Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers dominated Alabama in the national championship game last night, handing Nick Saban a 44-16 loss on the biggest stage in college football.
True freshman Trevor Lawrence threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns against the vaunted Crimson Tide defense and secured the second national title for Clemson in a three-year span.
But this national championship by Clemson on the football field also work wonders for Carolina on the basketball court?
As one astute Twitter user pointed out last night, the last three national championships in college basketball and football have followed an interesting trend.
In 2016, Alabama football won the title while Villanova claimed the championship on the basketball court. In 2017, Clemson won the title and UNC beat Gonzaga in the national championship. Last year, both Alabama and Villanova won again in their respective sports.
Last 4 champions
2016
Football: Alabama Basketball: Villanova2017
Football: Clemson Basketball: Carolina2018
Football: Alabama Basketball: Villanova2019
Football: Clemson Basketball: Carolina?— Jon Sasser (@jsasser42) January 8, 2019
Could this mean that UNC basketball is destined to win the national championship now?
Good luck convincing Roy Williams to buy into this logic. For now, the Tar Heels are preparing for their second ACC matchup against NC State tonight at 9:00 p.m.
I’m a Carolina fan and the answer to that question is HELL no. Not with the way this team plays defense and the lack of low post presence. This team is too weak in the low post and Roy has no one to blame for that but himself. He recruited weaklings that he couldn’t develop. Every one wants to continue to give him a pass. As far as i’m concerned, when Bubba fired Fedora, he should have sent Roy packing with him instead of giving him an 8 year extension.
Every time Clemson has won a national championship in football, UNC has followed with a championship in basketball.
1981-82 and 2016-17
Don’t forget Clemson won 1981-1982 Natty after beating Nebraska in Orange Bowl and less than 3 months later Heels beat Hoyas for the hoops title.