March 12th, 2026, was a beautiful day for ACC Basketball. Duke narrowly avoided an upset against Florida State, and Miami and Louisville went down to the wire. Miami pulled out the win, and Virginia handled business against NC State. But the highlight of my night should have been a Carolina Victory.
My spirits were high. I had been looking forward to this week all season, the ACC Tournament, from Tuesday, all the way to Saturday, 5 days of watching my favorite teams play each other in a tournament, the perfect appetizer to March Madness, which was just 1 week away.
The 9:30 Tip-off for the Tar Heels was extremely late, but the Heels came out, and the Tigers matched the Heels in every stride. Godfrey and Hunter helped the Tigers get out to a 6-3 lead. and the Tigers remained comfortable and stable while the Heels remained off-balance and confused. Despite the disconnect, the game remained a 1 or 2-possession affair throughout the first 10 minutes of regulation.
However, the tide turned late in the half. From the 8:30 left in the first half to less than 4 minutes left in the half, the Tigers would go on a run to lead 31-22. Eventually, the Heels would head into the locker room down 39-31 at halftime. I held out hope that Hubert Davis would find a way to motivate his guys to respond to the punch to the face in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Early in the second half, it was clear that the Heels did not get that kind of message; they came out and just traded buckets, no defensive stops. Clemson began to make heavily contested shots. As well as every bounce somehow going their way. The Tigers would hit a pair of threes to go up 61-43, This is where I called it a night. I had school the next morning and could not justify the deficit.
Of course, that is when the Heels would begin to battle back, Veesaar would hit a 3, which led to a Brad Brownell Timeout. The score was 64-52, and the Tigers continued to make contested shots. With just over 3 minutes to play, the game looked just out of reach for the Heels. Until Derek Dixon Took over. After a steal and a transition 3 by Derek Dixon, the score was 65-72. The game was in reach, Dixon would then bank in an off-balance 3 to cut the lead to 4.
Free throws would extend the lead to 76-68. The Final minute turned into a whirlwind. Veesaar would make a spot-up 3-pointer to cut the lead to 5. Trimble would drive to the paint to cut the lead to one possession. Veesaar struck again from deep. bringing it back to a 2-point gap. Dixon would swish another 3 to make the score 80-79. The Heels fouled quickly to stop the clock, but after a missed free throw gave them one last gasp, the final heave fell short. The Tigers escaped with an 80-79 win, advancing to face Duke at 9:30 on Friday night.
