THE WEST ZONE message board | SHOP NOW: DEALS on CLEMSON apparel

CLEMSON -- Even as you were still trying to figure this team out, trying to learn whether they'd be as good as you thought they'd be this year, you had to admire one firm quality.

This group sure could pull itself off the mat after crippling punches.

SPRING PRACTICE: Saturday Notes | SPRING PRACTICE - Friday Night Update | SPRING PRACTICE - Friday Notes | Friday Insider Notes

The way they lost at N.C. State on Jan. 26 can send teams into a season-long spiral. Yet they were immediately fine, as proven with four straight victories thereafter.

The way they lost at Miami on Feb. 13, compounded with the devastating defeat in Raleigh so soon before, is enough to make you wonder whether they'll be able to pull it together for a road game at Louisville. Yet they pulled it together, only to lose in excruciating fashion once again.

Three losses by a total of four points. That's a trend that can define a season. Only, these Tigers didn't seem ready for their season to be defined in such a way.

North Carolina came in Saturday favored by just 5.5 points, and plenty of Clemson fans were cracking jokes about betting the farm on a hot Tar Heels team to cover that spread with ease.

And then an elbow injury was too painful for David Skara to play, and it was not unreasonable to wonder whether things would finally start coming apart for this team in the third-to-last game of the regular season.

Instead, things started coming together. The Tigers went up early, were behind at halftime, but then battled back to go toe-to-toe with North Carolina in the second half.

Even with Skara on the bench, even with Brad Brownell holding Elijah Thomas as long as he could for a stretch in the second half, the Tigers looked like they were poised for a breakthrough win.

Javan White, who's come a long way since the start of the season, was making key contributions. Aamir Simms hit a big 3. Then Marcquise Reed started to go off, to match Coby White in a battle that was starting to look fairly epic. Then Clyde Trapp hit a huge 3 when the Tar Heels devoted their attention to stopping Reed.

And then, just like that, things switched back to normal again when Shelton Mitchell took it himself after UNC missed that second free throw to leave the Tigers down just two.

Was that a legitimate no-call? Probably so, given that Mitchell was a bit out of control as he drove to the rim.

Was that a call North Carolina gets 100 times out of 100 if the roles are reversed and the Tar Heels have the ball in Chapel Hill? Probably so.

Brownell was exceedingly diplomatic in his post-game press conference, saying the no-call isn't the reason Clemson lost and it was a "bang-bang play."

The strongest take he gave was after we asked whether he had an opportunity to watch the replay.

"I saw it," he said. "Tough play. Tough play."

Brownell even took some of the blame, saying he should've called a timeout with a little over four seconds left. Mitchell is a veteran who's made plenty of plays before, so the thinking was you trust your senior when he has the ball and feels confident in making a play.

But at the same time, it's a shame Clemson had the ball with a chance to win or tie and its best player didn't get a chance to touch the ball.

Reed, by the way, had rescued Clemson from a virtually hopeless situation earlier. The Tigers were down seven and on defense when Cameron Johnson missed a 3-pointer. Garrison Brooks managed to snare the rebound with 1:30 left, and it seemed over.

The ball went out to Coby White, and Reed went out to guard him tightly. Brownell thought Reed was about to foul White and motioned for him not to. Reed wasn't going for the foul, though. He was going for the ball. He made a sensational steal and raced for a layup with 1:16 left to make it 75-70.

There are plenty of things to like about this Clemson team, and this is one of them. Reed's ability to lock in and swipe the ball from one of the best players in the game embodied the "Clemson Grit" mantra that this team rallies behind.

Then again, these knee-buckling losses in close games aren't all bad luck. Clemson was up six halfway through the second half but took a few bad shots. A few bad shots end up looming large in a game like this.

And so do missed free throws. Before that last-second shot was blocked at Louisville, a minute or so earlier Thomas whiffed on two free throws when Clemson was in control.

And then last night, Thomas missed six of eight free throws during a three-minute stretch late in the second half. That's a big deal.

When Reed and Mitchell announced they were returning for their senior seasons, it felt like more special things could be in store this season after last year's run to the Round of 16. It seemed almost a given that they'd return to the NCAA Tournament.

Now they're sitting at 17-12 overall and 7-9 in the ACC, and once again Brownell is undertaking the task of trying to heal his team emotionally.

Two games remain in the regular season now, then the ACC Tournament.

The Tigers are running out of time to keep the worst moments of the season from going down as the defining moments.

Check out more officially-licensed Clemson National Champions apparel HERE in the Tiger Fan Shop, as more items are now available!