UNC basketball didn’t wake up until it was too late in loss to Clemson at ACC tournament

CHARLOTTE — At one point in the second half of the 2026 ACC Tournament quarterfinals, UNC basketball’s Henri Veesaar was angry as he made his way to the Tar Heels’ bench during a timeout.

“Wake this (expletive) up!” Veesaar yelled.

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The 19th-ranked Tar Heels did eventually heed that message with an eye-popping rally, but the comeback came up just short against Clemson in an 80-79 loss at Spectrum Center.

“Obviously we dug ourselves in a big hole in the second half, first half, so we had to kind of – we played desperate, but we play good when we’re desperate,” said Veesaar, who had a career-high 28 points and 17 rebounds, but also a career-worst six turnovers.

“I think we’re going to keep that mindset when we go into the next games and into March.”

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OBSERVATIONS: UNC basketball can’t complete comeback vs Clemson in ACC tournament

UNC (24-8) lacked that March mindset for most of the night against Clemson (24-9), which trailed by five in the first 6 ½ minutes before responding with a 27-14 stretch the rest of the half to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

The Tigers ballooned their lead to 18 points in the second half before a final seven-minute surge from the Tar Heels, who scored 30 points and made their final five shots, including four 3-pointers for the final tally.

UNC coach Hubert Davis said he talked at “great length” with his team throughout the week about its need to bring a “hunger and thirst” in the postseason. But both areas were largely lacking against Clemson, which had only one win previously against UNC in the ACC tournament (in 1996).

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“Just the inability to respond to physicality. I felt like it was the same thing (at Duke), and for most of the game (against Clemson),” Davis said.

“Clemson has always been physical defensively, and one of the things I always say is you never let a defense dictate and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/unc-basketball-didnt-wake-until-133053507.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-13 13:30:00

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