UNC 86, Clemson 81 (ACC Champs!)
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Game FlowUNC earned this championship! The Heels kept scraping against a very tough Clemson team and proved to be too much for the Tigers. Clemson looks like a top 10 team to me. They are going to do well in my bracket.
Tyler, Wayne and Marcus made the All Tourney team with Tyler getting most outstanding player. Wayne played like an all-star for the 3rd time this year against Clemson. Because Clemson spreads the floor so much, he gets open looks that he normally doesn't against teams that pack it in. Ty Lawson stepped up his game. He's still not 100%, but he looked better than the first two games of the tourney.
Clemson was able to force a lot of turnovers due to their press, but nothing makes me smile quite like seeing UNC score within 5 seconds of the other team scoring. Because Clemson pressed, they weren't always able to get back on defense. This was a track meet in the literal sense and UNC was in better shape at the end.
This makes 2 ACC Tournament Championships in a row. The celebration afterwards was subdued. Everyone on the team has their eyes on the big prize: the NCAA Tournament Championship.
PS. The officiating was horrendous for the third straight game. I'm not saying all the calls went against UNC--I'm saying they were bad in general. I won't dwell on it here, but it amazes me that a group of referees in different games can decide to call games differently than they did during the season. Fouls that were typically called for Hansbrough just weren't called.
