CLEMSON, SC - It's been that kind of season for the Tigers, losing yet another game they had a chance to win in the final seconds. This time it was a 81-79 loss to No.5 North Carolina, perhaps the hottest team in the country. The Tigers had the ball down 2 with less than 10 seconds left after Kenny Williams missed his second free throw. Shelton Mitchell drove to the basket but didn't get a foul call after drawing heavy contact into the body. He was basically tackled, and the refs let if go. Mitchell should have had a chance to send the game to overtime at the free throw line. It was a heck of an effort by the Tigers in front of a stellar Littlejohn crowd, though, giving the No.5 team all they could handle! UNC has won 18 of its last 19 games and blew out No.1 Duke in Cameron a week ago.
The Tigers were without David Skara, their best defender by far, and UNC made 13 three-pointers, which was the second-most they've made all season. Take away just one of those, and the Tigers win the game. The loss just encapsulates the entire season this has been. Tigers can't ever get a break to fall their way in a one-score game. They've lost 4 last-second heartbreakers now, two in which they led with one second to go, and if just one of those had gone their way, they probably make the NCAA Tourney. Instead, they probably won't unless they make a deep run in the ACC Tourney and get some help. At 7-9, the best they can finish is 9-9 in the ACC. Toughest conference in the nation, and they have a good NET ranking, but it probably won't be enough without a couple wins in the ACC Tourney.
Marcquise Reed had another tremendous game, scoring 24 on 10-16 from the field. Trapp was 3-6 from beyond the arc for 15 points, just one shy of his career high. Roy Williams had another fainting spell and left the game shortly before halftime. It was the second episode of the Hall of Famer's ongoing bout with Vertigo, and Williams said he was fine after the game.
Post-game interviews with Brownell, Trapp, Roy Williams and Coach Robinson are below.
Never miss the latest news from CUTigers!
Join our free email list