Clemson Men’s Basketball: Tigers visit Chapel Hill – Analysis and Picks

There’s good news and bad news if you’re a Clemson Men’s Basketball fan as the Tigers head to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels this afternoon.

The bad news is the Tigers aren’t given much of a chance to beat North Carolina and are expected to suffer their third consecutive defeat in a once-promising season.

We’ll have more on that in a minute, but first the better news: After North Carolina, the Tigers should be favored in the next three games, which include Florida State (home), Louisville (away) and Syracuse (home).

So, I’m urging Tiger fans to take the long view of this stretch.

That said, I believe the Tigers need to beat one of North Carolina, North Carolina State or Virginia on the road to make the NCAA Tournament, though Joe Lunardi does have the Tigers as an 11-seed currently.

The Tar Heels are by no means a juggernaut this season, at 15-9 and 7-6 in the ACC have largely underperformed expectations and are on a 3-game losing streak of their own.

On the flip side, there are no bad losses and only one loss at home.

The Tar Heels will have a height advantage, but don’t necessarily shoot the ball that well, so rebounding will be a key, which doesn’t bode well for the Tigers.

Not an elite offensive rebounding team, the Tar Heels are still better at that than Clemson, so that will be a key, just as it has been all season.

Clemson will need to shoot the ball well, stay out of foul trouble and move the ball.  It sounds simple, but the Tigers will struggle in the half court offense against the Tar Heels length if that doesn’t happen.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is an underdog on the road in Chapel Hill

Clemson is a 7.5-point underdog with a total of 144.5, implying a 76-68.5 North Carolina win.

John Chancey (16-8, 10-14 ATS):

Clemson might have finally won in Chapel Hill, but location it is still a massive disadvantage for the Tigers in this game. Want a hot take? Coaching is advantage Tigers. I think UNC wins but the spread is too big. Tigers cover.

Marty Coleman (16-8, 9-15 ATS):

As much as Clemson’s season may be on the line, so is North Carolina’s and the Tar Heels have a home-court advantage here, where they’ve only lost once this season.  I think Clemson plays well, but North Carolina’s size is too much for the Tigers.

The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. EST.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change