Clemson Begins Tough Three-Game Week with UNC

Brad Brownell and the Tigers are dealing with a new starting lineup during a week with three of the top four teams in the ACC standings on the schedule.

Because of the ACC rescheduling a game against Duke from last month to Thursday night, Brad Brownell and the Clemson men's basketball face a daunting task this week.

Clemson begins a stretch of playing three quality teams in five days with Tuesday's 6 p.m. home game against North Carolina. Then, the Blue Devils, who the Tigers took to the brink in a two-point loss on Jan. 25, come to Littlejohn Coliseum two days later, followed by a third consecutive home game against Notre Dame on Saturday. 

Those three teams are currently in the top four in the ACC standings, so Brownell has the unenviable task of trying to manage an already hurting roster. But at the same time, he wants his guys to "empty your tank on gameday."

"It's hard for us," Brownell said during Monday's ACC teleconference. "We've really got to be careful. We've had to be that way at different points in the season. Obviously very challenging, especially the first two teams. Duke and Carolina are big, strong, physical teams. But all three are three of the best teams in our league.” 

While the Tigers (12-10, 4-7 ACC) want to navigate the week wisely, they're in desperate need of a win Tuesday. Clemson lost a winnable road game to Georgia Tech last Saturday because of turnovers and a lack of energy on the defensive end. Considering the opponents, they can't look past the first in this trio of games. 

The Tar Heels (16-7, 8-4) are also hurting after they were blown out by rival Duke last weekend. And while Brownell has had success against UNC, has lost three of the last four meetings against Clemson, he can't rest on the recent past in this situation. 

"We've got to worry about ourselves as much as we do North Carolina," Brownell said. "Our team has been inconsistent at times. We're managing a different starting lineup. We've got to figure out the best way for our team to compete in this game and this week than North Carolina." 

Key stats: Clemson and UNC both rank in the top-20 in 3-point shooting percentage nationally. The Tigers are 190th in 3-point defense while the Tar Heels are 233rd. 

Betting line: Clemson -1, over/under 144.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook

Player to watch: P.J. Hall is still dealing with a foot injury and has to play three games this week, so it'll be difficult to manage his time. But the Tigers need their leading scorer (14.9 points per game) to control the paint against a big UNC squad.

Injury report: Clemson will be without starting forward Hunter Tyson for the second time as he's out with a broken clavicle. Tyson had surgery last week, and Brownell said the earliest Tyson could return is next month's ACC tournament, but Brownell is :not optimistic" on that timetable.  

"I don’t know how you sit out a month and then, all of a sudden, you’re going to be ready to go,” Brownell said.

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