University of North Carolina Athletics
Cameron Johnson
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
January 20, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the game with Georgia Tech.
By Adam Lucas
1. Not a very spectacular game, but still a win over a team that really frustrated the Tar Heels last year. Carolina got a workmanlike 80-66 win over Georgia Tech on the front half of the always-challenging two games in three days schedule.
2. The Tar Heels didn't do anything perfectly, but they did one thing very well--rebound the ball. They owned the rebounding battle 46-25 and had a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounds, which turned into a 26-4 edge in second chance points. Other than the glass, there wasn't a huge difference in the two teams on this day--but the glass was a huge difference. Two Tar Heels, Luke Maye and Theo Pinson, went into double figures in rebounds--Maye with 11 and Pinson with a career-high tying 10.
3. Georgia Tech was coming off a game against Virginia on Thursday night in which several starters played a high quantity of minutes. It showed at times on Saturday. That helped the Tar Heels...but remember that Carolina will be in a similar situation on Monday night at Virginia Tech. When the back half of the two games in three days scheduling quirk is on the road, it always seems more daunting.
4. With that in mind, it looked like Roy Williams tried to manage the minutes of a couple of his players. No Tar Heel played more than 32 minutes. Four Carolina reserves played at least eight minutes. On a day when no one was particularly hot offensively, it was a good day to extend the rotation.
5. The standout reserve was Sterling Manley, who put up nine points in his 12 minutes, made all four of his field goal attempts, and was very active on the boards. Williams continues to mostly use big man by committee, with whoever is playing well getting the bulk of the minutes.Â
6. Shea Rush might have made the most crowd-pleasing play of the game by drawing a charge on Georgia Tech's Jose Alvarado that fouled out the demonstrative Tech point guard. Alvarado had been hearing it from the Smith Center crowd after his interaction with Joel Berry earned him a technical foul. Congratulations also go to Kane Ma, who banked in a runner for his first field goal of the season.
7. Carolina did a good job at the free throw line, hitting 19 of 24 attempts for 79.2 percent.Â
8. It was great to see Justin Jackson back in the Smith Center. The Kings' schedule just happened to give him enough of a window before Monday's game at Charlotte to stop by Chapel Hill, and Jackson was able to bring his wife, Brooke, for Saturday's halftime ceremony. In addition to having his jersey officially honored, Jackson also received the Patterson Medal. Fellow Patterson nominees Ryan Switzer and Hayley Carter will be recognized later this season.
1. Not a very spectacular game, but still a win over a team that really frustrated the Tar Heels last year. Carolina got a workmanlike 80-66 win over Georgia Tech on the front half of the always-challenging two games in three days schedule.
2. The Tar Heels didn't do anything perfectly, but they did one thing very well--rebound the ball. They owned the rebounding battle 46-25 and had a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounds, which turned into a 26-4 edge in second chance points. Other than the glass, there wasn't a huge difference in the two teams on this day--but the glass was a huge difference. Two Tar Heels, Luke Maye and Theo Pinson, went into double figures in rebounds--Maye with 11 and Pinson with a career-high tying 10.
3. Georgia Tech was coming off a game against Virginia on Thursday night in which several starters played a high quantity of minutes. It showed at times on Saturday. That helped the Tar Heels...but remember that Carolina will be in a similar situation on Monday night at Virginia Tech. When the back half of the two games in three days scheduling quirk is on the road, it always seems more daunting.
4. With that in mind, it looked like Roy Williams tried to manage the minutes of a couple of his players. No Tar Heel played more than 32 minutes. Four Carolina reserves played at least eight minutes. On a day when no one was particularly hot offensively, it was a good day to extend the rotation.
5. The standout reserve was Sterling Manley, who put up nine points in his 12 minutes, made all four of his field goal attempts, and was very active on the boards. Williams continues to mostly use big man by committee, with whoever is playing well getting the bulk of the minutes.Â
6. Shea Rush might have made the most crowd-pleasing play of the game by drawing a charge on Georgia Tech's Jose Alvarado that fouled out the demonstrative Tech point guard. Alvarado had been hearing it from the Smith Center crowd after his interaction with Joel Berry earned him a technical foul. Congratulations also go to Kane Ma, who banked in a runner for his first field goal of the season.
7. Carolina did a good job at the free throw line, hitting 19 of 24 attempts for 79.2 percent.Â
8. It was great to see Justin Jackson back in the Smith Center. The Kings' schedule just happened to give him enough of a window before Monday's game at Charlotte to stop by Chapel Hill, and Jackson was able to bring his wife, Brooke, for Saturday's halftime ceremony. In addition to having his jersey officially honored, Jackson also received the Patterson Medal. Fellow Patterson nominees Ryan Switzer and Hayley Carter will be recognized later this season.
Players Mentioned
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