who expects a similar heavyweight fight to that of the one just a week ago.

“I thought we played very well,” he said. “Give North Carolina credit; they found ways to make plays down the stretch, made some big threes against us. But it was a heck of a matchup. Our guys competed our tails off. They did, as well.”