Imagine you’re Clemson guard Cliff Hammonds on Monday morning, trying to get out of bed to face the day and the rest of the season after what happened Sunday night in Chapel Hill.
"We can’t change what happened tonight," Hammonds said bravely after the Tigers squandered a 15-point, second-half lead and lost 103-93 in double overtime despite his 31 points. "We’ve got to look forward."
Monday morning will be a lot easier for Tyler Hansbrough even though he endured 47 minutes of pounding at the hands of the Tigers. Two home losses in a row, even without injured point guard Ty Lawson, might have had North Carolina’s players questioning their legitimacy as a favorite to get to the Final Four.
Instead, thanks in part to 39 points by Hansbrough, the Tar Heels emerged a confident team.
"We never gave up, and that’s what’s special about this win for us," Hansbrough said.
It was the type of game that could reverse the fortunes of both teams.
Clemson (17-6, 5-4 ACC) experienced one just like it last season at Duke, when officials’ failure to administer the clock properly gave Dave McClure time to make a winning basket at the end of regulation.
The Tigers failed to make the NCAA tournament after starting 17-0 and might always wonder what would have happened if they had a chance to play overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium that night.
Now, they will be wondering what would have happened if they could have prevented North Carolina from extending Sunday’s game to overtime as they fell to 0-for-53 all-time in Chapel Hill.
Coach Oliver Purnell needs to help his players put Sunday’s loss behind them.
"I told the team that we certainly can’t afford to take time to think about this too long," Purnell said.
Purnell is giving Clemson’s players Monday off, and they don’t play again until Thursday’s home game against Georgia Tech. That short break should be good for them.
The Tar Heels (22-2, 7-2) need to find the energy to travel Monday to Virginia for Tuesday night’s game. That will be a lot easier after Sunday’s unforgettable rally.
"I hate Sunday night games," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams, "but this feels pretty good right now."
-- Ken Tysiac
Monday, February 11, 2008
UNC stirred, Clemson shaken
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4 comments:
Worst case of home cooking I've seen since the last Pillsbury Bake Off. OP and gang should have the ACC refs and Boss Swofford arrested for grand theft. Apparently moving screens, kicking the ball, and hooking are OK while while even breathing on Hansbaby are not.
Worst case of home cooking I've seen since the last Pillsbury Bake Off. OP and gang should have the ACC refs and Boss Swofford arrested for grand theft. Apparently moving screens, kicking the ball, and hooking are OK while while even breathing on Hansbaby are not.
"anonymous" what game were you watching? Most of the first half it seemed as if Tommy Bowden was calling the plays for Clemson, apparently it was ok to shove and hammer Hansbrough with no fouls called. ACC refs are horrible and they verified that fact in the game but it was not in favor of Carolina.
Coming from a fan of neither team, that was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen. Hansborough is the ACC golden boy who can do no wrong... I think he shot 12 more FTs than the ENTIRE Clemson team.... lol.
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