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No. 3 UNC loses to unranked team for 2nd time in 8 days
Feb 6, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers center PJ Hall (24) and North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) react in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

No. 3 UNC falls to another unranked team as Clemson goes wire-to-wire for rare upset

The No. 3 North Carolina men's basketball team was upset by an unranked program for the second time in eight days, dropping an 80-76 decision to Clemson on Tuesday night. 

The loss comes just one week after the Tarheels were upset by unranked Georgia Tech 74-73. Oddly enough, in between the two heartbreaks was a signature huge win against No. 7 Duke over the weekend, making it quite the roller coaster week for the Tar Heels. 

While UNC must now look to regain its form, having won 10 in a row before falling to GT, Clemson is hoping to have finally found its own. And perhaps the program's second-ever win in Chapel Hill will be the ticket; CU was 1-60 all-time coming into the night. 

Before the upset, the Tigers had won just three of their last nine games.

PJ Hall led Clemson with a team-high 25 points in the win over UNC. The performance keyed a wire-to-wire win that started with the Tigers racing out to a 15-2 lead. 

Even though North Carolina was able to close that gap in the second half and make it a game down the stretch, Clemson never found itself where it had to play from behind at any point in the game. 

The result gives the Tigers a pair of wins over top-25 teams having beat Alabama earlier in the season. Clemson now has four Quadrant 1 wins on its resume and has one more opportunity against a Q1 team later this season against Wake Forest.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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