North Carolina Tar Heels @ Clemson Tigers Basketball Recap

North Carolina 64, Clemson 62

Most dunks are impressive only because of their athletic virtuosity and acrobatic brilliance. Once in a while, though, a dunk gains greater stature and significance because it somehow manages to change the flow and feel of a basketball game. Such was the case on Saturday afternoon in Clemson, South Carolina, as the North Carolina Tar Heels took a very big step toward legitimizing their February resurgence.

This was a consequential contest at Littlejohn Coliseum. Coach Brad Brownell’s Clemson crew badly needed a quality win to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume and bolster the Tigers’ deteriorating at-large hopes. Precisely because North Carolina had emerged over the past three weeks thanks to a badly-needed shake-up at the point guard position, the Tar Heels actually represented a quality win. In early January, they didn’t offer as much value to an ACC opponent. Clemson found a golden opportunity in front of its lunch plate on Saturday; a Tiger win would have dramatically improved CU’s chances of making March Madness despite a roster with a fraction of the talent possessed by last year’s team. The atmosphere in Littlejohn was electric precisely because the home folks knew how important the occasion really was.

It was within the context of this environment that Harrison Barnes turned the tide for North Carolina.

> Browse a selection of Collegiate Snuggies & NC Tar Heels Merchandise online!

The Tar Heels faced a moment of truth in this contest. Following the loss of a 16-point lead - and the game - to archrival Duke on Wednesday, Carolina needed to bounce back and show that it could overcome a tough loss in what was undeniably a mentally draining battle. A win over Clemson would have indicated the resilience and resourcefulness of a team equipped with the resources to thrive in March. A loss would have cast a shadow of doubt over the Heels’ ability to produce a deep run in Bracketville. The stakes were higher for Clemson, but they were still quite considerable for UNC. With the Tigers feeding off the energy of their home crowd and playing determined defense, North Carolina found itself locked in a 51-all tie with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. No one knew how UNC would respond just three days after the Duke loss. Coach Roy Williams didn’t even know how his players would answer the call.

Then came Barnes, who entered stage left to very possibly transform the trajectory of UNC’s season.

The lauded freshman has struggled to find himself in 2011, but Barnes might have made the essential discovery of his Tar Heel career in the Palmetto State. With 3:01 left, Barnes wound his way through the middle of the paint before making a deft glide to his left and throwing down a one-handed rim-rattler of a dunk to give his team a 53-51 lead. Much more than scoring a deuce, though, Barnes’s emphatic flush seemed to startle a young Clemson club. The Tigers, it’s instructive to note, did not hit another field goal in this game until they trailed 61-53 with only 24 seconds left. Yes, Clemson shaved the UNC lead to 62-59 on a pair of threes, but Tar Heel guard Kendall Marshall, the engineer of Carolina’s rebound from its early-January doldrums, knocked down two foul shots to ice the win with four seconds left before the Tigers hit a window-dressing triple at the buzzer. Barnes registered two points, but the way in which he scored them wound up knocking Clemson off balance.

Now, Clemson’s NCAA hopes rest on thin ice, while North Carolina solidified itself as the second-best team in the ACC.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer