Clemson Basketball: Clemson Casually Obliterates UNC
For UNC, experiencing the full Victor Lahkin Experience must be like trying to read a Leo Tolstoy novel—long, painful, and leaving you wondering why you ever embarked on this endeavor. UNC fans suddenly find themselves trapped in a pocket dimension where their team is on the bubble, and Clemson has now defeated them, along with Duke and Kentucky, all in the same season. The cheese is truly moldy, and the wine is sour in Chapel Hill.
Ain’t it great?
What’s better than upsetting Duke? Beating the Blue Devils and then—nay, obliterating—the Tar Heels 48 hours later. Less than a week ago, the season seemed to be teetering in the wrong direction after an inexcusable home loss. But that loss is now far behind in the rearview mirror, barely worth mentioning.
The aforementioned Victor Lahkin continued to summon the spirit of Ivan Drago, once again choosing violence. Twenty-two points, four blocks, six rebounds—and just casually shooting a whopping 80% while steamrolling yet another Tobacco Road school.
Jaeden Zackary and Chase Hunter followed up with strong performances, scoring 16 and 19 points, respectively. Zackary also tallied four steals, accounting for 50% of the team’s steals on the night.
Clemson finished the game shooting 50% from the field, a blistering 48% from three, and even had a solid night at the free-throw line, going 9-for-12. By all statistical measures, this was a beatdown, tying UNC’s worst-ever defeat at the hands of the Tigers—a 20-point drubbing. Even Clemson’s walk-ons got in on the action, chucking up a few shots in garbage time.
Now, Clemson enters its trickiest remaining stretch of the regular season: a weekend trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State—the most Jekyll-and-Hyde team in the conference. Then, they head cross-country for a showdown with a solid SMU squad. If the Tigers continue playing at this level, they could secure a top-2 or top-3 seed in the ACC Tournament and improve their NCAA Tournament seeding.
A fantastic 48 hours.
