UNC Basketball: Georgia Tech Recap
?When you play in the ACC every conference game is going to be a battle. When you go on the road you have to perform at a high level or you're suspect to get beat, no matter how bad the home team is. North Carolina found that out the hard way on Saturday. The then 12-2 Tar Heels got stung by a young Georgia Tech team 75-63 in the beautiful McCamish Pavilion.
Georgia Tech played a zone defense that had the Carolina offense stuck in mud. The Tar Heels continued to shoot and miss 3 after 3, and no very little presence in the paint. The Tar Heels committed a season high 20 turnovers and shot a season low 32% from the field. Georgia Tech themselves struggled offensively shooting only 42% from the field and 27% from deep. You have to give the Yellow Jackets a lot of credit, in a game that no one gave them a chance to win, they definitely wanted it more that Carolina.
Let's now take a look at some positives, negatives and who was the player of the game for Carolina:
??Positives:
?1. Nate Britt's Play:
There's no telling where Carolina would have been on Saturday without Nate Britt. The senior had a season high 13 points and made a lot of plays on defense to keep Carolina in the game. I'm going to be honest, I've been tough on Britt this season, but he has an important role on this team.
2. Defense:
As much as the Carolina offense struggled at least they played with some effort on defense. As I mentioned earlier, GT only shot 42% from the floor, and an abysmal 27% from behind the arc. This is a sign that this team is committed to playing hard on the defensive end, even when things aren't go smoothly on offense.
??Negatives:
?1. Turnovers:
In the last 2 games Carolina has committed 37 turnovers, including 20 on Saturday. Joel Berry the steady point guard committed 6 turnovers, while only dishing out only one assist. Many of the turnovers were unforced. Careless passing led to many of the turnovers, and helped GT get easy points. Carolina will need to find a way to limit miscues, as they will face better defensive teams, as the conference season goes along.
2. 3 Point Shooting:
The Tar Heels shot 5-26 from behind the three point line. While Carolina was shooting 38% from distance entering the game, Saturday wasn't there day. What was frustrating was that the Tar Heels kept shooting and missing the long shot. 8 of their first 10 shots were from deep. They never tried to get the ball inside, even though when they did they usually got a good result. This team isn't built to out shoot their opponent. I expect a better shot selection Tuesday night in Clemson.
??Player of the Game: Nate Britt
I honestly don't know how bad Carolina would've gotten beaten on Saturday if Nate Britt didn't play as well as he did. ?
Nate made timely shots on offense and made play after play on defense. Carolian needs Britt to be more consistent on offfnse, but his defense has been exceptional all season long.
??Up Next: at Clemson
?Carolina next heads to the newly renovated LittleJohn Coilseum as the Heels take on Clemson. Clemson will be looking for a signature conference win while the Heels will be looking to avoid an 0-2 start in the ACC.
