The Clemson Tigers traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday night to face the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in ACC conference play at the Dean Smith Center. For the Tar Heels, this is usually a win that is penciled in at the beginning of the season as the Tigers had never won a game in Chapel Hill. That 59-game streak ended Saturday when the Tigers defeated the Tar Heels on their court in a 79-76 overtime win.
The Tar Heels have been struggling all season with their worst record ever through 15 games under head coach, Roy Williams. As of Saturday night, they are 8-8 on the season and 1-4 in conference play, tied for last place with Notre Dame in the ACC. Williams has expressed his frustration with his squad this year in the weeks prior, but on Saturday evening, he shouldered the blame for the loss and stated the loss to Clemson is his “lowest moment as a coach.”
Williams was frustrated with himself for failing to remind the team to take a foul after the 10-second mark during the final timeout that he called to calm down Brandon Robinson before he took two free throw shots with 12 seconds left in the game. Following Robinson’s two successful free throw shots, Clemson’s Aamir Simms hit a three-pointer with three seconds left on the clock and forced the game into overtime. The score was 70-70.
With all of their timeouts exhausted, the Tar Heels were left to play the overtime period without any breaks while Clemson still had one remaining; they used it with 18 seconds left on the clock following Simms putting another three-point shot through the hoop. Brooks attempted two three-point shots in the last five seconds to try to save the game for North Carolina, but he missed the shots and the Clemson Curse was broken after decades of defeat.
Coach Williams made history during the Tar Heels’ last win against Yale back on Dec. 30 when he tied Dean Smith for all-time wins, but since then, this his team has not been able to produce a victory to give their coach the tie-breaking win, and the historic lead. They play Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech in the next two games, both teams with four losses on the season, and then Miami, who as of this week is 9-5. Perhaps in one of these next three games over the next two weeks, Williams and his University of North Carolina Tar Heels will come out on top and he will get his historic win.
Tar Heel Illustrated
Roy Williams Postgame Press Conference #goheels #northcarolinahttps://t.co/pQAXAZanvs pic.twitter.com/DtOvYppcW9
— Tar Heel Hive (@thetarheelhive) January 12, 2020
