CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Clemson's margin for error is impossibly narrow this season, and never more so than in this 21,750-seat palace where everything from the baseline to the highest rafter is coated Carolina blue.

When opportunity knocks, you must jump out of your recliner and race to the door.

Late Saturday afternoon, it rapped its notice.

Clemson, ever eager, fumbled the remote control.

A mid-game stretch of turnovers doomed the Tigers, and No.8 North Carolina pulled away for a 74-52 win here. It is the most lopsided loss in coach Brad Brownell's two-year tenure; the previous worst was December's 16-point defeat at Arizona.

Clemson dropped to 0-56 all-time at North Carolina, extending its NCAA-record for futility on an opponent's home court.

"When we got a couple more stops we didn't have any success offensively," Brownell said. "You've got to get North Carolina to a point where they can get a little nervous. Get it to five minutes, six minutes left in the game and it's a couple possessions, you've got a chance. We couldn't get it to that point."

The Tigers are now 13-13, 5-7 in ACC play; UNC improved to 23-4, 10-2 in ACC play, and remains in a three-way tie for first place with Duke and Florida State.

Clemson returns to action Tuesday at last-place Georgia Tech (9-17, 2-10).

"It hurts," senior guard Tanner Smith said. "We were two, three possessions away from making it a real interesting game, and the game ended up turning the other way. It's frustrating. The thing about the ACC is, we've got another game Tuesday. We've got to learn from this and we can't dwell on it."

North Carolina held a 45-33 lead with 13:47 left before Clemson earned an ever-so-slight opportunity.

3-pointers from freshman guard T.J. Sapp and Smith – as well as a Smith coast-to-coast following a turnover – cut the lead back to six points with 11:43 left.

Headed downcourt in transition, Smith threw away a pass. After guard P.J. Hairston missed a 3-pointer, Smith rebounded the carom and started again. This time, forward Milton Jennings traveled near the left elbow. Hairston missed another jumper, but freshman guard K.J. McDaniels flew into Tyler Zeller in the lane, drawing a charge.

A John Henson field goal ended UNC's seven-possession offensive drought, pushing the lead back to eight points.

"We made a couple shots, got a couple stops in a row," Brownell said. "We had (seven) stops in a row at one point in the second half. That gives you a chance, if you can put some baskets together."

It didn't happen, and North Carolina ended the game on a 27-11 run.

Game, set match, Tar Heels.

"That's the end of the game," Brownell said. "They capitalized. We needed to play better in that stretch, and didn't do it."

Smith agreed.

"We had something going, and I had a bad turnover," he said."We ended up not getting too many shots there. I thought we'd played good defense at that time.

"You turn the ball over multiple possessions in a row, you're bound to start losing some confidence, some momentum. That's what happened."

Clemson entered Saturday leading the ACC in turnover margin, averaging only 12 per game. They had 15 Saturday, and 11 came after halftime.

"I don't know if you can pinpoint anything," Smith said. "We had the guys we wanted with the ball. Sometimes it doesn't go your way, your decision-making slips sometimes. For me that's what happened."

Entering the game, North Carolina was No.1 nationally in rebound margin and Clemson No.274. It showed; the Heels outrebounded the Tigers 39-26, outscoring Clemson 36-22 in the paint. UNC had 11 offensive rebounds to Clemson's five.

Zeller finished with 14 points and seven rebounds; Henson had 14 points and seven rebounds, while swingman Harrison Barnes had 24 points and seven boards.

"There's going to be some offensive rebounds with North Carolina, just because they're so long," Brownell said. "On 50-50 balls, when your guy goes up with their guy, it's going to be 70-30, 80-20 real fast."

North Carolina held a 31-22 halftime lead following a sluggish first half from Clemson. Senior guard Andre Young – who led his team with 13 points – nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the first-half clock expired just to push the Tigers above 20 points.

Clemson raced to a 7-2 lead in the first five minutes, then proceeded to go ice-cold from the field.

Over the next nine minutes, the Tar Heels reeled off a 21-4 run, taking a 23-11 lead on Barnes' 3-pointer from the right wing.

"We got reasonably good shots, but didn't make any, which has happened to our team at times this year," Brownell said. "Some of that is because of their defense, which is good. They've got big guys and you don't turn them over to get easy baskets.

"You don't get any offensive rebounds, because you're trying to get back. You have to make plays, make shots."When those things came together for Clemson Saturday, the Tigers fumbled away their chance.

Oh-for-Chapel Hill continues.

"(The loss) doesn't have much to do with extra pressure," Smith said. "We just didn't make plays down the stretch."