North Carolina @ Clemson preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2018 ) North Carolina 78, Clemson 82

Clemson has won two in a row but will be hard-pressed to make it three straight as it hosts North Carolina on Saturday evening. The Tigers have strung together wins over ACC basement dwellers Boston College and Pittsburgh but must face one of the hottest teams in the country as the fifth-ranked Tar Heels have won four in a row.

Clemson's defense, which allows the third-fewest points against in the ACC at 63.8, suffocated the young Panthers all evening, holding them to 27.3 percent shooting from the floor. "I thought our defense was really good all day," Clemson coach Brad Brownell told reporters after the 62-48 win. "We competed (and) guarded them about as well as we could guard." North Carolina shook off Syracuse’s upset attempt on Tuesday night as freshman Coby White scored a career-high 34 points in the 93-85 win. "I've said it before: He's the best scoring point guard that I've coached," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told the media afterward, while also saying: "I knew he was bound to make some because he hadn't made any the last three or four weeks."

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (23-5, 13-2 ACC): Williams was referring to White’s recent struggles where he made just 17-of-56 shots in the four games prior to shooting 9-of-14 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from long range, and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line against the Orange. The Tar Heels got to the line early and often against Syracuse, finishing 34-of-37 at the stripe to help them overcome for a pedestrian effort (40.3 percent shooting) from the floor. North Carolina also showed why its the best rebounding team in the nation at 42.9, grabbing 46 boards to Syracuse’s 25.

ABOUT CLEMSON (17-11, 7-8): The Tigers also came out flying offensively at Pitt, hitting on their first five 3-point attempts en route to building a 38-16 halftime lead. Leading scorer Marcquise Reed (19 points per game) had a team-high 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting and added seven rebounds to go along with three assists while playing all 40 minutes in the blowout. Elijah Thomas added 12 points and Shelton Mitchell chipped in with 10 as the Tigers went 10-of-26 from long range to overcome a slow day at the foul line (8-of-9).

TIP-INS

1. North Carolina and Clemson split a pair of games last season, with the home team winning each game.

2. Reed sits fourth in the ACC in scoring, while Thomas is third in field-goal percentage (63.2).

3. White is the first freshman in Tar Heels history to have three 30-point games in a season.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 73, Clemson 69