University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Hoping to Snap Two-Game Skid on Saturday vs. Georgia Tech
February 28, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2003
CHAPEL HILL - Carolina will try to snap a two-game ACC losing streak and keep its post-season hopes alive when it hosts Georgia Tech in a Saturday matinee at 1 p.m. at the Smith Center. The game will be televised regionally by ABC.
Carolina (14-13, 4-9 ACC) is trying to break a two-game conference losing streak, coming off a 40-point loss at Maryland last Saturday and an overtime heartbreaker at home to NC State on Tuesday. The Tar Heels are in eighth place in the ACC at 4-9, a game behind Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia (all of whom are 5-8 in the ACC).
Georgia Tech (12-12, 5-8 ACC) is coming off a 77-58 home loss to Duke on Wednesday night. Earlier this season, the Yellow Jackets beat the Tar Heels 88-68 in Atlanta.
Freshman center Sean May will not return to action this season. May has been out of action since he suffered a broken bone in his left foot during the game against Iona on December 27, 2002. May, his family, the coaching staff and Carolina?s sports medicine staff agreed it would not be in his best interest medically for him to play again this season.
"Sean's foot is healing as expected, but he is still experiencing soreness after the limited drills we have allowed him to participate in," says men?sbasketball trainer Marc Davis. "The risk of re-injuring the bone is too pervasive to allow him to push forward a rehabilitation schedule and conditioning regimen which would get him back on the floor for the final part of the season."
Carolina leads the all-time series against Georgia Tech, 53-16, including eight Tar Heel wins in the last 10 meetings. The Tar Heels lead the series over the Yellow Jackets in games played in Chapel Hill, 19-4. Carolina is 14-3 against Georgia Tech in the Smith Center.
Earlier this season in Atlanta, Georgia Tech shot 49.2 percent from the floor and went on a 17-1 run late in the game to break open a close contest and grab a 20-point win over Carolina in Atlanta on Jan. 29. Tech led, 66-60, with 10:02 left in the second half prior to its 17-1 run. The Tar Heels then went over seven minutes without a field goal. Chris Bosh led the Jackets with 22 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. B.J. Elder had 19 points and Marvin Lewis 18 for Tech. Jawad Williams posted a career-high 22 points in the first half alone for UNC but did not hit a field goal after halftime and finished with just 24 for the game. Tech's 20-point margin of victory was its largest over Carolina since the 1993-94 season.
