Wayne Ellington kicked off a run to open the second half Wednesday and No. 6 North Carolina went on to blast ninth-ranked Clemson 94-70.
The Tar Heels owned a five-point lead at halftime, then opened the second period with 15-2 spurt that broke open the game. Ellington scored four of the first six points of the outburst and finished with 25 points.
Tyler Hansbrough added 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (17-2, 3-2 ACC).
Clemson won its first 16 games this season, but has lost back-to-back encounters with Wake Forest and the Tar Heels.
Terrence Oglesby scored 22 points and was the only player in double figures for the Tigers (16-2, 2-2).
North Carolina shot 53 percent from the field and held Clemson to 35 percent.