Hubert Davis previews matchup against Clemson, calls Tigers one of the better teams in the country

North Carolina is fresh off of one of their most electrifying win of the season, defeating No. 7 ranked rival Duke 93-84 on Saturday to bounce back from their upset loss to Georgia Tech the game prior.

But the road for the Tar Heels isn’t getting much easier any time soon, as they’ll host Clemson on Tuesday night.

The No. 3 ranked Tar Heels’ 10-1 record in conference play doesn’t compare to Tigers’ 4-6 record versus ACC opponents. But North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis made it very clear that Clemson should not and will not be taken lightly by his squad.

“They’re a very good basketball team, they’re one of the better teams in the country. Just plain and simple, period, the end,” Davis said in his weekly press conference.

The Tigers have gotten some tough breaks this season, with their last three losses coming by five points or less including a three-point double-overtime loss to Georgia Tech and a one-point loss to Duke.

The Tar Heels were able to defeat Clemson on the road in a 10-point win on January 6, as Davis detailed the Tigers’ biggest strengths ahead of their rematch in the Smith Center.

“We’ve already played them, they’re always great defensively, they’re physical, they’re fundamentally sound. On the offensive end, they can shoot from three and they can also dominate points in the paint, great offensive rebounding team,” Davis explained.

Clemson has a top-five scoring offense in the ACC and is one of the conference’s top-five rebounding teams so far this season, headlined by the ACC’s second-leading scorer PJ Hall and third-leading rebounder Ian Schieffeli. But the Tar Heels have the conference’s top scorer and rebounder in RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, who will both need to continue their consistent play in order to secure their 12th win of the season.

“And Coach Brownell is one of the better coaches in the country, I just have so much respect for him and his program,” Davis said. “Every year the things that they do consistently is just amazing and our full attention is on Clemson because it’s deserving, they are one of the better teams in the country and we’re looking forward to a really hard challenge against Clemson on Tuesday night.”

Brownell has only defeated North Carolina three times during his tenure with Clemson amid his 14th season as the Tigers’ head coach. Davis on the other hand will look to remain undefeated against Clemson on Tuesday night, as the two teams will square off at 7:00 p.m. ET in a game airing on ESPN.