Chapel Hill is not used to seeing this kind of basketball displayed by its Tar Heels. Everyone was expecting a slight rebuilding year given the departures of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington. But nobody, even coach Roy Williams, expected this.
Williams Growing Frustrated By Road Losses
The Tar Heels visited Clemson last night, expecting to continue it dominance over the Tigers. North Carolina was riding a 10-game winning streak against Clemson and has regularly pounded them into submission.
The tables were turned at Clemson last night as the Tigers got out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back, winning 83-64.
Clemson was led by Trevor Booker and Demontez Stitt, who scored 21 and 20 points respectively. It was Clemson’s defensive blitz which put the stamp on the game.
None of the Tar Heels starters were able to score in double-figures and they committed 26 turnovers in the loss. They were flustered at the opening buzzer by Clemson’s brutal defensive attack and by the time they woke up the game was out of reach.
The loss was not only the first to Clemson since 2004, but it was the most lopsided ACC loss since the dark days of Matt Doherty’s tenure.
While the team is young, it is still filled with talent that should not result in losses of this magnitude. Coach Williams has some major work ahead of him to get this ship steering in the right direction.
Tar Heel Woes On The Road
It begins with figuring out why these kids can’t seem to play on the road. They have been the Jeckyll and Hyde of college basketball this year. They are undefeated at home, playing amazing transition offense and holding the visitors to a solid 67.6 points per game.
But when they hit the road, they become a horse of a different color. Their road FG% is 10 points lower and their defense gives up 15 more points per game.
Coach Roy Williams is going to need to nip this in the bud quickly. The loss to the College of Charleston was not just a blip on the radar. If they cannot figure out what causing the implosions on the road, come tournament time the Tarheels will be heading to the NIT with their double-digit loss record.
The college bowl schedule kicks off today with two opening games on the schedule as Wyoming meets Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl and Central Florida hooks up with Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl. College football fans will be treated to 34 games over 20 days culminating with Alabama and Texas deciding this year’s national champions.