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North Carolina looks to deny Clemson its first ACC title

Mar 16, 2008 - 1:36 PM Clemson (24-8) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (31-2) 1:00 pm EDT

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) - The Atlantic Coast Conference championship game will feature one familiar team and a school that hasn't been there in 46 years.

Top-ranked North Carolina goes for its second straight title - and 17th in school history - when it faces third-seeded Clemson on Sunday.

The Tar Heels are in their conference-record 29th ACC final, while the Tigers are making just their second appearance - and first since 1962. Clemson has never won the ACC tournament.

Clemson snapped a 22-game losing streak to seventh-ranked Duke on Saturday, posting a 78-74 victory in the semifinals. Trevor Booker scored 18 points and Cliff Hammonds added 17 to pace the Tigers.

North Carolina survived its semifinal matchup, 68-66, over Virginia Tech as Tyler Hansbrough made the game-winning jumper with eight-tenths of a second remaining.

Hansbrough, the conference's Player of the Year, finished with 26 points.

"I just ran over to where Ty (Lawson) was going to shoot, and luckily, the ball had a good roll out to me," Hansbrough said. "I just caught it and let it fly, and I'm pretty glad it went in."

The Tigers and Tar Heels played a pair of overtime games during the regular season, with North Carolina pulling out both contests.

Wayne Ellington made a game-winning 3-pointer as North Carolina won, 90-88, at Clemson on January 6, and the Tar Heels rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to win 103-93 in two overtimes on February 10.