Coach Hubert Davis demands defensive intensity as North Carolina navigates tournament play and await their NCAA fate.
With Caleb Wilson out for the season due to a broken right thumb injury, No. 19 North Carolina is backing its way into the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels defeated Clemson 67-63 on March 3 before suffering a 76-61 loss to No. 1 Duke to end the regular season.
UNC needed to impress the selection committee with a strong showing in the ACC Tournament to avoid dropping in seeding for the Big Dance.
UNC got off to a slow start against Clemson in Thursday night's quarterfinal round, trailing the Tigers 39-31 at halftime.
North Carolina played better in the second half, but it wasn't enough to beat the Tigers in an 80-79 loss in front of 17,627 fans at Spectrum Center.
Henri Veesaar went off for 28 points to go along with 17 rebounds and two assists, but he didn't get enough help from the bench, which only contributed five points on Thursday.
Following the game, UNC head coach Hubert Davis pointed to another issue plaguing the team: defense. Clemson made 49 percent of its field goal attempts and shot 47 percent behind the three-point line.
"Then also, I've been straightforward about it – for us to be a good team, we've just got to be good defensively," Davis said, via USA Today. "I've said defense and rebounding and taking care of the basketball.
"When you allow a team to shoot 50 percent from the field, especially this time of the year against good teams, that's just not a recipe for success."
Davis thought Clemson was tougher on defense than UNC's offense was. North Carolina outrebounded Clemson 38-29, but committed three more turnovers than the Tigers.
North Carolina is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but what seed they earn is up in the air after Wilson's injury.
Davis hopes a sense of desperation will help the team focus next week.
"Yes. Specifically, I talked to the team – what is today, Thursday? Tuesday, Wednesday, and today, about having that hunger and that thirst," Davis said.
"That hunger and that thirst to compete, that hunger and thirst to prepare, to practice, hunger and thirst to play together as a team and as a group as long as we can."
North Carolina will enter Selection Sunday with a 24-8 record and a 12-6 record in the ACC. The Tar Heels would be contenders with Wilson, but how far they go in the NCAA Tournament will depend on the play of Veesaar and Seth Trimble.