Clemson basketball beats UNC: What does it mean?

The Clemson basketball team held on for an 82-78 win over North Carolina in Littlejohn on Tuesday. What does it mean for the Tigers?

The No. 20-ranked Clemson basketball team held on for an 82-78 win over No. 19 North Carolina in Littlejohn on Tuesday night.

In front of a capacity crowd, the Tigers took a 16-point lead into halftime, but saw it squander away in the second half.

How many times have Clemson fans heard this story?

Well, this time it was different. Despite the fact that North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson and Joel Berry couldn’t miss in the second half, the Tigers were resilient.

Johnson finished with 32 and Berry had 27, but it was Marcquise Reed who led the Tigers to a victory. After North Carolina came back to tie the ballgame up, Reed hit a huge three and then on the very next possession, found Elijah Thomas for a layup to put the Tigers up five and that was all she wrote.

Box Score:

Stats:

Leading Scorers – Marcquise Reed 20, Shelton Mitchell 14, Gabe DeVoe 17, Elijah Thomas 11.

Leading Rebounders – Reed 8, Thomas 6.

Assist Leaders – Reed 5, Mitchell 4, DeVoe 4.

Analysis:

The second half for Clemson was not what we all wanted it to be, but they proved to be resilient. The Tigers gave up 50 points in the second half, but when it mattered they came together- behind Marcquise Reed- to pick up the huge win.

Next: 2018 Clemson Football Early Position Outlook: Running Back

What does it mean?

This is the type of win that solidifies your name on the list of top schools.

With the win, the Tigers also improved to7-3 in the ACC. That’s huge. North Carolina is a very good team and the win also puts the Tigers tied for third in the ACC.

Clemson still needs to get some help inside, but I love the guard play and the confidence that they played with tonight and I think it bodes well for the Tigers moving forward.