Clemson will be bucking 53 years of bad history in Chapel Hill
Jan 20, 2009
Will Clemson ever win a basketball game in Chapel Hill? No, I think the chance that a cow may fly might be more plausible than a group of Tigers winning a basketball game in Chapel Hill.
When they come to Chapel Hill, the Tigers’ frustrations are like those of Sisyphus in Greek mythology. You know, time and again they keep rolling that boulder up the hill only to have it roll right back to the bottom. It's a maddening, embarrassing losing streak that just won't end.
Now, it's not like Clemson beats the Tar Heels a lot anywhere else, as Carolina holds a whopping 121-19 series advantage. But it's that long Clemson losing skid in Chapel Hill that gets everybody's attention. It's the joke heard round the ACC.
Clemson, which comes to Carolina Wednesday night, is a ridiculous, mind-boggling 0-53 in Chapel Hill. Think about that: For 53 years, different Clemson basketball teams have come to Carolina and none have won. In 99 per cent of those games, Clemson didn't have the horses to compete and should have lost. Last February was the 1 per cent, that one little chance for Clemson to purge the Chapel Hill hex for good.
It was a talented Clemson team, playing with a swagger, that had Carolina by the throat up 11 points with 3:12 to play and they blew it. Yeah, you can say it was a patented Tar Heel comeback, but to me it was more like Clemson realizing and then gagging on the fact that they actually might win in Chapel Hill. It wasn't a pretty sight as the Tigers stumbled and bumbled down the stretch to let that lead slip away, finally losing by 10 in double overtime. Give Carolina credit. They came back and Tyler Hansbrough was magnificent, but Clemson's deer-in-the-headlights look and apple-in-the-throat performance did more to lose it than Carolina did to win it.
Even Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said this week that in looking back at last February, the burden of that long losing streak may have entered his players’ minds down the stretch. No kidding, Coach. You saw just what the rest of us saw.
Wednesday night, the Tigers – ranked 10th in the country but coming off their first loss of the season to Wake Forest – have another Chapel Hill opportunity.
"It's a tough place for us to bounce back," says Purnell, "but it's a good opportunity for us as well to show we're a good team."
And the Tigers are a good team. They run, they press, they go 10 deep, but they will be facing a Carolina team that is certainly not devoid of any talent of its own. And if the Miami win is any indication, they may be back to playing with the confidence that made them everybody's preseason favorite to win the national title.
Clemson knows what being tentative in Chapel Hill means. It means certain defeat, and senior captain K.C. Rivers knows it’s his job to make sure his team comes in believing.
"What's on the basketball court is 10 players, five of theirs and five of ours. We've got to know we can play with them."
So Clemson has another chance in Chapel Hill. History says not a good chance, but another chance nonetheless.
It could be another good game. I don't think the Tigers are a bit afraid of the Heels. But like kept happening to Sisyphus, I expect that in Chapel Hill, no matter how hard the Tigers push that rock to the top of the hill, it will always roll right back to where it started.
That's the way it is when Clemson comes to Carolina.
