ACC hoops tonight: Battle of heavyweights, Clemson at North Carolina

What will you be doing at around 9pm this evening? If you are a die-hard hoops fan you will be glued to ESPN or have your radio tuned in to 94.1FM for the annual Clemson trip to Chapel Hill to face the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Some of the luster has been taken off of this game since both the Tigers(16-1) and the Heels(16-2) have lost to the ACC front-runner Wake Forest. That won”t stop the war cries from going out all around the Chapel Hill city, bellowing that Clemson will never beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill…..What’s the record now, something in the neighborhood of 53-0 Heels.

This will be a fun game, it always is when North Carolina and Clemson get together. Who can forget that game last year at Clemson when Wayne Ellington got hot and started knocking down those three-pointers to help send the game into overtime and the rest was history with the Heels winning again.

Does this game merit must-see TV status or can we just play the radio version and let that suffice? I would call this one a first-half TV game and second-half radio event, unless Clemson has the lead and the Tigers are threatening to win it in Chapel Hill at halftime. If Carolina(North that is) has the lead at the half, then you can turn on the car or home radio and let Woody, Eric and Jones take you home.

The build-up is good and let’s hope the game will be just as enticing and that the loss by Clemson to Wake Forest back on Saturday, doesn’t effect the way the Tigers approach this game tonight. Would love to see Clemson win; it would shake up the standings again and we still have Wake Forest-Duke to look forward to and it’s coming soon……

Be sure to check out the feature on the Mahaffey brothers; Randy, Richie, Donnie and Tom at theacc.com. It’s a great piece by Jim Sumner and it tells the story of the Mahaffey brothers, with Randy being the top-dog as he went on to play for our beloved Carolina Cougars here in Greensboro back in the ’70’s. The Mahaffey brothers are a true piece of Clemson Tiger basketball history.

Here’s tonight’s complete lineup:

Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest
7:00 PM
Winston-Salem, N.C.
TV: ESPN2
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Florida State @ Miami
7:30 PM
Coral Gables, Fla.
TV: ACC Select

Clemson @ North Carolina
9:00 PM
Chapel Hill, N.C.
TV: ESPN