The Win Over Clemson, and Tuesday's Glorified Practice

Saturday's contest between Carolina and Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum was extremely ugly.  UNC shot 20-53 (38%) from the field, 2-14 (14%) from 3-pt range and 22-32 (69%) from the free throw line.  Clemson was just as bad, shooting 21-61 (34%), 9-29 (31%) from 3-pt range, and 11-17 (65%) from the line.  On top of the horrible shooting percentages, the Tar Heel bench only contributed one point for the entire game.  Luckily for the Heels, John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, Tyler Zeller, and a stout defense were just enough to pull this one out.

John Henson dominated the post with his 3rd straight double-double, ending the game with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks.  He also demoralized his counterpart Jerai Grant, who came in averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds, but was held scoreless with only one rebound in 16 minutes.  Grant was visibly frustrated almost immediately in this game, as Henson rejected all three of the shots he put up in the early going.

Harrison Barnes scored 20 points and grabbed 5 boards, but more importantly contributed one of the biggest plays of the game.  Barnes threw down a vicious dunk with the game in the balance, quieting the crowd and stopping any momentum the Tigers had.  Barnes has really flourished since Marshall took over at the point, and I look for him to continue to improve for the remainder of the season.  If Marshall had been playing 35 minutes all season, Harrison might have had a shot at all those lofty preseason projections placed on him.

Kendall Marshall had his highest scoring output of the season with 18 points, most of them coming on clutch free throws down the stretch.  This is extremely encouraging considering his struggles at the line so far this season, but to be fair to him, he hasn't had that many opportunities.  Hopefully his 10-11 performance from the charity stripe wasn't a fluke, because the Heels could really use a late-game closer who can knock those down.

Now for Tuesday's matchup.  Wake Forest is absolutely miserable, coming in with an 8-17 record, 1-9 in the ACC.  If I were Roy Williams, my goal for this game would be to find a shooting guard.  Dexter Strickland is a great defender, but he just isn't much of a threat on the offensive end of the floor (with the exception of a few good games this season).  I would recommend playing Reggie Bullock big minutes, because I know he has all the tools to be a great player on both offense and defense.  Obviously he's been extremely cold in his last few games, and his confidence is clearly shaken a little.  I'd love to see him in the game for 30 minutes, and hopefully get a few easy buckets early to get it going.  Reggie has shown glimpses of brilliance in a few games this season, and I really believe he would break out with some extra playing time.  He just needs to see a few shots go in without the fear of being pulled out for every single mistake or missed shot, and the game against the Demon Deacons is the perfect time to give him that opportunity.  There is absolutely no way that Wake Forest could beat Carolina in Chapel Hill, or probably anywhere else for that matter, so this glorified practice is the ideal time to try a few things to solve the problem at the 2 guard position.  If Bullock can take advantage of this confidence-building occasion, UNC might just have a shot to steal a Championship like Duke did last year.