Tigers Win On Their Heels

The finale of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals featured the 4th-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels (24-7 overall, 12-6 ACC) in their first action of this conference tournament versus the 5th-seeded Clemson Tigers (23-9 overall, 12-6 ACC) who were coming off of their 71-62 second round win over the 13th-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons for their 13th ACC win of the season.

There were four lead changes and three ties in the first half between the Tigers and the Tar Heels, with the Tigers leading by eight at the break, 39-31.

Clemson would come out of their locker room scoring 19 points to 10 by North Carolina, advancing themselves out to a 58-41 lead with over 12 minutes left in the second half.

At the 11:36 mark, redshirt-senior forward/center Nick Davidson send a long-range attempt through the net to give him double-digits in points (11) and put the Tigers ahead by 18, 61-43.

With 7:15 to play, the Tar Heels got within 12, down 64-52, thanks to a deep shot by junior center Henri Veesaar.

Tar Heels' senior guard Seth Trimble had an opportunity to bring his team within 10, but he missed the free throw that followed his layup at the 4:27 mark.

Clemson responded with back-to-back buckets by redshirt-freshman guard Ace Buckner and then senior guard Dillon Hunter to separate themselves by 15, 73-58.

Veesaar made two free throws at the 2:39 mark and North Carolina stole the ball away on a full-court press when freshman forward Chase Thompson lost the handle. Tar Heels' freshman guard Derek Dixon got the steal and connected from beyond the arc to make it an eight-point game, down 73-65.

Going for the offensive rebound, Veesaar was called for a foul, sending Davidson to a 1-and-1 attempt, which he made the front of.

Dixon came right down the floor and hit another three, shrinking what was once an 18-point deficit to just six, with North Carolina trailing 74-68 with 1:27 to go in the game.

After two made free throws by Davidson, Veesaar responded with a three to get the Tar Heels within five, 76-71, at the 1:04 mark.

With a contested layup made by Trimble, North Carolina was within three, down 76-73.

Hunter would make both of his tries on the 1-and-1, followed by Veesaar knocking down his third deep shot of the night, getting the Tar Heels to one possession of separation, at 78-76, with 12.7 seconds remaining.

At the 11.1-second mark, Hunter would make another two free throws.

Dixon replied with his fourth three-pointer of the night, getting North Carolina within one, at 80-79.

With 2.7 seconds remaining, Davidson missed the first shot of his double-bonus free throw trip.

After Clemson's final timeout, Davidson would miss his second shot.

A final heave by North Carolina would not find its way into the net, and Clemson would move on with a one-point win, ironically the same score as the team they will be facing in the ACC Tournament Semifinals, with Duke defeating Florida State, 80-79.

The 5th-seeded Tigers will meet the top-seeded Duke at approximately 9:30pm ET on Friday, March 13th.