No. 3 UNC basketball upset at Georgia Tech. 3 takeaways from Tar Heels’ first ACC loss
That stung.
Georgia Tech (10-12, 3-8 ACC) had lost eight of its past nine games, but the Yellow Jackets were less than hospitable hosts to UNC in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Georgia Tech stunned No. 3 North Carolina (17-4, 9-1 ACC), snapped the Tar Heels’ 10-game winning streak and handed UNC its first ACC loss, a 74-73 setback at McCamish Pavilion.
It was the team’s first loss since Dec. 16, when it played Kentucky — also in Atlanta.
The Tar Heels led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but they went cold into halftime, and they played from behind most of the second half.
UNC implemented its press midway through the second half, which slowed the Yellow Jackets.
Then, UNC took a one-point lead with 34.6 seconds remaining. RJ Davis made a layup over Georgia Tech’s Naithan George. George followed up with a bucket over Armando Bacot.
Davis attempted another floater with four seconds remaining. He missed, and the Yellow Jackets pulled down the defensive rebound.
The senior finished with a game-high 28 points, but he was the only player in double figures. UNC’s offensive efficiency ended up just 28-of-77 from the field and 8-of-28 from 3-point range.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Carolina gets the ball rolling
Coming into the game, both teams excelled at ball movement and would look to slow down the other’s offensive rhythm. Georgia Tech averaged 13.5 assists per game, while the Tar Heels were nearly at 14.
Carolina found success early in the game and recorded four assists on its first four buckets. By the under-12 media timeout, the Heels logged seven assists on eight buckets. That included an impressive series with two offensive rebounds and a dunk by Jalen Washington.
Elliot Cadeau contributed four assists in the first half, as well. He drained two corner 3s off the inbound by Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan.
At halftime, the Heels had 10 assists on 14 shots. They finished with 17 assists on 28 baskets, but it wasn’t enough.
UNC’s mid-half slump
After the team’s win at Florida State, Ingram said the team’s main area of improvement needed to be its slump in the first half of games.
“We started off pretty well. After the first four minutes or after the first media timeout, usually that’s when a team will come back against us, so just being as strong as the first four to eight minutes,” Ingram said on Saturday.
That remained an issue Tuesday.
Georgia Tech took an early lead, but the Tar Heels responded with a 12-0 run and led by 11 points twice. It looked like they were on a path to break away from the Yellow Jackets, right on schedule, the offense tanked.
Carolina finished the first half just 1-of-10 from the field and missed three free throws. Washington made one free throw — the only point in the final 5:34.
The slump continued into the second half, when the Tar Heels started 8-of-24 from the field and 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
Defense struggles to hold
Carolina gave up more points than it has in more than a month, which could be attributed to missed assignments and Georgia Tech catching fire on offense.
The Yellow Jackets shot 25-of-61 from the field (41.0%) and 9-of-20 from deep (45.0%). It had three players in double figures, despite not having Baye Ndongo. The star freshman left the game four minutes into the game after hitting his head on the floor.
North Carolina looked soft at times. It gave up a 7-0 run midway through the half — when Georgia Tech began gaining momentum — and a 12-1 run to end the first half.
At the start of the second, the Yellow Jackets pulled down five offensive rebounds just three-and-a-half minutes into play. Bacot was pulled after allowing Georgia Tech to get to the bucket with ease.
Defense has been Carolina’s calling card for most of this season, but it fell short this time around.
